Sling use in actual combat?

[aprayinbear]

A quick historical question,

When shooting off-hand with my SMLE or my Mosin/Nagant I always use my sling. I find it gives me a bit of an edge.

But what about in battle, or the military in general. Were WWI soldiers taught to use the sling. And if so when and how. I have to think that shooting the Mad Minute might be easier to hold on target with the hasty sling.

Please enlighten me!

[DuncaninFrance]

Well............
My copy of "Notes for Instructors on The Use of the Rifle 40W.O.6969 issued by the General Staff, October 1918" does not refer to the use of the sling at all.

Methods of aiming are set out as;
Lying
Kneeling
Standing in a trench.

To those I would add;
Sitting
Standing Supported (post or building corner).

I would say that in combat shooting where the target is normally moving and you are firing from cover just attained the use of the sling would take up too much time the same with 'Fire & Movement'. It also limits your ability to re-load quickly, especially in the 'Mad Minute' using charger clips or full magazines.

I was never taught to, nor wanted to use the sling on my FAL for anything other than carrying the rifle.
The SA80 sling, after you had mastered it ( 2 x 40 minute lessons I think) allowed you to bring the weapon into action from the carry very quickly but again - I did not use it to assist with shooting.

[Aughnanure]

Can't remember the sling being used, in the Australian Army, for other than carrying the rifle except for one lesson on the section/platoon's slings being used as an emergency rope; and that may have been the Boss's private idea anyhow.

On the range it was never used except in informal shooting.

[Niner]

Had to look up the British meaning of "Mad Minute". Found this on Wikipedia
..

Mad minute was a pre-World War I term used by British riflemen during training to describe scoring 15 hits onto a 12" round target at 300 yd within one minute using a bolt-action rifle (usually a Lee-Enfield or Lee-Metford rifle). It was not uncommon during the First World War for riflemen to greatly exceed this score. Many riflemen could average 30+ shots, while the record, set in 1914 by Sergeant Instructor Alfred Snoxall was 38 hits.[1]

In my day, in Vietnam, a Mad Minute was just something done on outpost firebases in the middle of nowhere in the evening to let guys see if their firearms were still working....or at least that's what I made of it. No sense to it otherwise. There were no targets ...officially.. and nobody counted rounds or hits, although it lasted, more or less, about a minute.

[Dave 101]

Heres the mad minute being shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m1yN-3n0FU

Heres the wiki info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_minute

Dave

[DuncaninFrance]

If you watch his right hand you will see that it doesn't leave the bolt handle, he uses his 3rd or forth finger to pull the trigger once the round is loaded.

[Niner]

Well...looks like he shot over 15 rounds in a minute, even with some fumbling. Wonder what his target looked like as to hits to shots made? What if he used one hand as his trigger hand and one hand as his bolt hand? Maybe hold the rifle on target and fire with the left hand and work the bolt with the right? Would that increase his accuracy and speed? I bet there are a few different plans of attack with this exercise. Interesting.

I was thinking of the sniper in Saving Private Ryan. Left handed shooter and right handed bolt. I wonder if a real left handed sniper could shoot faster and better with a left handed bolt? If there were such a thing.... a left handed 03 I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY61XmDJ-1w