Throwback Thursday: The Quick Draw from Sling Carry

posted on May 21, 2015
quick-draw.jpg

Here is a lesson still relevant today from the “connoisseur of close combat” Lt. Col. Rex Applegate on how to get a rifle or carbine into action quickly from our April 1945 issue. When not going on commando raids or writing for Rifleman during the war, Lt. Col. Applegate was instructing Office of Strategic Services agents in close combat and gunfighting.

From the April 1945 issue of American Rifleman
“Quick Draw” from the Sling Carry for Soldiers … and Hunters
By Lt. Col. Rex Applegate


Many times a soldier or hunter has been unable to get a shot at a target of opportunity because he was unable to get his weapon into action in time from the sling-carry position on his shoulder.

The method shown here is a simple, easily learned sling carry for use in combat and hunting. It has the following advantages:

(1) The muzzle of the piece is down, consequently rain, snow, and other types of foreign matter are prevented from entering the bore.
(2) The muzzle of the piece does not stick above shoulder and it is easier for the carrier to make his way through dense undergrowth without having the rifle barrel catch on branches, etc.
(3) The rifle carried in this manner conforms to the shape of the body and can be carried with more comfort than in the usual sling-carry position.
(4) After a short period of practice the average individual can take a slung weapon from this position and bring it into action for a shot faster and more accurately than the ordinary man can draw a pistol or revolver from his holster and fire it.
(5) It provides on alternate to the customary sling-carrying position when the shoulder tires.

Latest

Precision Rimfire Christensen Arms
Precision Rimfire Christensen Arms

Review: Christensen Arms Modern Precision Rimfire Rifle

The Modern Precision Rimfire from Christensen Arms builds upon time-honored blueprints and is crafted from its maker's flash-forged carbon-fiber technology to create an accurate and fun-to-shoot repeating rifle.

New For 2025: H&K MR A4 Series

Building on its existing commercial line of MR556 and MR762 rifles, HK USA now offers A4 versions of both rifles, as well as large-format pistol variants.

Gun Of The Week: Smith & Wesson Model 1854

Welcome to another American Rifleman Gun Of The Week video, and this time we have a modernized American lever-action to take to the range. Meet the Smith & Wesson Model 1854.

New For 2025: Kimber 2K11

With its new 2K11, Kimber now has a dedicated design based on the 2011 concept that comes loaded with a number of added features.

The Armed Citizen® Nov. 22, 2024

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Red Fifty: The Soviet 12.7 mm DShK Heavy Machine Gun

While the Browning .50-cal. M2 machine gun has been unequaled for more than a century, John Moses Browning’s genius design has had one significant 12.7 mm competitor: the Soviet DShK.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.