So one of my good friends asked for an article about rifle slings. That is an exceptionally broad topic, so please understand that anything I recommend is going to be based on my own experiences and may or may not mirror your thoughts or the thoughts of whatever social media star you follow.
Rifle slings fall into three broad categories: single point, two point, and three point slings. Let's just throw out the three point monstrosities right now, those are awful. Getting into and out of one is akin to trying to stuff yourself into a spider's web, and they don't offer anything over a good two point.
Single point slings aren't great for much, but they are OK for very short weapons, such as a SBR or SMG. A lot of police agencies default to them due to their simplicity, but they don't do much to stabilize the gun when you're shooting it or when you aren't shooting it. Single point slings do offer you the ability to smack yourself in the shins or the cash and prizes with the barrel of your gun though, so they have that going for them.
As an aside, no matter what configuration of sling, if it has any elastic/bungie properties, it should be avoided. Those seem like they'll aid in comfort but they don't really. They are fun when you jump off of something such as the back of a truck, because the gun will often stretch down and then spring back, striking you in the chin with your own buttstock. Funny for everybody watching, not so fun for you. Plus the off chance that you end up chipping teeth from that impact, and your dentist does need another payment on their Porsche. Those slings shouldn't be used by anybody who is even remotely serious about their craft.
Typical rifles benefit the most from a two point sling. That sling can be used to carry the rifle, but it can also be used as an improvised marksmanship aid, depending on the sling and the configuration on the rifle. I've found the best success with one point being mounted at the end of the buttstock and the other point being pretty far out on the forend of the rifle. That gives you the most stability and carry options, but you need to have a sling that is adjustable enough in length to give you the capabilities of that setup. If you don't, you may be reduced to mounting the front or rear point closer to the receiver because there isn't enough sling to do the work. If that is the case, you are just dealing with what you have.
When I'm carrying a rifle administratively, I'll have my head and one arm through the sling. You can carry it on your front or your back like this. If you cinch down the sling a bit, it is quite stable and doesn't go flopping around as you carry out your non-shooting tasks. If I'm carrying it for shooting, I'll only have my head through the sling and wear it sort of necklace style, albeit with my hands carrying the rifle. If I need to transition to pistol, my neck will hold the rifle while I work with my pistol.
Let's discuss using the sling as a marksmanship aid. This won't be what you'll do in any sort of close range tactical work. This is more what you can do if trying to shoot targets at longer ranges, such as hunting or competition. Using a sling in this fashion helps the most with positions other than prone. Not that you can't brace yourself with a sling in the prone position, but I really find that getting into the sling helps the most with standing, kneeling, and seated. For me, I wrap my support side arm through the sling such that it is braced against my triceps, and then move my elbow up or down to decrease or increase the tension on that sling. The sling tension takes a lot of sway or wobble out of the sighting as I'm working at that point, if I've done it correctly. While I haven't played with it as much, there's another technique that loops your strong side arm through the sling and uses that method to reduce sway. That method takes a lot of weight off of your support side arm, and is also versatile. It may also be faster to get into. You'll have to play with both and see which works the best for you. As always, try it dry fire in different positions and see if there are differences in all positions.
I should also mention that you can use a sling to increase stability while using a shooting tripod. Much like using your arms as a brace, you can loop yourself into the tripod if you wish. The tripod itself provides additional stability, but it isn't as solid as a bipod and bags. Still, engaging targets at 300 yards with a tripod is child's play, using a sling or strap to further stabilize that makes it even easier.
Now, as far as slings that I've used with good success, here are some recommendations:
This is one of the OGs of current sling technology. They have multiple options and configurations available, from the original to the ultra-light, to the wide/padded varieties. For those of you most interested in pure marksmanship uses of your slings, they have a sniper sling with cuff. The use of that type of sling is outside of the scope of this article. Overall, you could do way worse than to use a VTAC sling.
Another of the original great slings, and also available in a variety of configurations. The standard one has webbing that isn't as comfortable as the VTAC or the Magpul, but it is still a solid sling and it sits on one of my rifles as I'm writing this. Vickers also has slings set up specifically for SMGs, AKs, and M240s and M249s. There is also a convertible sling that allows you to change your sling from a two point to a single point as needed.
If you want to be able to choose between a single point and two point on the fly, this is the sling for you. It isn't perfect at either of those missions, but it has the flexibility to be OK at both. The sling itself is wide and comfortable, and the hardware is very durable. With some additional accessories such as QD sling swivels, you can mount this wherever you want on your rifle. The slider works well to adjust the length.
These are probably the lightest slings I've used that still retain full functionality. If you're doing a lightweight build then I would definitely choose one of these over the others. Despite that light weight, you're not giving up anything with this sling. The regular one uses narrower webbing than some of the others I've mentioned, and that is part of the reason that these slings are lighter.
Note that there are a lot of other slings out there that I haven't mentioned. I didn't leave them out because of any dislike, but simply because I haven't used them. The Proctor Sling comes to mind as one. People have said great things about it, but I have no direct experience with them so I haven't spoken about them. If you want one that I know works well, pick one of the ones I recommended. If you pick one I didn't, try it out and let me know how it goes for you!
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