If you are looking at a barnett crossbow sling upgrade, the honest starting point is the strap already on your bow rather than the one in the shopping cart. Barnett is a long established mainstream crossbow brand, and like most brands in that space a lot of its bows reach buyers as part of a package deal, where the sling is one line item among several. A bundled strap is not automatically bad, but it is built to a package price, and that shows up in webbing, hardware and how fast you can adjust it with one hand.
The decision comes down to three questions you can answer in your garage in ten minutes: does the strap hold the bow securely, can you adjust it one handed, and does your bow have attachment provisions a better sling can use. Check your own bow and its manual before buying anything.
What a package deal sling is built to do
A crossbow package has a target retail price, and everything inside it has to fit under that number. The bow and the optic get the budget, because those are what the buyer compares across the shelf. The strap gets whatever is left. That is not a criticism of any one manufacturer, it is simply how bundled accessories work across the whole category.
The practical result is a set of very consistent traits in package deal slings as a category. The webbing is usually thin and narrow, because narrow webbing is cheaper and packs smaller. The adjuster is often a simple friction slider or a ladder lock, which works but usually needs two hands to move. The end hardware is frequently moulded plastic or a light stamped clip rather than a machined metal component, and quick detach capability is rarely included, because a swivel is a real cost per unit.
None of that means the strap is unusable. Plenty of bundled slings carry a bow perfectly well from the truck to a blind on flat ground. What they tend to be poor at is the harder stuff: a heavier bow over distance, staying put while you climb, adjusting from long to short without stopping, and surviving several wet seasons.
A bundled sling can be good and an aftermarket sling can be mediocre. The only useful test is the one you run on your own bow with your own hands. Everything below is framed that way rather than as a verdict on any brand.
How to tell whether yours is worth replacing
Do this with the bow de-cocked and the rail empty. Nothing in this section requires a cocked bow, and none of it should be attempted with one.
- The hang test. Sling the bow on your shoulder and walk twenty paces, including a turn and a bend at the waist. If the bow swings out and slaps you, or the strap creeps off your shoulder, the sling is not managing the load.
- The one hand test. With your support hand busy holding something, try to shorten the sling by a useful amount and then lengthen it again. If you cannot do it without stopping and using two hands, you will not do it in the field either.
- The slip test. Set the length, then hang the bow and bounce it gently. An adjuster that creeps a little in the garage will creep a lot on a long walk in.
- The hardware test. Look at the parts under load. Moulded plastic clips and thin stamped hooks fail first, usually in cold weather when the plastic is brittle.
- The edge test. Run the webbing over the back of your neck. If the edges bite through a thin base layer, they will be worse through a wet one.
- The noise test. Shake the assembly. Hardware that clicks against the bow is a problem in the last hundred yards.
If your strap passes all six, keep it and spend the money on bolts or a better rest. If it fails two or more, especially the one hand test and the slip test, replacement is a reasonable use of money. If it fails the hardware test, replace it regardless, because a clip that opens under load drops a bow onto rock.
What an upgrade actually buys you in the field
It helps to be specific, because “better sling” is not a reason to spend anything. Here is what a genuinely better carry setup changes.
Hands free movement that is actually hands free. If the bow swings, you end up steadying it with one hand the entire walk, which means you have gained nothing over simply carrying it. A sling that pulls the bow tight to your body when you need it is the difference between hands free in theory and hands free in practice.
Transitions without stopping. Loose for a long flat walk, short and tight for a climb or a creek crossing, is a change you should be able to make while moving. A sling that adjusts fast enough gets used. One that does not simply stays at a compromise length all day.
Load spread across your body. Crossbows are heavy, wide and awkwardly balanced compared with a rifle. Wider, more supportive webbing spreads that mass instead of concentrating it on your collarbone, which over a long walk in is the difference between arriving fresh and arriving sore.
Hardware that survives the season. Metal hardware and a finished webbing edge is boring right up until the morning it rains sideways and you are hauling the bow through greenbrier. Fewer loose ends also means a quieter approach, which costs nothing to have.
Where a sling can attach, and why you must check
This is the part that gets skipped, and it is the part that decides whether any sling you buy is usable. Crossbows do not have a standard attachment layout the way rifles do, and it varies by model, by generation and sometimes within the same family. We are not going to tell you what your bow has. Go and look at it, and read the manual that came with it. What you are looking for falls into a small number of generic categories:
| Provision type | What it looks like | What it means for a sling |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated accessory holes | Moulded or machined holes through the stock or riser area, sometimes bushed | Usually the cleanest option if present, but confirm the intended use in your manual before loading one |
| Stock provisions | A loop, slot, stud or socket toward the rear of the bow | Sets the rear carry point and largely determines how the bow hangs |
| Forend or foot stirrup area provisions | A forward hole, loop or bracket ahead of the trigger group | Sets the front carry point for two point carry |
| Aftermarket clamp adapters | A clamp or bracket that adds a swivel socket to a rail or barrel section | Adds a point where none exists, but only where the manufacturer permits clamping |
| No usable point at all | Nothing rated for load anywhere on the bow | Carry in a case, a pack or a dedicated bow harness instead of forcing a strap onto the bow |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Three rules apply no matter what you find. Never attach a sling to anything in the string, cable or limb path. Never attach to a scope, a scope base or an accessory rail that is not rated to carry the weight of the bow. And if the manual does not say a fitting is a load bearing attachment point, treat it as decorative until the manufacturer tells you otherwise. Our crossbow sling fitment page walks through how to inspect a bow without guessing, and the general sling for crossbow guide covers routing.
An attachment point that fails does not fail gently. It fails while you are walking, and the bow hits the ground. Confirm with the manufacturer or your manual that a given hole, loop or socket is intended to bear the weight of the bow before you hang it there, and inspect that point every time you use it.
Two point, single point and convertible carry
Once you know what your bow offers, the carry style follows from it. Two point carry uses a front and a rear attachment and is the standard for covering ground. Single point carry uses one attachment and lets the bow swing more freely, which suits short moves and tight quarters but is tiring over distance. Convertible setups let you switch between the two.
Two point carry
- Bow sits stable against the body, less swing on the walk in
- Weight is shared between two points instead of one
- Better for long approaches, climbs and uneven ground
- Needs two usable attachment provisions on the bow
Single point carry
- Fastest to shed and to bring up, useful in a blind
- Works when the bow only offers one usable point
- Bow swings more and can knock your legs on a descent
- Concentrates all the weight through one attachment
Most crossbow hunters end up wanting two point carry for the walk and something quicker once they are in position, which is why a convertible sling is worth the look. Our post on the single point crossbow sling approach covers when one point genuinely wins and when it just makes you tired.
Webbing, hardware and the parts that fail first
Slings fail at predictable places. Knowing which ones lets you shop by inspection rather than by marketing copy.
The adjuster. This is the single biggest difference between a bundled strap and a good one. A friction slider holds only as well as the webbing texture and your patience. A well designed adjuster moves under load with one hand and stays put when you let go. If you only upgrade for one reason, this is the one.
The end hardware. Anything moulded from plastic and anything stamped thin is a candidate for cold weather failure. Metal hardware weighs a little more and costs a little more, and that is the whole trade.
The webbing and the stitching. Narrow, thin webbing bites into your shoulder, frays at the edges and holds water. Look at the bar tacks where the webbing loops back on itself: dense, even stitching in a box pattern is what carries the load, and two rows of straight stitch is not.
The McLean Dynamic Retention Sling is built around a patented 2-point-to-1-point conversion, with maritime grade webbing and all metal hardware, and comes in Black, Coyote Brown, MultiCam and Ranger Green. It was founded and designed by an Active Duty SOF operator, and it currently sits at a 4.92 average from 169 reviews. Whether it is right for your particular bow depends entirely on what attachment provisions that bow has, which is a question only your bow and your manual can answer.
Handling rules while slinging and unslinging
Fitting or changing a sling means handling the bow, which means the same rules that apply on the range apply in the garage.
Never dry fire the bow, for any reason, including to release the string at the end of a session. De-cock or discharge a bolt into a target before transporting the bow, before climbing anything and before fitting, adjusting or removing a sling. Keep your hands and fingers entirely out of the rail and the string path at all times, including while slinging and unslinging, when the strap is passing near the front of the bow. Inspect the string, cables and limbs before every use and retire anything frayed, separated or cracked.
Slinging and unslinging is where people get careless, because it feels like handling luggage rather than handling a weapon. Your support hand wants to grab the forend, and on a crossbow the forend sits right next to the string path. Build the habit of a low thumb and a flat hand under the stock every single time, so it holds when you are cold, tired and half awake in the dark.
Fitting and testing before opening day
Fit the sling at home, in the clothes you will actually hunt in. A length set in a t-shirt is wrong once you add a heavy layer and a pack, and the difference is enough to matter.
Set two working lengths and learn them by feel: one long enough to shrug the bow on and off over a jacket, one short enough that the bow rides tight against your back when you need both hands. Practise moving between them without looking, then load your pack, walk a lap of your yard, sit down and stand up. Anything that annoys you in the yard will infuriate you at four in the morning.
Check the attachment points after that first walk, again after the first real hunt, then periodically through the season. Webbing settles, hardware works loose, and the first cold soaking rain tells you things a dry afternoon never will. Our crossbow maintenance post covers the wider pre-season check, and if you hunt from an elevated stand, our companion piece on carry workflow for the whole season covers haul lines, harnesses and what the sling does at each stage of the day.
Frequently asked questions
Is the sling in a crossbow package worth replacing?
Sometimes. Run the six tests above. If the strap holds the bow steady, adjusts with one hand and has metal hardware, keep it. If it creeps, swings or relies on moulded plastic clips, an upgrade is money well spent.
Will any crossbow sling fit my bow?
No, and this is the most common mistake. Crossbows have no standard attachment layout, and provisions vary between models and even between production runs. Look at your own bow, read your own manual, and confirm which points are rated to carry the weight before you buy.
What if my crossbow has no attachment points at all?
Then do not force one. Some hunters add a clamp style adapter to create a socket, but only where the manufacturer permits clamping and never near the string, cable or limb path. Otherwise carry the bow in a soft case, on a pack designed for it, or in a bow harness. A strap tied to an unrated fitting is worse than no strap at all.
Two point or single point for a crossbow?
Two point for covering ground, because a crossbow is heavy and wide and swings badly on one attachment. Single point for short moves and confined positions where speed matters more. If your bow supports both, a convertible sling saves you from choosing once and regretting it.
