3HGR Takedown Sling

I met up 3HGR at BSS, where they were showing off a new sling called the Takedown. Now I’ve used their original Light Harness sling intensively for over 5 years and it’s as good now as the day I bought it. Aside from the durability of its construction, its key feature is a secondary strap that keeps it securely in place as you climb, jump or crawl.

Squeeze and tug

The new Takedown model looks equally hard-wearing, with the same tough rubber shoulder-pad and rugged nylon webbing (albeit in black this time, not green) but it has a different special attribute; the ability to go from a tight-and-tidy storage mode to a full-length carrying mode at the squeeze of a buckle and the tug of a strap.

The Takedown is supplied with good-quality swivels pre-installed and shows a dual-layered design. With the sling attached to the rifle via the swivels, adjust the inner strap via a Tri-Glide buckle so that the complete sling lies tight and flat against the stock. You’ll notice immediately that there are no trailing straps, a real bonus when storing rifles in a slip or cabinet. In fact, in this condition, it is tight enough to use as a carry-handle!

To relax the sling for overthe- shoulder carry, simply pop the side-release buckle on the outer strap. This effectively doubles the length of the Takedown. In this condition you’ll probably find it’s too long, even for a diagonal carry; but that’s no problem, as a tug on the rubberised grip stitched to the free end of the outer strap takes up any slack. The Ladderlock buckle keeps everything in place. Recompressing the whole thing is simply a matter of lifting the tab on the Ladderlock to let the slack back out and clipping the siderelease buckle together again.

In use

Operation is fast and silent, and the two modes complement each other perfectly. Unclipped, the Takedown is unquestionably a very good general-purpose sling, but in the compressed mode, its refusal to twist, tangle, snag, jingle or rattle makes it perfect for close stalking. These are good properties to have in a high seat, too. I usually take the sling off as part of my settling-in process, but this is not necessary with the Takedown. Moreover, when left in place it provides a quiet cushioning layer between the rifle and the shooting rail.

Three versions are available: the standard version tested here, one with QD push-button swivels, and one with 3 x 6mm Blaser swivels. All 3HGR products are made in Finland to the highest quality standards, so it’s perhaps no surprise to find Sako including a 3HGR Takedown sling with their latest S20 hunting rifle, launched at IWA 2020.