Best Rifle Slings of 2024: AR-15, AK-47 & More [Hands-On Tested]

Not having a sling for your rifle is a lot like not having a holster for your handgun. It just doesn’t make sense.

Slings come in all shapes and sizes because rifles come in all shapes and sizes. So, how do you know which one to choose?

Well, we’ve gathered the best slings for traditional hunting rifles, modern rifles, big heavy rifles, precision rifles, and more.

So, keep reading!

THE QUICK LIST

1. Best Tactical Sling

   Pew Pew Tactical Multicam Sling

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2. Most Versatile

   Magpul MS3

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3. Most Comfortable

   VTAC Hybrid Sling

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4. Best for Hunting Rifles

   Galco RifleMann Sling

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5. Best for AKs

   Blue Force Gear AK Standard Sling

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How We Tested the Best Rifle Slings

The Pew Pew Tactical editorial team has had collective decades of experience behind rifles…which means thousands of hours using slings. From competition to duty to teaching courses and taking them, we have extensive experience with slings, and we’ve taken that knowledge and pared it down to what we think makes for a good sling.

All of the products mentioned have been hands-on tested by a Pew Pew Tactical writer or editor. When evaluating these rifle slings, we looked for obvious features, durability, ease of use, and price. While most of these are on the higher end of the scale, we feel these represent the best of the best in rifle slings.

Best Rifle Slings

1. Pew Pew Tactical’s Sling – Best Tactical Sling

Of course, I can’t not mention Pew Pew Tactical’s own sling. Yep, we make a sling, or well, we partnered with Flatline Fiber Company to make a sling.

Our whole group at PPT are dedicated, hardcore shooters with a wide swath of experience between all of us. It’s a diverse group with a diverse set of skills and experiences.

With that in mind, the Pew Pew Tactical Sling is a modern tactical two-point design. It’s made from 500D Cordura and is an inch wide. It’s a little thinner than most, but that cuts weight. The webbing is wrapped in Neoprene and is plenty durable.

It features a pad, so even heavy-duty rifles are well served with the PPT sling. The pad helps displace some of that weight and increases comfort. It doesn’t leave all that weight pressed against your shoulder when the right is more casually carried.

A pronounced pull tab allows you to adjust the sling dramatically and quickly. This allows you to run it loose to maximize mobility or tight to go hands-free. It’s convenient and easy to use on a variety of rifles, but the intended target is your more modern, tactical semi-auto design.

The use of 1-inch webbing and the open design makes it easy to slap on any number of attachment hardware, from BFG U-Loops to QD attachments. You can fit just about anything on this sling.

2. Magpul MS3 – Most Versatile

The Magpul MS3 is Magpul’s latest generation sling. Magpul got into the sling business years ago and has made steady improvements, eventually crafting something special. The MS3 delivers shooters a modern rifle sling with a few extra features that might take you by surprise.

With the MS3, shooters get a tactical two-point design. There is no tab or loop but a low-profile slider that allows the shooter to make quick and radical adjustments. At the rear, we have a traditional fit adjustment tab. When properly fit, the slider makes it easy to swap from hands-free to great mobility.

My MS3 is set up to be hands-free when run tight but to have a little tension when fully loose. The MS3 series of slings use high-quality, weather-resistant material. Magpul tested it in wet, dry, and sandy conditions, and static laid tested the sling for 72 hours. It will take whatever abuse an average or professional user throws at it.

The Magpul MS3 has this neat feature that quickly converts the sling from a two-point to a single-point. Unclip the front clip or QD from the front of the gun, and it clips into the rear end of the sling to make a single point. This makes it easy to get the benefits of a single point when you need it.

The MS3 is one of the most modular and versatile options for modern rifles. Depending on your preferences, it comes with a clip and QD or dual QDs. I’d go as far as to say it is as dependable as the Magpul magazines.

3. Viking Tactical VTAC Hybrid Sling – Most Comfortable

If you want a sling made by an armed professional with tons of experience, then the Viking Tactics, or VTAC, sling is for you. Sergeant Major Kyle Lamb spent 21 years in the Army and 18 years in Special Operations. His time includes serving with Delta Force.

The man has been there, done that, and gotten the T-shirt. Upon retirement, he took those skills and experience and developed Viking Tactics. A training and gear company.

The VTAC Hybrid sling combines a standard heavy-duty nylon webbing with a large, padded area for superior comfort and support. This tactical two-point features one of the quickest adjusting designs out there. A single-point clip is pulled to loosen the sling, and a tail strap is pulled to tighten the sling.

It’s a very intuitive system that can be done on the fly. You won’t ever feel like you’re reaching for something that just isn’t there and struggling to find the right tab or loop to tighten the sling. Throwing the sling into a full mobility mode or a hands-free setting quickly won’t be much of a challenge.

The VTAC slings are made to last. The plastic buckles and tri-glides are high-impact and durable. We get a metal tooth that VTAC coasts for rust resistance and is strong enough to survive years of use.

This sling represents one of the best AR-15 or general carbine options on the market.

4. Galco RifleMann Sling – Best for Hunting Rifles

The second N in Riflemann is purely intentional. Galco teamed up with prolific Field & Stream editor Richard Mann to deliver the RifleMann sling.

Don’t get your carbines in a wad, but Galco and Mann created this sling for hunters and more traditional hunting rifles. It’ll work fine on your AR, but that’s not its intent. This sling is best used with a bolt gun or Browning BAR rather than your tactical rifle.

The RifleMann sling is a tool with two purposes. One, like any sling, it makes carrying your rifle easier; two, it helps you shoot a little straighter.

It provides a big, wide cobra-style pad that will provide superior support to the carrier. The RifleMann makes a heavy rifle feel much lighter when carried on the shoulder and gives you plenty of room for adjustments for a wide variety of rifles.

How does it help you shoot better? Easy, it provides support and tension, making it easier to stabilize the weapon for a more accurate shot. The RifleMann sling works with the four most famous methods of sling stabilization. This includes using the align with the Ching or Safari Ching method.

You can also use the sling as a traditional hasty sling in the more military, sniper style of bicep sling tension. The varying methods allow you to set up the sling for a preferred method or to adopt which method makes the most sense for your situation.

Additionally, it’s also a very well-made, durable, and adjustable sling. It fulfills both goals well and is perfect for the modern hunter and rifleman…or RifleMann.

5. Blue Force Gear AK Standard Sling – Best for AKs

Tossing a sling on an AK can be tricky. At least a traditional wood-stocked AK series rifle. Especially if you want that sling to do more than just be a carrying strap.

The AK falls into that tactical semi-auto rifle series, and why wouldn’t you strap a modern sling onto it?

If that’s your goal, one of the many Blue Force gear Vickers slings should do it for you! The AK Standard Sling is the way to go, making slinging a wood-stocked AK easy. First, upfront, we have a Universal Molded Wire Loop that attaches to the traditional front slip loop of an AK.

We often have a bottom sling swivel on the stock of AKs. That can work if you just want a sling over your shoulder. However, that really doesn’t provide you with a modern tactical sling you can wear across the body. The BFG standard AK sling can be attached to the base of your stock.

This allows for that more modern carry option. A more modern carry option demands a more modern sling. These slings are very modern all around. They are the choice of the United States Marine Corps and several individual Army units.

The sling features a rapid adjustment point that makes it easy to adjust the sling from tight to loose for a hands-free or maximum mobility mode.

They are made to last, and I’ve been using the same one for over a decade now! It’s tough, easy to adjust, and very modular with BFG’s handful of modern attachment methods.

Honorable Mentions

6. Arbor Arms Dual Adjust Rifle Sling

When you say rifle, you can mean a lot of things. With that in mind, I’m expanding this pick to cover three slings in the same family. They are all part of the Arbor Arms Dual Adjust Rifle sling family.

As a basic carbine sling, the Dual Adjust Rifle Sling is amazing. It’s a fantastic option for your base semi-auto rifle, primarily the AR series. The Dual Adjust rifle slings feature a big loop tab that allows you to adjust the sling from tight to loose, like most modern tactical semi-auto slings.

A second adjustment cam below the loop allows you to overtighten the sling. This over-tighten adjustment lets you go truly hands-free with half the tail of other over-tighten cam designs. It’s super simple and zips the rifle tight to your body.

This base design has expanded into a Heavy sling and a Precision sling. The abuse sling uses the same design but diverts depending on the purpose.

The Heavy variant breaks away from the standard AR-sized rifle. If your weapon weighs more than 10 pounds, the Heavy option makes sense. In a world where .338 Lapua, 50 BMG, and similar rifles exist. A sling made to carry an M240 machine gun starts to make sense.

The Precision sling gives you the same versatile two-point design that allows you to incorporate sling tension for more accurate shots. You can attach the sling to your belt or bicep through a simple set of buckle adapters.

All of these slings are very well-made and easy to use. They are high-quality, professional-grade slings. It just so happens that it doesn’t matter if you have an AR-15 carbine, a Barrett MRAD, or PSA’s latest M110 clone. Arbor Arms has a sling for you.

7. RLO Custom Leather No Drill Harnessed Rifle Sling

If you are rocking with a lever action rifle, you might feel a bit annoyed at the lack of a rear sling swivel. Not all, but way too many tend to ignore the need for a sling. Don’t worry. The sling industry also recognized this issue and figured that drilling the stock for a sling point isn’t everyone’s jam.

This sling has a rear clamp-style rig that fits over and around the stock. It clamps down and secures your sling without a problem. The clamps face away from your face, so they won’t impact your face with the recoil of that brutal .444 Marlin round.

These slings are not the tactical two points of the modern era. This American-made, hand-cut, and hand-stitched sling gives you that classic look and feel. It’s a lot like a lever gun; it might not be modern, but it’s still viable and capable.

The leather is thick and 1-inch wide. It can take the heft out of a lever gun without a problem. It’s capable of button-based adjustment, and users can add bandoliers to carry spare ammo on their slings.

It’s purpose-built to keep the sling out of the way of the lever and allows for fast and easy operation. The RLO Custom Leather No Drill Harnessed Rifle Sling might not be a fan of brevity, but it is an excellent sling for your favorite lever action rifle.

Rifle Sling Accessories

Sentry Strap For Sling Storage

Without a doubt we’ve laid out the case for a variety of slings, but one of the downsides is–what do you do with them when you’re not using them? They tend to get in the way when you’re trying to store them.

Worse still, if you are storing them in a crowded space, they can get hung up on things when you’re trying to access them. This type of delay could be critical when you need to defend yourself.

For years, people used an old military hack called Ranger Bands. Simply put, these were nothing more than a slice of innertube that could be used to stow or attach equipment.

However, the folks at NeoMag took the idea and improved upon it.

The Sentry Strap is a sling retention device. Essentially, it’s a band that goes around your rifle and uses magnets to secure your folded sling along its side.

Shooters can access the controls and fire the weapon with the sling stowed, but with a simple tug, the sling comes loose and is ready to be used. The Sentry Strap keeps the sling out of the way when you pull it from a safe or other storage area.

Final Thoughts

Rifle slings can function in a variety of ways. For some, it’s just a strap to carry your gun. For others, it’s a tool to improve accuracy. Sometimes, it’s a means to retain your weapon and to provide comfort and support.

Regardless of what the sling does, it should meet your mission. Find a sling that fits your rifle and task.

What I think is above, but we have room for what you think below, so let us have it! Need more upgrades? Check out our list of the Best AR-15 Upgrades.

Latest Updates

April 30, 2024: Added the Sentry Strap to Sling Accessories section. Added RLO and Arbor Arms to Honorable Mentions. Expanded on how we tested these rifle slings and added supplemental information.