Good morning gents.
Elite versus Fastex: You will give nothing up by going with the Fastex buckles. For the vast majority of our customers you will never get into a situation where the Cobra buckle will be a big advantage over a simple Fastex buckle.
I can remember giving the recommendation to only two customers that they might be better off going with the Elite buckles because they were using the equipment in extreme cold temperatures for extended times and were worried about Fastex getting brittle. Even then I said that I was pretty sure they would be fine with Fastex but if they wanted complete piece of mind then I would go with Elite if I were in their shoes.
With that being said, the Elite slings sure do look good and they are built like tanks, and we sell a lot of them.
Buckles versus no buckles: The reason we install the two buckles on the slings is so that there will be a buckle easily accessible no matter how the rifle is carried. This allows the rifle to be easily released from a carry position without having to pull it up over the head, pack, etc, for quick deployment. The buckles were installed after feedback from a military unit we had contact with cobbled together their own slings for reasons described while they were overseas.
I can understand that there may be times where you don't want or need to have buckles on the sling and you can order any of our slings without buckles, or just one buckle if that's what you want.
Regular sling versus RAS:
The regular sling is built along the lines of a traditional shooting sling, with the addition of the two buckles. I made the shooting loop one size because I didn't like the sling changing lengths with a shooting loop that was adjustable. The reason for the buckles is addressed above.
The RAS was developed to attempt to turn the sling into more of a shooting aid than a carry strap for the way a precision rifle is used on the field today.
Let's face it no one can use a traditional sling with a shooting loop that the arm must be inserted into in a timed stage during a shooting match where multiple shooting points are required. I went to a military sniper match earlier this year and had an opportunity to watch the guys in a couple stages, stress fire being one of them. Multiple targets were engaged from multiple positions. Not a single person slung up for the stage and they all had the current issue sling, or a Turner type sling. In talking to the guys after the match no one had ever put their arms through the shooting loop of their sling.
The RAS is built with a traditional shooting loop that allow the shooter to insert their arm into the loop. The sling also has the Rapid Adjust buckle in between the arm loop and the front swivel. This allows the shooter to quickly adjust the tension on the fly for any position you may be in. This is still using the sling in a traditional manner. Since I made the RAS I have shot several matches around the country. As guys know who shoot the precision rifle matches, the course of fire is getting more and more away from the static prone positions and more into moving and transitioning for multiple shots at different shooting points, as well as having positional stages thrown in. I have not put my arm through the shooting loop a single time for any of these stages. I have been carrying my rifle in a patrol type carry that allows me to use the sling in any position from standing to unsupported prone and never get out of the sling.
If you'll watch the video here you will see what I'm talking about using the patrol type carry and how it will work in any position. This carry position allows a shooter to get into and out of position much quicker, and for me, is even steadier than taking the time to insert my arm into the shooters loop.
https://www.riflesonly.com/pro-shop/tactical-gear/tab-rapid-adjust-sling-ras.html
In reference to the military sniper match we observed above. When we showed the guys the benefits of the RAS sling and had them try it out on a barricade they were all impressed with the ease of use and how much it aided them in acquiring a fast and much steadier shooting position over what they had been using.
That was kind of long winded to answer a couple of questions:
You will be just fine with Fastex buckles.
I would recommend a RAS over a regular sling if you are going to be slinging up and shooting precision matches.
The slings can be ordered with one buckle, or no buckles, if you want.
