Need Info On Whelen Sling.

[Uncle R.]

Hi All:
You'd think it would be easy to find but I'm coming up with zilch. For years I've used a Garand-type GI cotton sling for match & position shooting and a Brownell's Latigo (Or the Hunter brand clone) for hunting. The Latigo makes a pretty good hasty sling but it's not as good as a GI sling for serious shooting.
I'd like to try a Whelen sling for hunting 'cause it supposedly gives solid support like a GI sling but is faster and easier to adjust. Anyone have any experience with Whelen slings? Comments or suggestions? I'd especially like a link to some instructions for rigging and using them.
Thanks:
Uncle R.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Uncle R. I had one Whelen type sling, but after about forty years it got a little scruffy. They are made for a hunting sling, but hard to find now. It is a long sling, one piece, and limper than the GI sling. It has only one frog and one keeper. There is a rawhide lacing that can be made into a loop. I guess the idea was to run the end without the frog though the front swivel and lace it together. Then the frog end goes through the rear swivel and provides a way of adjusting so the loop is in the right place for shooting or carrying. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but the GI seemed a lot easier to adjust for both shooting and carrying, and keeping track of what went where. Nowadays I find sitting and prone a little hard for my old body to get into, so I practice, and use in the field, almost entirely offhand and kneeling. When stand hunting buffalo sticks are the "sling" of choice.

[Bret4207]

I haven't seen an actual Whelen sling in years. No idea where you find one.

[Bob B]

Most of your gun writersdo their shooting from the bench and computers. They have no use for agun sling so they know nothing about and never write about the different slings.Bob B

[NVcurmudgeon]

Most of your gun writersdo their shooting from the bench and computers. They have no use for agun sling so they know nothing about and never write about the different slings.Bob B

Amen to Bob B's post. Back in the olden days it was different. Jack O'Connor wrote that if he had to choose between a shooting sling or a scope on a rifle, the sling would win. In his 1961 book, "The Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns," O'Connor had this to say of the Whelen sling:

" For those used to the military sling and prefering the two-piece jobs, sporting slings like the military sling but made of lighter and narrower leather straps (7/8 to 1 inch) are available. Still better is the one-piece sling worked out by Colonel Townsend Whelen, dean of the American gun writers, back before World War I. This one-piece Whelen sling is a strip of leather from 3/4 to 1 inch wide and generally about 52 inches long. It has a claw hook at one end and the length for carrying is adjusted by the placement of the claw hook in a series of holes punched in the leather. It likewise has two leather "keepers." The sling is held together and the size of the "loop" is regulated by leather lacings which tie through the holes.
I have used the one-piece Whelen sling for many years and on the whole have found it very satisfactory. I adjust it so that it is of the proper length to carry the rifle with the sling over my right shoulder with the trigger guard forward. I hold the strap with my right hand to steady it. If it is necessary for me to sling the rifle over my backso that I can use both hands for climbing, carrrying out a couple of quarters of venison, a sheep head, or some other burden, I simply move the claw hook back to lengthen the sling."

Another O'Connor statement about slings was that the hasty sling "is a snare and a delusion." I remember reading Jack O'Connor writing elsewhere that he had done a lot of military style target shooting as a teen-ager and had learned the proper use of the sling.

[scrapcan]

Good question Uncle R. I have been looking for one also. I have read about it in many books but cannot say if I have actually seen what they are writing about.

I would also like to see a full writeup on the use of the sling. So many times you read in a book or article a short snippet and you know it does not give the whoe process.

Would someone be willing to share how to use the military sling and the hasty sling. I think I understand each but each time someone shares info I learn something.

[montana_charlie]

Google says...

http://cgi.ebay.com/_W0QQitemZ250167717931QQcmdZViewItem

http://www.lockstock.com/products.asp?dept=500&pagenumber=3&sort_on=&sort_by=

http://www.huntercompany.com/slings.html

[Ricochet]

I'm a big fan of military slings, but didn't know about the Whelen sling. Interesting!

[montana_charlie]

Would someone be willing to share how to use the military sling and the hasty sling. I think I understand each but each time someone shares info I learn something.
Hasty sling: Applicable to any rope, thong, or leather strap used to carry the rifle while slung from your shoulder.

(For a right-handed shooter...)
Holding the rifle by it's wrist, shove your left arm between the sling and the rifle until it (the sling) is against your arm above the elbow. Bending your elbow, swing your arm in a circle so that your forearm passes under the sling, then (still circling) shove your hand (palm up) between the sling and the forend.
You wind up (no pun intended) with the sling wound in a spiral around your arm.

If the sling is not adjusted to be too long, this will tighten everything up into a seemingly secure shooting platform that appears to reduce the amount of 'muscle' needed to support the forend. It's not as great as it 'feels' like it is, but can add some confidence in your ability to hold steady.

Since the whole arrangement must be fairly tight on your arm, the sideways pull on the rear swivel can interfere with proper mounting of the butt against your shoulder, and tends to cant the rifle to the right.

Reverse the above procedure for a left-handed shooter...or discard the instructions completely in favor of using a real shooting sling.

CM

[frank505]

In Finn Aagards last book there is a chapter on slings and a method to use a GI leather sling as a hasty sling. You stuff your elbow through the loop and wrap the forward part of the loop around the outside of your wrist. It is kind of a cross between a hasty sling and a Ching sling. I like it very much, it is not as steady as a military sling high on the arm and tight, but it does work for a shot or two. If you have the luxury of time in the field, which almost never exists, looping up works better and practice makes it faster.

[Bret4207]

Well, now I'm gonn ahve to get out my Whelen books and see if Hunters slings look like real Whelens. I'm amazed they're still made.

[Uncle R.]

[QUOTE=frank505;235414]In Finn Aagards last book there is a chapter on slings and a method to use a GI leather sling as a hasty sling. You stuff your elbow through the loop and wrap the forward part of the loop around the outside of your wrist. It is kind of a cross between a hasty sling and a Ching sling. QUOTE]

Frank:
That pretty much describes how I use the Latigo sling now. There are essentially two forward loops, and using one or the other as a Ching sling is better than a hasty and nearly as fast. Still - it's hard to get either loop set to the right length - it always seems to be too tight or too loose. :roll:
I've ordered a Hunter "Whelen" sling from Midway - perhaps even more from curiosity than serious need. I sure hope it's a true Whelen style - and comes with instructions!
Uncle R.

[Uncle R.]

The Hunter "Whelen" sling arrived yesterday. It was a nice looking single strap punched with double holes and having a brass hook on one end - all similar to a GI sling but narrower. There were two keepers and a leather thong for lacing the hookless end - and NO instructions - no diagram - nothing.
Gee - Thanks, Hunter.
:(
I started going through my bookshelf - and found a diagram for a "typical one piece sling" in O'Connor's Complete Book Of Rifles And Shotguns (Thanks for the tip NVCurmudgeon.) I rigged it up according to the diagram - pretty sure I have it right.
The front (shooting) loop has NO field adjustment - it's laced together and stays that way. The rear (hooked) loop determines the carry length. I have both of them set to the largest adjusment (I'm not a little guy :roll:) and it seems to work - at least for the sitting position.
I like having a keeper on the shooting loop - but I don't know if I'm gonna like that fixed size. I'm starting to think that a 1" or 7/8" sling in the GI style might be the best for hunting after all. I'll give the colonel's creation a workout in the field for a while and see how it performs.
Uncle R.

[fourarmed]

For target shooting, it's hard to beat the military sling (except for the cuff style, of course, but they are worthless for hunting.) For the rare game shot where you have time and the need to use the sling, the Whelen beats the heck out of a carry strap. The lacing wouldn't stand hundreds of rounds with the sling very tight, but it makes for light weight and silence. The loop size for sitting is usually a little different than for prone, but most of the time you will be shooting sitting in a hunting situation. Clothing weight makes a difference, too. A loop sized for t-shirt weather will be too tight when you are bundled up. A little practice with it wearing your usual hunting clothes will soon show you what you need.

[montana_charlie]

The front (shooting) loop has NO field adjustment - it's laced together and stays that way. The rear (hooked) loop determines the carry length. I have both of them set to the largest adjusment (I'm not a little guy :roll:) and it seems to work - at least for the sitting position.

I like having a keeper on the shooting loop - but I don't know if I'm gonna like that fixed size.
Punch new holes and re-do the laces for a bigger loop...?
CM

[Mk42gunner]

If there is enough length, I would lace it to the rear swivel and use the hooked end to make an adjustable loop on the front swivel.


Robert

[Bret4207]

I will try to remember to take some pics of The Colonel himself using the sling that I have. That might help.

[scrapcan]

I found a set of scans for using the 1907 US sling.

http://www.rollanet.org/~stacyw/us_1907_sling2.htm

I have also been looking at the Swedish m96 sling and it looks like it may be a great design. it has a fixed butt stock end and an adjustable fore so you can use as you would the us1917. Also could be a forerunner to the Whelen sling.

http://www.rollanet.org/~stacyw/Swede_M96_Sling.htm

good info on military slings at the above site. Main page is

http://www.rollanet.org/~stacyw/

[scrapcan]

Here is a scan of the directions from Hunter on the installation of their whelen, military, and quickfire.

[Char-Gar]

The Whelen sling was fairly popular back in the 50's when I started shooting and hunting and I had several of them on hunting rifles. I never developed a liking for them. I cut my shooting teeth on four position target shooting with a good 1.25" leather military sling and found it much easier to use in the hunting field as well.

IMHO there are only two kinds of slings. 1) a carry sling and it doesn't matter much what kind you choose as long as it makes you happy and comfortable. 2) A shooting sling which is a top grade 1.25" leather miliatry type sling.

I have shot deer and antelope at fairly long ranges, in prone and sitting positions with military type slings, and it is like having a bench rest with you. Just make certain and sight the rifle in from a tight sling as the POI will be a little different from the benchrest POI.