Scope knocked on rough descent - improved rifle strap

[zambezi]

Recently whilst stalking ground new to me, I found myself on a steep and wet downward slope with few handholds.

As ever in such situations, I place my quadsticks into the earth ahead and below and use that as a "third leg" to steady as I carefully pick the best footing.

On this occasion, as I placed my weight on the quadsticks, the earth below them yielded and the sticks embedded another 30cm into the ground rapidly and unexpectedly. My center of gravity shifted enough for my footing to go. I landed on my bum and the rifle that was slung over my shoulder rotated and took a knock as we settled. The impact was taken mostly by the side of scope.

Zero check the next day showed a 1moa shift and that was corrected. No material damage to scope or rifle. All mountings re-torqued appropriately.

But it got me thinking that a different rifle sling design [such as the Niggeloh backpack design] would have prevented the rifle's final step off my shoulder had I deployed at top of slope:



The leather strap as fitted to my rifle was a 2" wide leather strap which looked ripe for modification...

 

[zambezi]

...so today I made some adjustments to that strap as follows:




Now I have the option of standard over-the-shoulder-ready-to-deploy mode PLUS a safer configuration when negotiating tricky ground

 

[.25-06]

Lovely looking sling. But if you slip backwards now the scope takes the full brunt. It is just a risk there will be no perfect system. I have been caught on a clear fell with a branch in each gater, sticks in each hand with enough momentum carried forward until horizontal... scope and rifle had a soft landing on the back of head.

 

[zambezi]

But if you slip backwards now the scope takes the full brunt

Agreed. But I usually come to rest on my bum if I ever lose my footing.

there will be no perfect system

100%. Per my post above: this makes it "safer", not perfect.

What cannot now happen is the rifle accelerate off my shoulder.