I'm not sure if this should go here or over in the AR discussion, so someone move it/delete it if it's in the wrong place.

I've never really messed around with sling setups much before, outside of shooting wrapping up to shoot surplus, and I'm looking to put one on my AR.

I see a lot of different sling setups, and I can't figure out if there's one "best" setup or if it's more of a personal preference. Mostly I see one of two setups - front/rear of receiver, or front of handguard/rear of receiver. But I've also seen front of handguard/rear (top, bottom, or side) of stock, and rear of handguard/rear of stock.

Is there one setup that's "best," are they use specific, is it personal preference, or am I missing something else completely?

Edit: forgot to add "personal preference/use specific" to poll. Why.

I'm curious about this too, as I'm looking to put a sling on my AR with the 1-4x as a support for offhand shooting. I was planning on doing rear of stock and forward on rail, but I don't know what the cool kids are doing these days...

Depends on what you want to do with the rifle.  

Positional shooting - prone, seated, standing/offhand - I'd go with a two-point sling (the sling is attached at two separate spots on the rifle).  Standard GI websling is great for this, and that's what we teach at Appleseed events.

Tactical/defense, I'd go with a single point sling.  Easier to transition, more flexible, etc.

Your sling attachment points should be as far apart as you can get them.

I"ll see if I can find the Frank Proctor video that explains why this is so.

Either end plate and forward as far as possible or rear of stock and forward as far as possible.

I find the end plate and forward as far as possible is good for switching shoulders and if you get hung up on other kit while moving around. I slung my M4 like this my last deployment and it worked great.

I prefer my rear sling attachment point to be at the end of the butt stock. When the sling is attached to the end of the receiver it allows the butt to flop around enough to be dangerous. The front of the sling typically goes between the receiver and light (that I mount on the left side).

I also like to have fastex buckles on both ends. I keep a rat tail on my vest and can switch the 2 point sling to a single point if I want to.

I'm putting together a sopmod block 1 inspired build, so I'm running a DD Omega 7in rail and then a Thorntail light mount. Running it "waaay out there" isn't really going to happen much with my setup right now, so judging from what I'm reading here, and this placement, I'll probably use the QD mounts on the handguard at the receiver end and then the QD mount on the Vltor Clubfoot stock I'm running. That'll get me into it cheap since I won't need to buy any sling attachments, and from there I can see how that works or if I need to set it up somewhere different.

I'll call it personal preference. The first sling I ever ran was a USGI web sling for bootcamp (Also for nearly every other table 1 qual thereafter). For precision shooting where mobility is not a factor, you can make a pretty good loop without having to go all the way to a CMP-style leather sling.

For training in between yearly quals, I first used a three-point--mainly because it was issued, but also for the "cool tactical operator look" I thought I had as a young, dumb grunt. It was attached at the muzzle of the quadrail, and the end of the buttstock. I saw the theory behind it, and it was alright for what I had to do with it. I did not like all the extra bulk it added, as well as how far from the body--and how low--the rifle fell, even if the sling was snug to my body.

From there, I decided to try a one-point sling. I liked how much less sling there was, and it made shooting-hand transitioning very easy for CQB. I first attached it to the end of the butt stock like the three point, but it was awkward (at least for me) to manipulate during some patrols as it also still fell fairly low compared to my shoulders (I liked the idea of having the butt stock as close to my strong shoulder as possible while patrolling). After that, I attached it to the endplate, which alleviate how low it sat, but also ended up keeping the whole rifle at an awkward angle.

After the one-point, I tried a wolf-hook. That kept the butt stock high enough while patrolling, as well as very near to my shoulder. This was actually my favorite set up for several years. It did have three drawbacks though: 1) If I had to use both hand for anything (processing/escorting detainees, searching a house for contraband, etc.), it was essentially impossible to sling the carbine behind me without crazy (i.e. unsafe) handling. 2) If it was attached to the top of the buttstock, it would hinder proper cheek-weld. I modified it's attachment point to allow for proper handling, and that took care of that issue. 3). This also applies to the one-point. If there were times where I did need both hands for anything, my muzzle was swinging fairly wildly due to the single point of attachment of the sling.

In the end, I ended up coming full-circle and going back to a two-point, albeit it was quickly adjustable--and that's what sealed the deal for me. It gave me option to use a "hasty support" for long distance if needed, it kept the buttstock right where I wanted it, it kept my muzzle (and the rest of the carbine) close to my body, and it allowed me to sling my gun behind me without flagging everyone else around me while simultaneously allowing me to easily bring it back to the front.

For both two-points and the three-point, I attached them to the very front of the rail and the very end of the buttstock. Again, attaching to the endplate allowed too much movement for my preference.

This all based solely on personal opinion and preference, but I'm sure I'll be told I'm wrong having one. YMMV

If you're interested, these are the two I'm familiar with: VTAC and BFG. I actually made my own using 550 cord, one of these, a few of these, two of these, and some 1" nylon webbing--all measured for my own use.

Ill go with personal preference as well. I run QDs on my sling on the stock and "somewhere around halfway out" on the rail. I tried it at the very end of the rail and didn't like it interfering with my forward hand position, in addition to me being a bigger guy with long arms and the sling being just about maxed out in length.

I run mine right behind my support hand basically: this is more comfortable for me, clears my hand when doing reloads/malfunction clearing, and lets me have enough slack in the sling to transition to offhand shoulder without strangling myself. Having a quick adjust sling like the Vickers make the whole package work really well for me. Tighten it up when just standing around with the rifle slung, then let it out when its time to run the gun.

Post some pictures of sling set up.

Decided to buy a pistol, parts, and ammo instead, haven't actually gotten a sling yet. I'll drop some pics when I do get it set up!

Did the single point attached to the end plate, then two point attached to the end plate and onto the rail close to the receiver, and now, I'm running it QD on both ends attached to the support side of the stock and all the towards the front of the rail closest to the muzzle dominant side.

I also have 2 to 1 conversion socket in the even I want to run single point but, the way I have the sling set up, I can easily shoot support side by just dropping my arm through the sling while switching sides. Been running it this way for 6+ years and it has worked out way better for me all around.

With a two point I find that being attached at or near the endplate of the lower receiver allowed the rifle to be carried/kept higher on the body if it was necessary to take hands of the rifle and let the sling support it entirely.

Similarly, in my experience being attached on the rear 1/3 of the handguard keeps it more snug with less bouncing around if I cinch it up tight.



I'm going to move mine around some now that I think about it, see if I feel like I am missing something.

two point sling:

QD into the buttstock
QD into the hand guard just behind where my support hand grabs the rail

And destroys your knees/shins when running

2 point for me. I run it on the stock and then on the handguard close to to the receiver. During a class I took a few weeks ago, the instructor had us move the sling as far forward as we could. It really helped stabilize my shooting from all sorts of positions. I might put an additional QD socket up front so I have options to move it around. To those that think a sling is just there to hold the rifle when you dont want to, I would suggest taking some classes or experiment with it and see how much it can stabilize your shooting positions.

1 point slings are dumb on the AR. It was meant for sub guns. With the AR its just going to flop around and end up hitting you in the nuts if you dont keep your hand on it.