TAB Biathalon slings

General Firearms Precision Rifle - Bolt Gun
1

Recently read a review after SHOT about TAB gear making Biathalon slings for long guns. Read a review on the Hide and recently purchased one for my duty long gun.

The duel sling centers the rifle in the center of your back for easy movement. Free’s up your hands for GPS work or possibly carrying a second long weapon for close work.

Anyway if your serious about your long gun and want a viable way to pack it around while humping the hills you should have a look at this style sling. "Like Biathalon XC skiers sling

Im impressed with the sling and its quality. if I had a complaint it’s the weight. Dam thing weighs two punds which adds up on a 15 pound rifle and kit.

D Williams

2

Link to the TAB store

http://www.riflesonly.com/store/TAB/index.html

I only see two slings listed, but neither appear to be a Biathlon sling…

Link to the Snipers Hide review with pics…

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=934488

I am hoping to go out to Rifles Only next leave for some private training and will check out this sling.

3

This sling is a no brainer for agressive tactical application where you have to carry a ton of kit to your hide.I personally would like to see a bear bones sling that weighs under a pound.

D Williams.

4

I have no experience with Biathlon style slings but have never been happy with my sling on my 700PSS and have been looking for a better alternative. What would be the best method of mounting one of these slings to my rifle with the standard swivel studs on the bottom of the rifle?

5

You can get it with standard swivels that would mount to what you have or with swivel cups…so just tell them you have the bottom mounts when you order it. :wink:

6

Do you think that it would offer enough stability to keep it from flopping around on my back when slung? :confused:

The M24 has basically the same stock, what mounting gear are they using in theater?

7

How can you use that sling as a shooting aid ?

8

I was shooting yesterday and simply wrapped the left portion of the Biathalon sling like I would any other sling around my upper arm and hand for stability. It’s not text book but it’s funtional.

Regarding movement while carrying the rifle slung. Yes the rifle moves while your moving but not much. At first I found it annoying to have it flop left or right depending on whic way I was leaning or moving.

I have adjusted most of that movement out of the sling. But it still moves.

I think perhaps we all have a different view on how to best apply this style sling to our specific needs. If you carry a back pack it’s not going to work well, if at all.

My specific needs are to carry as little or as lite of gear as possible for extended periods of time comfortably in all terrain. Some of these mountains are steep and require two hand holds, or I might opt to carry another piece of equipment in my hands.

After about an hour of continued walking/stalking I found the sling to work well for my needs.

Dirk

9

I was shooting yesterday and simply wrapped the left portion of the Biathalon sling like I would any other sling around my upper arm and hand for stability. It’s not text book but it’s funtional.

Regarding movement while carrying the rifle slung. Yes the rifle moves while your moving but not much. At first I found it annoying to have it flop left or right depending on whic way I was leaning or moving.

I have adjusted most of that movement out of the sling. But it still moves.

I think perhaps we all have a different view on how to best apply this style sling to our specific needs. If you carry a back pack it’s not going to work well, if at all.

My specific needs are to carry as little or as lite of gear as possible for extended periods of time comfortably in all terrain. Some of these mountains are steep and require two hand holds, or I might opt to carry another piece of equipment in my hands.

After about an hour of continued walking/stalking I found the sling to work well for my needs.

Dirk

10

I saw one being used this past weekend at the Snipers Hide Cup and asked how comfortable it was and was told it was working pretty well. It was being used on a AICS stock with side sling mounts. I think that helped alot because that allows the rifle to lay flat against your back. I picked one up off the prize table and have yet to play with it a whole lot, but is seems to be pretty stable. I am not real excited about the interference with wearing a backpack but I do have a belt setup for when I want to go extra light. I am also using an AICS stock so the rifle lays pretty flat against my back. I really like my TIS sling but I will give this one a try and let you know how it works out. :smiley:

11

I used one at the Cup as well. I liked it. I had a regular TAB sling before that and have used the Quick Cuff, MRT, Turner, and a Les Tam sling in the past.

My rifle sits in an A5 stock and weighs a lot (28" MTU contour) and this sling made that weight a non issue. I ran with it on a couple stages and it was more secure than the single type slings.

The one I got has the features of the regular TAB sling built in as well and it was easy and effective in the positional stages.

I have flush cups on the side of the stock so it was flat against my back.

Great sling…great for hunting or running and gunning

Respectfully,

–KJ

12

KJ, I would think the side cups are the ticket. On my current H&S Stock the sling is mounted from the forward bead like most rifles. It was still very comfortable but the side cups would be much better.

I also think that the side mounted cups would further reduce side to side movement making the rifle more stable while slung, and comfortable. My 700 has a real long 27 inch barrel # 9 Krieger and is front heavy at times.

Seems like the long barrel contributes to the noted movement when moving with the rifle slung.

D Williams

13

I’ve got both the TAB sling and the side cups on order for my .308.
The best side cups I discovered while researching are the ones McMillan sells.
They are externally threaded with an hex for tightening, as well as being constructed of blackened stainless steel.
$13 each, but pretty much worth it over the regular flush cups available usually in a kit at some of the firearms shops.
I very nearly got a set of the regular (smooth with a couple of grooves) till I saw these mentioned on the Hide.

mcmillanusa.com under stock options.

14

I got mine in this week also. I plan to go to the range with it this weekend to see how I like it. My Savage also has the side cups and I have been shopping around for a sling like this for some time. I’ll try to remember pics.

15

I have TAB Gear 2 point on my M4.

Very high quality!

The owner is a friend.

16

Hey guys Tony Burkes here, I own TAB GEAR and just found out about this thread. Thanks Ruff Shod.

Figured I’d answer a few questions that have been asked and add a little information too.

The heaviest this sling can weigh with the Cobra buckles and set up to be able to sling up in is about 19 ounces. If you use the Fastex buckles instead of the Cobras the sling weighs about 17 ounces. If you have one of these slings it’s either called a RBS, Regular Biathlon Sling with the Fastex buckles, or the EBS, Elite Biathlon Sling, with the Cobra buckles.

The Simple Biathlon Sling, SBS, has the same shoulder straps as the EBS, and RBS. It’s designed for just carrying a heavy weapon and does not have the capability to sling up. and weighs in at about 12 ounces.

The website is on the verge of a major overhaul and will be unveiled any day now. The TAB GEAR store will have a new look as well and all of our gear will be displayed finally, including the biathlon slings.

If you have a rifle like a PSS or anything with the swivels on the bottom of the rifle it will swing from side to side a little bit, that’s just the nature of that beast. I haven’t had anyone say it’s so much of a bother that they didn’t want the sling though.

To use the EBS or RBS as a shooting aid you would sling up in it just as you would any of our other rifle slings. In fact the advantage of using these slings when you sling up is that the shoulder padding provides padding for your hand when you put tension on the rifle and is very comfortable.

Either sling is designed for the user to change out the swivels to fit it to any system he wants to. The swivels can also be let out or sucked in to provide a small amount of adjustability too. If you have a pack on you can adjust the top swivel out as far as it will go and this will help to keep the muzzle from hitting the back of your head when you’re moving.

This sling is not going to be the be all end all of slings, it’s another tool for the shooter to have. We feel like in addition to our regular rifle slings that we’ve got the best combination of rifle carrying and positional slings on the market. Other shooters are happy with other brands and that’s cool too.

here’s a picture that was sent to me recently of a guy using one of our biathlon slings. I thought it was a cool pic. From what I’m told, this group of guys are really liking the biathlon slings.

If anyone has any more questions I’ll be happy to help you out.

17

Tony makes some good stuff guys. Bought some kit from him maybe 5 yrs ago and its still being abused.

18

Tony, many thanks, Lisa (Rifles Only) forwarded my order to you and I got the Click-N-Ship e-mail notification just the other day for the OD TAB Gear TAB Elite Sling for my Spartan MK1 .308.
Great customer service and I am really looking forward to using this sling with the rifle.

EDIT:
Got the TAB Elite sling (not biathlon) and it is 1st class. Many thanks, Tony and Lisa for AAA+++ service.

19

I have used this sling in the sitting and kneeling positions and it was as easy to use as my original TAB sling.

This new sling does have the advantage of having some extra padding for your hand and it won’t feel like it’s getting crushed when you are slung up tight without a glove.

Tony does great work with these slings and he even modified my ARKTIS load bearing vest. I run this rig for my tactical/sniper style matches.

shoot well, be safe

Respectfully,

–KJ