cotton vs nylon sling

My understanding is that the OD cotton sling is most grippy (a highly technical term) among the cloth slings, so it remains in place on your arm more reliably. Anything else (e.g., black synthetic) is considered slick (again, a highly tech term). I do like the slings from Tech Sights or a vendor called At The Front. Of course, many other options available out there.

Having said that, I’m sure others have likewise useful observations or experiences.

I would also add to one man’s opinion…I’ve tried cotton, black, green, and USGI leather, and in the end I have found the OD canvas sling to be the simplest, most reliable, and secure of all. I know that the USGI leather sling is the gold standard in hi-power, but for AS and everyday sporting and recreation, I go back to OD cotton. FWIW. To each their own.

cotton vs nylon

Cotton for me.
I'm cheap,old,ulitarian.
All my rifles have USGI slings, cause I ain,t runnin& gunnin anymore (74yrs.old antique), they stay put, they work, they last, they are repairable
I would start w/cotton and if it is not for you, you are out $15 bucks:bthumb:

In my experience nylon is slipperier and stretches more easily than cotton.
Appleseed suggests the 1 1/4" wide cotton sling because it holds position better
and is more comfortable than a 1" sling. Link shows a high quality, made in the
USA cotton sling. Good luck to your son and daughter in the Appleseed event.
I took my grandson to Appleseed when he was twelve and he loved it and got his patch..

https://www.amazon.com/AmmoGarand-G...+sling&qid=1647209006&sprefix=,aps,162&sr=8-2

I like my canvas garand sling, grips nicely :bthumb:

Canvas for the win!

Tomcat21 said:

In my experience nylon is slipperier and stretches more easily than cotton.
Appleseed suggests the 1 1/4" wide cotton sling because it holds position better
and is more comfortable than a 1" sling. Link shows a high quality, made in the
USA cotton sling. Good luck to your son and daughter in the Appleseed event.
I took my grandson to Appleseed when he was twelve and he loved it and got his patch..

https://www.amazon.com/AmmoGarand-G...+sling&qid=1647209006&sprefix=,aps,162&sr=8-2

Click to expand...

We advise our 4H shooters that A SLING is better than NO SLING. A nylon sling will work but as others have said it tends to slip, and hard to have a repeatable adjustment.

A cotton sling is better, tends to grip better but also has a problem with a repeatable adjustment.

M1907-type slings are much better. The rough inner leather tends to grip better, holes can be marked for repeatability, and cost for a perfectly serviceable M1907 on Amazon is a reasonable $20.

https://www.amazon.com/Warcraft-Exports-Slings-Brown-Steel/dp/B07RWY9NSM/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=m1907+sling&qid=1647263175&sr=8-3

I used a nylon sling at my first Appleseed and couldn’t get it to stay put. I ended up using it in Hasty sling mode all weekend.
Now I have cotton Garand style slings on almost all of my rifles. I look for opportunities to give away the few remaining nylon slings so I can replace with cotton.
Repeatability? Once you get your Loop sling set, disconnect it from the fore stock and leave it dangling from your arm.

Thank you everybody! I have ordered a cotton GI sling. I was just wondering if there was any real world advantages of one over the other or if the reason for all the cotton slings was just nostalgia and tradition, but it sounds like the cotton has some bona fide advantages over the nylon. Thank you.

I'm late to this thread, but I'll add my two cents anyhow....while the cotton GI sling is the most economical sling and possibly the easiest to use, I have found that a very well made leather or even biothane 1907 sling is the best for me to use. I've been told, that Appleseed doesn't teach the use of the 1907 sling, because it is too hard to instruct to the students. I think that mindset gives short shrift to those being instructed. For ease of adjustment, I give one example....at every Appleseed in Arkansas that I attend, the SB will call for a Rapid Fire AQT. On every stage during the four minutes, I take the time to adjust for standing, sitting and the two prone stages, I never run out of time and usually score in the 240's. If I can do it, anyone can.

leather sling

i too have been researching leather slings for my newly re-conditioned win 52B. i found butler-creek on mudcreeks website(www.mudcreek.com) has a standard leather 1907 military 2 hook sling for 27$. john t masen (johnmasen.com) has the M-14 style 2 hook leather sling for $32.50. Another option; Tandy leather company has the 2 prongs, leather straps, brass grommets and all the supplies to build and dye your own. if this is of any help.

jayhawk