What are the benefits of having a single point sling as opposed to a two point sling? Also, any downfalls of either? I want to sling my M4, but haven’t decided which way to go yet.
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2 point…
And of all the 2 points, I like the Vickers the best… I have to admit that I am a converted VCAS user myself…
B
I’ve been thinking of getting a Vickers 2-Pt. I’ll be chasing down opinions on this forum at some point
I recently bought an AR and I picked up a Vickers 2 point sling the same day and I immediately thought it was the best sling I ever saw, I have the padded version and it is excellent.
2 Pt any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Over the past 19 yrs, I’ve used just about EVERY sling on the market, including 3 pt, 2 pt, and 1 pt.
1 pts are great, until you have to free up your hands to climb something, carry something, kneel while slung, etc.
Quick Adjust 2 pt slings are the most versatile slings and the VCAS is the best of the QA 2 pts.
Get the new padded version.
The new padded VCAS look nice… Trying to justify opening one 
Chad
I thought you liked the Botach sling…
:eek:
Well I do… It is 1/3 the price and workes well, but after a few range sessions with the VCAS it works better…
B
This is a repost (from Dec 2006) of my experience with Single Point, Two Point, and 3 Point slings over the last decade:
I wrote the following info for a friend, you may find the info useful. My recommendation is the Vickers sling (modified 2 point) as it has all the good points of both the Single point and the Three point, but NONE of the draw backs. Here are my experiences of different sling set up’s over the years (pros and cons of each):
3 point sling: I started using the Wildnerness Giles sling around
1996 - 1997 time frame. The advantages of this sling is
that it does a good job at retaining the rifle when transitioning to
the pistol. You can drop the rifle and it will generally
go diagionally across the body. With the sling in the “down position”
it is fairly easy to walk, you can push the gun to the
side or around to your back side when kneeling down, climbing a fence,
or performing simular tasks.
The 3 point sling makes for a good set up on a patrol rifle where
the officer may need his hands to perform other tasks, as
the sling retains the rifle close to the body in a good manner.
The down sides to 3 point slings is the strap often is restrictive
and can get in the way on the AR15 weapon system. For a
right handed shooter the strap can often interfer with operation of
the charging handle and the bolt release. I have seen a 3
point sling interfer with a mag change during training as well.
While the 3 point sling does a good job at retaining the rifle
close to the body and restricting the rifle from excessive
movement I have found that a 3 point can easily get hung up on SWAT
gear / load bearing vest / etc, a 3 point sling restricts
movement and get’s hung up more often than other designs / for left
handed shooters the strap that run closest to the gun often
blocks the ejection port / transitioning from right to left shoulder
or vise versa is next to impossible with most 3 point
sling designs.
The 3 point sling is a decent set up for a patrol officer who
isn’t wearing a lot of load bearing gear and who’s primary
job as a first responder will generally be permiter security.
Single Point sling: I started using a single point sling around
2002. With a single point sling I felt more “Free”. It’s
not nearly as restrictive as a 3 point sling, it didn’t get hung up on
my gear, no straps to get in the way of the controls of
the AR15 platform, easy to transition from one shoulder to the other,
etc. But there is “No free lunch” and I found out that
there is a price to pay for this freedom of movement.
While the gun is in your hand, there is nothing restricting
movement with the single point sling. But in the “down”
position the gun just dangles. When you trainsition to pistol and
drop the rifle it often hits one of your knee caps. When on
SWAT calls, sometimes I’ll be carrying something and have to let the
gun hang, as I walk the barrel hits each knee or shin as I
bring my leg forward.
A single point sling unlike a 3 point sling doesn’t do a good job
at retaining the gun. When kneeling, with the 3 point
sling, I would just rotate the gun around my body to my left rear hip,
as I knelt down, the gun would move with me. If I do
this with a single point sling there is nothing keeping the gun from
rotating on me (ie. the muzzle always wants to face toward
the deck) and the barrel often goes in the dirt. I’ll demonstrate
this for you tomarrow. Another thing that annoys me about
the single point sling in the down position is if you let the gun drop
(ie. tranistioning to pistol) often times the gun will
swing back and forth, not only does the barrel hit your knees, I have
had the stock hit me in the face (usually the chin or
jaw).
2 point sling: I used a 2 point sling in the early 90’s as a USMC
Infantry Marine, it was not the most comfortable thing,
but it was better than holding the gun in your hand for long periods.
The downside to the sling that I used on the M16A2 is
that it lacked easy adjustment and lacked attachment points to make
the sling more ergonomical.
Fast forward to 2006. Ashley Burnsed, owner of Blue Force Gear
and Larry Vickers have produced the new BFG Vicker sling.
Of all the designs that I have used I prefer the Vickers 2 point
over all others. The Vickers is an improvement on the
VTAC 2 point easy adjustable sling.
The easy adjustable 2 point sling (like the Vickers and VTAC) have
a combination of the pros of both of the single and 3
point sling, but very few of the “cons”.
The thing I like about the Vickers sling is the ability of
placement on the gun. With a 3 point sling the front attachment
is in the area of the front sight post and the rear attachment is on
the rear of the stock. With a Single Point sling both the
front and rear attachment are at the same location (generally), where
the buffer tube meets up with the lower receiver.
With the 2 point sling you can use several different location
points. For the front attachment if you have a railed
handguard like a LaRue you can place the front from as far forward as
the front sight post or as far back as the delta ring or
anywhere in between. With the rear attachment you can use either a
Single Point Sling Plate or can attach it to the buttstock.
I’m still expermenting but I’m finding that most guys perfer the front
attachment near the delta ring (the location where the
new LaRue rails have the quick release attachment hole) and the rear
attachment on a Sling Point Sling Plate (where the buffer
meets up with the lower receiver).
The pros of the easy adjustable 2 point sling is in the up
position it give you the freedom of movement of the single point
sling, no extra straps to get in the way, doesn’t get hung up on gear,
etc.
In the down postion the gun lies diagonally across your body just
like a 3 point. This makes walking easier, gun doesn’t
hit the shooter when he transitions to pistol. If performing tasks
with your hands you can move the gun to your back and it
retains well like a 3 point sling.
The adjustment on the Vickers sling is very quick and very easy.
This lets the shooter have as much freedom or retention
as he needs.
The only con that I have found is it’s not as good to transition
from one shoulder to the other with the Vickers sling
(compared to a single point), but it’s much easier than a 3 point.
That, and in my opinion, cost is somewhat of a con (retail
is around $60)
The Vickers slings is the optimum sling for Patrol, SWAT, civilian
or competition use in my opinion based on the different
sling set ups that I have used.
I haven’t found anything that I haven’t liked about the Vickers
sling yet. As I have the money I’ll be converting all of
my sling set ups over to the Vickers 2 point sling.
I’m sure there are some things that I’ve forgotten, but this was
ment as a quick overview of my experiences using different
sling set ups over the years.
Take care and stay safe,
Jeff
Jeff’s a smart man
I ordered a Blackhawk 2 point. I’m attaching it with a quick release rail mount on the front, and a “Single Point Adapter” I’m going to use on the back of the buttstock for the rear attachment. Should have it by the end of the week. Thanks for the replies.
Here’s what you do. Its what I do. For what its worth.
Get a two point sling. Put a QD swivel on each end.
Use a QD swivel on the front end, one that limits the rotation of the swivel.
Use a Tango Down PR4 on the aft end.
Put the front QD swivel in place, and put the aft QD swivel in the rear hole of the PR4. The PR4 has a hole on each side and one in the rear, under the receiver extension.
In this configuration you have a great two point set up. The sling in the rear hole makes shoulder transitions a breeze. Leave the gun in this configuration for most things.
Then, if you need to kick a door, or do some dynamic movement, unplug the swivel from the front end, and plug it into the side hole on the PR4. You’re two point sling just became what is esentially a one point sling with all its movement advantages. When you’re done, unplug the sling from the side hole, and put it back up front.
You may need to adjust the sling slightly to accomplish this, but the VCAS and or the GS2P are easy enough to adjust that its simple and quick.
The best of both worlds in a single package. But remember to get swivels that limit the rotation, or your sling will end up like rats nest.
I remember trying out the single point sling idea about five years ago. At the time the Giles style tactical slings were still the cutting edge. I remember my justification for the the single point being that with one point there would be less chance of the sling getting hung up on things and transitions from side to side around barricades would be easier. Now everyone I work with is using the single point sling. Again the main stated reason being less chance of entangling things going through rooms or on other gear while getting in and out of vehicles and aircraft.
Jeff brings up the fact that the single point slung rifle does tend to swing around much more and sometimes wildly out of control. This is something that I noticed and just “put up with.” With new mounting options for the two point being the forward position just ahead of the upper receiver and the rear being in the same location as the single point plate I think I will give it a try. This would cut down on sling being exposed to entanglement like the traditional mounting locations (up ahead of the hand guard and at the end of the stock), yet afford more stability to the hanging slung weapon.
P.S. If you ever want to use your sling to wrap around your arm for a hasty, less stable shooting position the single point will not work out for that. Not that you would do this for a CQB situation, but if there was the chance that you would want to take a longer shot and would like to use the sling, two point is the way to go.
Lots of good info posted already.
My $.02 -> I hate slings, but they’re necessary.
I’ve tried 1, 2, and 3 point slings, and settled on the 2-point, specifically the Vickers 2-point. It’s a smart and simple design.
I have two VTAC two points on different carbines, but mounted differently as I decide which places I like better. One has standard forearm with a RR barrel mount under the FSB and a DD mount at the stock nut and the other has a QD rear rail mount (9 o’clock) and a QD mount on the opposite side at the rear of the CTR stock. Much carrying will get done this summer 
Rick