Things That Don’t Suck: The Magpul MS3 Sling

I love it when a company takes something simple and works to make it better. For example…slings. At its most basic, a sling is a strap that makes carrying your rifle (or shotgun) easier. It’s as simple as it gets, but in the last few decades, they’ve gotten better.

When I reviewed the Beretta PMXs, I did most of my shooting with the Magpul MS3 Gen2 sling strapped to the gun. I walked away, more than a little impressed by the sling’s design.

The MS3 is a modern tactical two-point sling that attaches to the front and rear of the gun and provides a quick-adjust pull tab to tighten or loosen it at will. This makes it easy for you to run the sling for maximum mobility or to tighten it down for hands-free use.

Magpul uses a low-profile pull tab that makes it easy to adjust the sling on the fly. That polymer tab can’t catch on anything or get tangled.

The Magpul MS3 is 1.25 inches wide and up to 60 inches in overall length. The slider gives you ten inches of movement overall. There are several models of the MS3 with a few different attachments. This specific model is the single QD variant. The rear sling attachment is a single QD point, and the front is a clip that’s easy to attach to nearly anything.

Breaking Down The Magpul MS3 Sling

This type of sling is typically used for a rifle, so adapting it for use on a subgun meant shrinking it. I adjusted it down quite a bit and quickly found out how easy it was to adapt it for use on various-sized guns. You can do it easily and there are plenty of loops to keep the extra sling from flapping around and being a pain in the butt.

The slider adjustment design makes it really easy to tighten things down and loosen them up. I’m used to the tab designs on slings like the Vickers model, but this polymer slider works extremely well. It moves with ease and offers more than enough material to grab and use.

The front clip is called a Magpul Paraclip. It’s a polymer clip that can attach to most rings and swivels with ease. I attached it to the front loop of the PMXs with ease. The clip design even locks to prevent the clip from detaching. Just press a tab from one side to the other, much like a cross-bolt safety.

Converting the MS3

One of the more interesting features of this design is its ability to convert the two-point sling to a one-point sling. Detach the Paraclip from the front and attach it to the ring at the rear, and now you have a single-point sling. It’s quick and can be done easily. I was able to swap the MS3 from a two-point to a single-point on the range in just a couple of seconds.

I’m no longer carrying a gun for a living, but man, I wish I had this when I had to tote an M16A4. Being able to swap to a single point for working in and out of vehicles and to a two-point while on a foot patrol would have been outstanding. It’s super convenient in any situation where you need to go from a supportive, easy-to-wear sling to one where maximum mobility is what you need most.

I’m likely going to pout the MS3 sling on my competition PCC. I’ve had a few courses of fire with my two-point sling where I would have preferred a single point. Any course of fire involving me switching to my left shoulder would be much easier with a single point setup.

Like the SAS

On the PMXs subgun, I used it a lot like the SAS used their three points on their MP5s during the Iranian hostage situation. Create tension, press it outward, and you get good control of the gun. It works wonders and in the two-point mode, I even had a bit of consistent cheek support from the sling, which made looking through the optic a bit easier.

A little sling tension can work wonders and provides a good bit of support to any weapon. This is why my PCC wears a sling. I don’t need help toting it 30 feet to different stages, but I do like the support it provides to help stabilize my shots.

The Magpul MS3 Gen2 sling is one of many awesome modern tactical slings on the market. It’s a good, functional design made even more impressive by its modular capabilities. It’s a very solid (and affordable…about $48) option for a wide variety of rifles, shotguns, and even large format pistols.