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2 Point versus 3 point sling for AR

12K views 39 replies 29 participants last post by  gridless 
#1 ·
I searched to see if this has been asked before and I couldn't find a post. I will be purchasing a sling for my AR15 and would like to know if you prefer a 2 or 3 point and why. I'm kind of leaning towards a 2 point.

I'm also in the market for a bipod if you have any that you'd recommend :D:.

Thanks and God bless!
B2MR
 
#2 ·
I don't know about a bipod, all of my M4's are setup for 0-300m, not DMR or varmint hunting.

That said, the VTAC 2-point sling is the best sling I've used. The BFG Larry Vickers is a cheap knock-off in comparison (I have both). Single-points are GREAT! for when you're on the gun, but if you need to use your hands or transition, they do not control the rifle at all. It slaps you in the nuts typically, and if you have a can on it, will burn the living crap out of your leg probably, unless you have an SBR, then it will scald your pecker seriously bad. (I don't speak from experience, but rather from common sense seeing where my M4 hangs on a single-point.)

3-point slings are a soup sandwich and you will tie yourself in a knot trying to use them and they don't do anything a good 2 point can't do much simpler. Just avoid them.

This is so far my favorite sling (I don't like LaRue, but this is the cheapest deal, considering it comes with two quality QD swivels already. If you don't need the QD swivels, buy the sling elsewhere and save $$, but if you do, consider that each QD is about $15.)
http://www.laruetactical.com/larue-tactical-padded-sling
I tried the Magpul MS4 sling, and found it cumbersome and a liability. The MS3 is easier to use than the QD's, but I still don't like stuff like that. You are fumbling with your rifle and have the potential to drop it when you should be paying attention to other tasks at hand, and not un-hooking your sling.

Again, the sling I linked you to is not advertised on the site as a VTAC sling, but it is. VTAC made it for LaRue (well, someone technically makes it for VTAC, I'm sure, but you get the idea).

Another point is that people don't know how to get the most out of their slings, often times, when first starting out. Here is a video that really helped me:

FYI, all the stuff in that video he shows you...the product actually DOES. I remember how bummed I was when I got my brand new Magpul MS4, and I tried adjusting it and it wouldn't budge. The webbing was so stiff that I could stand on one end and pull on the other and it wouldn't move except at certain angles. It was infuriating. I even posted up on M4C about it (a place known for ripping idiots a new one), and figured I was in for the usual "Stop being a ninny" crap that people get for posting an "I find it difficult to...". No. Everyone started offering tips on break-in, complaining that they had the same problem, etc. So apparently it's not a personal issue.

Just something to take into account, not everything works as advertised, but I can vouch that the VTAC does.

This is my "Bipod"
 
#7 ·
I don't know about a bipod, all of my M4's are setup for 0-300m, not DMR or varmint hunting.

That said, the VTAC 2-point sling is the best sling I've used. The BFG Larry Vickers is a cheap knock-off in comparison (I have both). Single-points are GREAT! for when you're on the gun, but if you need to use your hands or transition, they do not control the rifle at all. It slaps you in the nuts typically, and if you have a can on it, will burn the living crap out of your leg probably, unless you have an SBR, then it will scald your pecker seriously bad. (I don't speak from experience, but rather from common sense seeing where my M4 hangs on a single-point.)

3-point slings are a soup sandwich and you will tie yourself in a knot trying to use them and they don't do anything a good 2 point can't do much simpler. Just avoid them.

This is so far my favorite sling (I don't like LaRue, but this is the cheapest deal, considering it comes with two quality QD swivels already. If you don't need the QD swivels, buy the sling elsewhere and save $$, but if you do, consider that each QD is about $15.)
http://www.laruetactical.com/larue-tactical-padded-sling
I tried the Magpul MS4 sling, and found it cumbersome and a liability. The MS3 is easier to use than the QD's, but I still don't like stuff like that. You are fumbling with your rifle and have the potential to drop it when you should be paying attention to other tasks at hand, and not un-hooking your sling.

Again, the sling I linked you to is not advertised on the site as a VTAC sling, but it is. VTAC made it for LaRue (well, someone technically makes it for VTAC, I'm sure, but you get the idea).

Another point is that people don't know how to get the most out of their slings, often times, when first starting out. Here is a video that really helped me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhojNCdksYw
FYI, all the stuff in that video he shows you...the product actually DOES. I remember how bummed I was when I got my brand new Magpul MS4, and I tried adjusting it and it wouldn't budge. The webbing was so stiff that I could stand on one end and pull on the other and it wouldn't move except at certain angles. It was infuriating. I even posted up on M4C about it (a place known for ripping idiots a new one), and figured I was in for the usual "Stop being a ninny" crap that people get for posting an "I find it difficult to...". No. Everyone started offering tips on break-in, complaining that they had the same problem, etc. So apparently it's not a personal issue.

Just something to take into account, not everything works as advertised, but I can vouch that the VTAC does.

This is my "Bipod"
Good info. Thanks.
 
#4 ·
2-point for me. I can't think of a single knowledgeable instructor that recommends a 3-point. Unobtainium pretty much covered it all in depth. I have been whacked in the knees and junk enough times with single points that I really can't recommend them. I agree 100% with Unobtainum's assessment on the Magpul slings. I have one MS3 left, and it's going to go bye-bye here pretty soon...

PS: I use the "cheap knock-off" that Unobtainium referred to: Blue Force Gear VCAS. I like it. We got them issued about 2 years before I retired from the military, so I have a few years worth of familiarity with it at this point, and it works fine. :thumb:
 
#8 ·
2-point.

3-points were a stupid idea championed at the beginning of the GWOT to cash in on the neverending flow of money dumped out to procure the latest and greatest COTS items.

Too much webbing to get in the way just to achieve a downward situated weapon position which can be achieved with 1 and 2 points while in gear.

My favorites are the Blue Force Vickers sling (same as VTAC without a mile of webbing hanging off the adjustment buckle) and the Magoul MS3, which I can swap back and forth between 1 and 2 point, good for SBR's.
 
#10 ·
Are you heading into combat?

If you are, you'll probably want to listen to the guys above.

Are you going to be using the sling as a shooting aid?

If you are, a two-point sling that you detach from the buttstock and fix around your upper bicep - as taught by the USMC and others - is probably the way to go.

Like Andrew Jackson, I found a 3-point sling that actually works for me (I think it is also a 'Mamba', and I picked it up at the PX at Grafenwohr Army Base in Germany). I use it for hunting. I hunt with one of these rifles:

http://www.remington.com/en/products/firearms/centerfire/model-r-25/model-r-25-rifle.aspx

3-point slings work like a champ in some scenarios, particularly if you're the sort of guy who seldom gets all tangled up in your web gear.

What works for you often depends on what you're using it for.....
 
#21 ·
Are you heading into combat? I'm not looking for it, but want to have something that works well if it comes to it.

If you are, you'll probably want to listen to the guys above.

Are you going to be using the sling as a shooting aid? That would be a bonus.

If you are, a two-point sling that you detach from the buttstock and fix around your upper bicep - as taught by the USMC and others - is probably the way to go.

Like Andrew Jackson, I found a 3-point sling that actually works for me (I think it is also a 'Mamba', and I picked it up at the PX at Grafenwohr Army Base in Germany). I use it for hunting. I hunt with one of these rifles:

3-point slings work like a champ in some scenarios, particularly if you're the sort of guy who seldom gets all tangled up in your web gear. I need something that is simple and affordable.

What works for you often depends on what you're using it for.....
Using the sling for an AR-15 at the ready carry position, as well as on my back, or tight to my torso. Quick access to my pistol with minimal or no interference from my rifle is critical.

Thank you for your post!
 
#11 ·
I would recommend a conventional 2 point sling for your AR...way more practical and user friendly.

3pt slings are mostly always for MOUT troops that are required to maintain the 'low ready' position for hours and hours on end. That position wears heavy on your wrist after awhile...thus the 3pt sling.

There's a subtle escalation in menace and alertness silently communicated to the threat when you go from high port to low port that the low ready lacks.

The great thinkers and number crunchers in the DoD decided the 'low ready' position would lessen incidences of fratricide.
 
#12 ·
I would recommend a conventional 2 point sling for your AR...way more practical and user friendly.

3pt slings are mostly always for MOUT troops that are required to maintain the 'low ready' position for hours and hours on end. That position wears heavy on your wrist after awhile...thus the 3pt sling.

There's a subtle escalation in menace and alertness silently communicated to the threat when you go from high port to low port that the low ready lacks.

The great thinkers and number crunchers in the DoD decided the 'low ready' position would lessen incidences of fratricide.
Yes, because this was happening at alarming rates! :eek:

I love the way .GOV reacts to anything, if something bad occurs once in a 200 year period some bean counter bureaucrat somewhere will decide that we MUST change all the rules, add a bunch of paperwork that must be filed and spend millions of dollars to ensure that what happened once won't happen again in the next 200 years! :rolleyes:

.
 
#19 ·
I've tried all three "points" of slings. The three point sling was very complicated, a plumbers nightmare of webbing. IMHO, not much advantage over a two point sling.

The single point sling put the weight of a rifle on the side of my neck and shoulder. It hurt after a while.

I've gone to the two point sling exclusively. Its the best balance of comfort and simplicity.
 
#25 ·
It’s a 6 year old thread....
 
#26 ·
Its pretty cool. Besides the LaRue Rail I bought for my build way back then, I got the Sling. The sling is the shizzit, more shizzit than the rail. after all of this time. :)




I really really really really wanted the lower at the time, but they wouldn't sell it unless you bought their upper. A couple of years later they finally relented and sold the lower.......missed it...sad panda
 
#28 ·
I’ve used those high speed, cool guy one-point slings, those awesomely tacticool three-point slings, and my experience with them is that they’re crap.

If you’re shooting, or being shot at, those suck. Or they did for me.

A decent, easy-adjust two-point sling is king. A two-point with some version of a sliding adjuster works best. Larry Vickers sells a decent one.
 
#30 ·
I'll add to the necro-thread:D:

Much like JBryan, I've found 3 point slings don't do well, especially if you're loaded down with kit; too much to snag on when adjusting the sling. I do know that for some hunting situations, they can be a shooting aid, but that's a niche situation. 3-point slings also try and bridge the gap and add both a 2-point sling and a single-point sling, but it's not the most functional.

I have used a single point sling. They work, but they too are a niche sling. They were quite popular in combat for those that are in and out of vehicles or helo's, simply for the quick detach aspect. Where they suck for me is doing drills where I have to go hands-free; even an M4 sized carbine is a royal PITA once you try and transition or go hands-free. Where I have found I like single-point slings are the very small SMG's (or braced pistols) as they don't dangle to my knees and get knocked around or hung up.

2-point slings that are easily adjustable have become the best choice for me. I can rotate out of the way for hands free or transition drills, and extend easily for fast shooting or more comfortable carry. They are also more simple and less likely to get hung up on your kit.

The only way to figure out what works best is to try them out and run some realistic drills...you'll quickly find out what most of us have learned over the years.

ROCK6
 
#33 ·
I employed a Northeast Tactical Single Point bungee sling across three deployments to Iraq. It worked pretty well for my needs (HAF/GAF dismounts, Fast Ropes, CQB, convoy turret use, KLEs, and routine low-pro armored vehicle travel). That particular model was fairly popular in my unit at the time (2006-2012) and a favorite among our Group SFAUC Committee & many SFARTAETC grads.

I also dragged that sling through every unit SFAUC/PMT trainup involving mucho live fire shoot houses. No problems. All I had to do for a carbine to pistol transition was drop the long gun and draw the pistol. No sling manipulation needed at all. Fast & simple. I eventually added a weapon catch on my weak side hip (battle belt) for contingency building climbing or rope work.

Plate armor, pouches, and belt order kept the hot carbine barrel off of my nutsack and thighs. I could completely detach the weapon in an instant (trigger snap hook) if I needed to kneel over somebody/something... or low crawl.

That single point is still mounted to my primary AR. But I use unpadded VTACs for my other guns. That's my favorite 2-point and the one I finally settled on.

Range drills aside, I've rarely had need to cinch my rifle down to my body or carry it slung across my back. I usually had too much shiznit back there anyway (hydro system, radio, pack, rear plate, etc.). In real life employment, my M4A1 stayed to my front and in my hands for about 98% of the time. Exceptions for things like surface swimming, structure/rock climbing, alpine touring skiing, rope infils, or military snow mobile ops. Sometimes during SSE activities on a secured target.

I rate a well-designed two point or single point as about equal in actual combat utility. Pluses and minuses for both. Three points? Meh... too much strap management for my tastes.
 
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#37 ·
I employed a Northeast Tactical Single Point bungee sling across three deployments to Iraq. It worked pretty well for my needs (HAF/GAF dismounts, Fast Ropes, CQB, convoy turret use, KLEs, and routine low-pro armored vehicle travel). That particular model was fairly popular in my unit at the time (2006-2012) and a favorite among our Group SFAUC Committee & many SFARTAETC grads.

I also dragged that sling through every unit SFAUC/PMT trainup involving mucho live fire shoot houses. No problems. All I had to do for a carbine to pistol transition was drop the long gun and draw the pistol. No sling manipulation needed at all. Fast & simple. I eventually added a weapon catch on my weak side hip (battle belt) for contingency building climbing or rope work.

Plate armor, pouches, and belt order kept the hot carbine barrel off of my nutsack and thighs. I could completely detach the weapon in an instant (trigger snap hook) if I needed to kneel over somebody/something... or low crawl.

That single point is still mounted to my primary AR. But I use unpadded VTACs for my other guns. That's my favorite 2-point and the one I finally settled on.
@Astronomy

Hey, did those Northwest Tactical slings have the quick detach shackle?

A good buddy who was in 18th ABN LRS made his own design. I picked up a few from him but haven't seen many like it. The narrow webbing is best with armor and chest mounted kit. It was a pretty handy setup when routinely getting in and out of vehicles and choppers.



ROCK6
 
#38 ·
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