rifle sling

[boker]

i have a t/c hawkins and i am looking for a very traditional looking sling . i have a image in my mind what i am looking for but have yet to find it on line . i am even up to making one or getting one made . any one have any pics or thoughts that might be of help ? thanks

 

[50cal.cliff]

The one at the top of this page is my idea of a traditional muzzle loader sling.
http://www.possibleshop.com/p-g-rifle-sling.html

A lace up boot for the butt of the rifle and the leather strap goes around the barrel!

 

[Black Hand]

Sir,
In reality a Hawken wouldn't have had a sling. Slings, for the most part, were used on military guns, though occasionally they show up elsewhere. So to say "traditional" would bring to mind a military sling with swivels.

Now, a person could have improvised a sling quite easily. I have one on my rifle and tradegun, both consist of a strap with ties on each end. One end is tied to the forward part of the trigger-bow and the other around the barrel (over one of the ramrod pipes). Easy, handy and you don't need to drill any holes in your stock.

 

[Stumpkiller]

What Black Hand suggests is what I use. The front is slit and I form a loop to go around the barrel (not the rammer - for fear of snapping it) and the rear is slit to slip over the butt with a small strap across the slit to keep it from sliding up to the wrist. I keep it in my pocket or haversack until the drag out.

 

[crockett]

I just use a short piece of parachute cord- not pc at all but in my opinion you have to have something unless you are strong enough to drag a deer with just one hand.
I should note that if you are into the mountain man era, at least some mountain men had a gun case/sheath to which the sling was sewn. This isn't such a bad idea if you have a nice finish on your rifle and you are dragging out a deer through a lot of under brush. The case will better protect the rifle's finish. On my "to do" list is to make one out of canvas and dye in tea- looks sort of like buckskin- it ought to fold up compactly and better protect a rifle when dragging a deer. The other benefit is you can hunt without the sling in place- which I find bothersome.

 

[LaBonte]

Sir,
In reality a Hawken wouldn't have had a sling. Slings, for the most part, were used on military guns, though occasionally they show up elsewhere. So to say "traditional" would bring to mind a military sling with swivels.

Now, a person could have improvised a sling quite easily. I have one on my rifle and tradegun, both consist of a strap with ties on each end. One end is tied to the forward part of the trigger-bow and the other around the barrel (over one of the ramrod pipes). Easy, handy and you don't need to drill any holes in your stock.

Sorry but the remark re: Hawkens (and other post 1830's rocky mtn guns) is not necessarily so since slings can be documented on civilian firearms of the 1830's and later, just do the research - A. J. Miller in 1837 (and later) painted several mountaineers using slings on various type guns. There are also a couple of references to slings in the period literature - some references including some original civilian pieces from that era include slings but there is also the very good possibility that some were filed expedient slings.

 

[Black Hand]

Sorry but the remark re: Hawkens (and other post 1830's rocky mtn guns) is not necessarily so since slings can be documented on civilian firearms of the 1830's and later, just do the research - A. J. Miller in 1837 (and later) painted several mountaineers using slings on various type guns. There are also a couple of references to slings in the period literature - some references including some original civilian pieces from that era include slings but there is also the very good possibility that some were filed expedient slings.

What are we talking percentage-wise? Less than 5%? Less than 1%. Please educate me.
My thought was commonality, not the exceptions...

 

[LaBonte]

Sorry but the remark re: Hawkens (and other post 1830's rocky mtn guns) is not necessarily so since slings can be documented on civilian firearms of the 1830's and later, just do the research - A. J. Miller in 1837 (and later) painted several mountaineers using slings on various type guns. There are also a couple of references to slings in the period literature - some references including some original civilian pieces from that era include slings but there is also the very good possibility that some were filed expedient slings.

What are we talking percentage-wise? Less than 5%? Less than 1%. Please educate me.
My thought was commonality, not the exceptions...

If you want to know the actual percentages then count them yourself - there's plenty of his images on line, but IMO there are enough slings imaged to make them "common" and not exceptions - of course that depends on at what percentage point something becomes common. Just exactly what percentage is that by the way? And I've seen far too many re-enactors over the years cherry pick what they consider common based on several "personal" factors, and yep I can give examples.
As you might have guessed by now, I personally don't care a rat's patootie about commonality - that's a "re-enactor historyism" that far too often leaves out facts and IMO has become something of a bludgeon. Rather I look at ALL of history, not just some common percentage point - something that I have seen far too often change with additional research being discovered.
But I don't do "this" for the public anyway. FWIW - I've been doing hardcore/"librarian level" living history since 1968 (and nope that doesn't make me an expert). I have done a fair amount of public education over the last 40+ years, but choose not to anymore.
BTW - I despise such terms as librarian, buckskinner, etc. since instead of bringing folks together it separates them into some "tribes" - then again tribalism is human, but I still don't care for being labeled no matter what or by who, where commonality has a place, but then again it can also be over done. For myself if the item can be documented to who, when, and where and it's not some extremely rare item than I use it for myself, but I never suggest others do. Again though, I no longer do things for the public, but rather for may own edification and understanding of the past and to share with my few close compadres on a personal level rather than the many, except on forums anyway :wink: .....
What others do is up to them, but like here when asked I will present the actual historical data - including caveats about commonality as well as who, where, and when - and let the questioner decide for themselves.

Oh and BTW - how well documented (if at all?) and common are quick slings like you noted using above? Especially for the late 1830 and later period I mentioned....

 

[Sperit de bois]

Oats for my horses and Snickers for my men.

 

[Black Hand]

If you want to know the actual percentages then count them yourself - there's plenty of his images on line, but IMO there are enough slings imaged to make them "common" and not exceptions - of course that depends on at what percentage point something becomes common.

It is OK to say "I don't know"...

 

[crockett]

I don't think the quick sling is pc at all. On the Miller paintings- I am just guessing from memory but maybe 25-30% or more show some sort of a sling. What's funny about this is that all the written accounts that I can recall mention carrying a rifle across the saddle horn. Let's remember Miller is just a 1837 time slot. BTW the sling is often shown horizontal-across the chest rather than diagonal-over one shoulder. The rifle is shown so the sling would have been attached to the rifle and not a sheath/gun case but Kit Carson did have a sheath/gun case that had a sling attached to it although I don't know the date on that. If I recall the fringe was at the muzzle end of the case and not along the length.
Some confusion here about slings for mountain man rifles and slings for a HAWKEN. I am just supposing but the Miller images tend to show slings on plain Jane Kentucky trade rifles. On NW Trade guns- don't know.