Where all the 3 point slings at?

[lucusloc]

So it looks like a lot of the big tacticool makers have dropped their 3 point sling lineups. I have an old Magpul S3 three point sling I wanted to duplicate for another build, and it does not seem to exist anymore. Their current "S3 gen 2" is a two/single point combo sling. I am not sure that is what "3" is supposed to mean here Magpul, care to explain yourself? Troy and Strike also seem to have discontinued their 3 points too, with Strike committing the same "S3" nomenclature insanity as Magpul.

So two questions;
1. What the hell happened to the 3 point sling market? I know some super popular personalities don't like them, but they are still a useful setup in a lot of circumstances. They are also still the standard in some LEO and military organizations. Why did the big tacticool manufacturers drop them?

2. Is there a quality producer of this type of sling system? All I can find online is cheap Chinese crap, and I am not sure I trust that, even if they are less than $10 a pop.

Edit: Got PMed an interesting source, in case anyone else is looking; www.spectergear.com. I will probably be giving one of these a try.

Read More

 

[Knobgoblin]

Most pawn shops have a milk crate or 2 laying around in the corner.
Try there.

 

[Member 53328]

Who uses a 3 point sling?

There's a reason they are obsolete.

 

[Tony617]

Yes bought a 3 point sling for my shotgun year ago from Spector Gear and it was a pain in the butt. I only use 2-point slings now. I bought a few unpadded 2-point Vickers slings for my shotguns.

Shop Vickers Slings | Rifle Sling of Choice | Blue Force Gear

Shop Vickers slings from Blue Force Gear, the rifle sling of choice: AR15, AR, AK, AK47, padded, 2 point, single point, bungee, and more weapon slings.

www.blueforcegear.com

I also got the heavy duty slide release for the attachment points:

Blue Force Gear - Sling Hardware

Sling hardware expands the mounting options of your Vickers Sling or other weapon sling and allows the attachment to any weapon system in existence.

www.blueforcegear.com

 

[trekkerpaul]

I just did a 3 point sling search on google and it seems like they are still available. Condor looks like they have one. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong version. Standard sling is how I roll

 

[lucusloc]

Who uses a 3 point sling?

There's a reason they are obsolete.

I do. They offer superb hands-free control and still let you transition to weak-side shooting with basically no hangups. You can carry at-ready in the front or dump the gun to the back without having to take the sling off or make any real adjustments, and with a little fiddling you can get the sling to hang neutral at your side so you can sprint, climb or whatever with the gun out of the way completely. Their only issue is the initial setup time, as you have several points of adjustment that have to be dialed in before the sling becomes truly hands-free. Once you hit those sweet spots though there just is no comparison.

 

[lucusloc]

I just did a 3 point sling search on google and it seems like they are still available. Condor looks like they have one. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong version. Standard sling is how I roll

Yeah, google was only interested in showing me the cheap chinesium that I was not about to touch. Specter seems to be the main supplier for military/LEO use, so I am going with them. It might have been a fortunate incident that the mainstream suppliers like Magpul dumped the product line, because Specter seems to offer more options on their slings. I already ordered two to test out, and if I like them I will probably replace the Magpul on my other rifle too.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Yeah, google was only interested in showing me the cheap chinesium that I was not about to touch. Specter seems to be the main supplier for military/LEO use, so I am going with them. It might have been a fortunate incident that the mainstream suppliers like Magpul dumped the product line, because Specter seems to offer more options on their slings. I already ordered two to test out, and if I like them I will probably replace the Magpul on my other rifle too.

I like the things I've had from spectre.

( and don't tell anyone, but I might still have a wilderness brand climbing sling on a mini 14.)

 

[Member 53328]

I do. They offer superb hands-free control and still let you transition to weak-side shooting with basically no hangups. You can carry at-ready in the front or dump the gun to the back without having to take the sling off or make any real adjustments, and with a little fiddling you can get the sling to hang neutral at your side so you can sprint, climb or whatever with the gun out of the way completely. Their only issue is the initial setup time, as you have several points of adjustment that have to be dialed in before the sling becomes truly hands-free. Once you hit those sweet spots though there just is no comparison.

2 points do the exact same thing…. Just gotta train transitions.

All I'm saying is there is a reason they aren't produced/used in bulk anymore. We had them in the Marines. We hated them.

Glad you like them though.

 

[Tony617]

I do like the Specter Gear buttstock sidesaddle on my Mossberg 590A1. It is heavy duty and it works quite well.

 

[lucusloc]

2 points do the exact same thing…. Just gotta train transitions.

All I'm saying is there is a reason they aren't produced/used in bulk anymore. We had them in the Marines. We hated them.

Glad you like them though.

I have lots of two points on various rifles. It is not the weak-side transition that is the problem for 2 point, it is the hands-free control.They work fine if you can put the rifle down for super active stuff, but the 3 point lets you keep the rifle on and hang the gun out of the way, no matter what that "out of the way" is. But I can see why people hate them; they are way harder to tune than a 2 point. A 2 point really only has one dimension of adjustment. You just lengthen or shorten until everything hangs where you want it. A 3 point sling has. . . 4 points, depending on how you count? There is total length, the short web length, the loop size and the loop return point. All of these play off of each other so if you adjust one the others will need to be adjusted too. You must put in the time to get this all to work, or it simply will not work at all. Get them wrong and the sling is worse than useless.

But man, if you get it right you can throw your gun around, do sprints and mud crawls and wall climbs and the gun will always fall back to hanging right where you left it, be it front-ready, side or back.

 

[Member 53328]

I have lots of two points on various rifles. It is not the weak-side transition that is the problem for 2 point, it is the hands-free control.They work fine if you can put the rifle down for super active stuff, but the 3 point lets you keep the rifle on and hang the gun out of the way, no matter what that "out of the way" is. But I can see why people hate them; they are way harder to tune than a 2 point. A 2 point really only has one dimension of adjustment. You just lengthen or shorten until everything hangs where you want it. A 3 point sling has. . . 4 points, depending on how you count? There is total length, the short web length, the loop size and the loop return point. All of these play off of each other so if you adjust one the others will need to be adjusted too. You must put in the time to get this all to work, or it simply will not work at all. Get them wrong and the sling is worse than useless.

But man, if you get it right you can throw your gun around, do sprints and mud crawls and wall climbs and the gun will always fall back to hanging right where you left it, be it front-ready, side or back.

I can see your point.

There are plenty of 2 point slings that have extremely quick adjustment allowing you to suck the rifle super tight to your body or loosen it up. I will always prefer 2 point for it use-ability and simplicity. Plus I can take the sling from one rifle to the next and be ready to go without "set-up."

3 points were always a tangled mess. And if you were forced to use someone else's rifle they were useless.

And single points are a ball buster.

 

[ScottInPDX]

Sorry man, it's time to admit that we're old. Three point slings are old news, just like my beloved grip pod.

People have realized that a two-point sling can do almost everything as well as a three-point, without that third strap getting in the way of your controls.

Now where's my damn chicken with salsa MRE? I need to eat so I can take my back pills.

 

[lucusloc]

I can see your point.

There are plenty of 2 point slings that have extremely quick adjustment allowing you to suck the rifle super tight to your body or loosen it up. I will always prefer 2 point for it use-ability and simplicity. Plus I can take the sling from one rifle to the next and be ready to go without "set-up."

3 points were always a tangled mess. And if you were forced to use someone else's rifle they were useless.

And single points are a ball buster.

You cannot share a 3 point sling. All the adjustments are personal. Also do not get a 3 point if you are not willing to spend an hour or two doing jumping jacks and transitions to get it all dialed in. That is how long it took me to get mine dialed in, give or take. You might get faster at that once you have done it a few times and know what to look for. I guess I am about to give that theory a test, so I will let you know.

2 points are just easy, and typically good enough. I use them on pretty much every hunting kit I have. But I hated them for run-and-gun competition stuff. Being able to just drop the rifle, not have to adjust anything and not have the RSO yell at me for an uncontrolled gun saved a lot of time.

I have no idea why anyone uses a single point on anything larger than a machine pistol. Even "small" AR pistols are hell with a single point, unless you are doing nothing but walking. I can see why people like them for range time, or for a leisurely stroll in the woods, but any time you have to ramp up the activity level you are going to get beat to death with your own gun. Hard pass.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Sorry man, it's time to admit that we're old. Three point slings are old news, just like my beloved grip pod.

People have realized that a two-point sling can do almost everything as well as a three-point, without that third strap getting in the way of your controls.

Now where's my damn chicken with salsa MRE? I need to eat so I can take my back pills.

Back pills, ha!

 

[lucusloc]

Sorry man, it's time to admit that we're old. Three point slings are old news, just like my beloved grip pod.

People have realized that a two-point sling can do almost everything as well as a three-point, without that third strap getting in the way of your controls.

Now where's my damn chicken with salsa MRE? I need to eat so I can take my back pills.

Kids these days are just lazy. No one wants to put in the work for a perfect system. "I'll just use two point slings because they only have one adjustment and who has time for more than that?"

 

[Member 53328]

Kids these days are just lazy. No one wants to put in the work for a perfect system. "I'll just use two point slings because they only have one adjustment and who has time for more than that?"

I prefer simplicity. Call me lazy…..

No sweat off my sack.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Absolutely not the same thing, but looks like wilderness tactical has ching slings made with new materials.

 

[NobullSKS]

I don't think I'm smart enough to figure how one works….. I googled it.
I already have one but didn't know. Kinda changed my whole day…. Thx

 

[ilostmypswrd]

So it looks like a lot of the big tacticool makers have dropped their 3 point sling lineups. I have an old Magpul S3 three point sling I wanted to duplicate for another build, and it does not seem to exist anymore. Their current "S3 gen 2" is a two/single point combo sling. I am not sure that is what "3" is supposed to mean here Magpul, care to explain yourself? Troy and Strike also seem to have discontinued their 3 points too, with Strike committing the same "S3" nomenclature insanity as Magpul.

So two questions;
1. What the hell happened to the 3 point sling market? I know some super popular personalities don't like them, but they are still a useful setup in a lot of circumstances. They are also still the standard in some LEO and military organizations. Why did the big tacticool manufacturers drop them?

2. Is there a quality producer of this type of sling system? All I can find online is cheap Chinese crap, and I am not sure I trust that, even if they are less than $10 a pop.

Edit: Got PMed an interesting source, in case anyone else is looking; www.spectergear.com. I will probably be giving one of these a try.

Hog saddle has great slings