Exo gun bearer experience?

[HGH90]

Hi all,

I bought a K4 this summer and absolutely love it.

Am now looking into options for a gun bearer and have looked at Exo's own one, as well as the Slik Sling and FHFGear's system.

Anyone have any experiences to share? The sling will be mostly used with the pack in dayhunting mode (i.e. fairly empty).

Thanks in advance,

 

[menhaden_man]

I have one for the K3 and don’t really use it. Seems easier just strapping it to the pack but I could see someone using it more than myself. Also blew a shot on a nice mule deer in Idaho hiking with my rifle on my back. I regret not carrying my gun for that hunt.

I’ll sell it to you if you make me a reasonable offer.

 

[ChrisAU]

Look at the last couple of pages in the “Exo Mountain K4?” thread in this section, there has been some discussion on this. I’m using the Exo setup as well as a Kifaru Gun Bearer upper for forward carry.

 

[dirtytough]

I made my own carrier for the butt and use the Kifaru top strap for forward carry or the side compression strap for packing in/out.

 

[steelheadmike]

I just spent three days with the Exo rifle carrier. All in all it works well. When it is strapped on, the rifle is secure and doesn't seem to move around much at all. There are no extra straps flapping around and I never had it unintentionally detach. But, the fact that you have to take the pack off to get it back on is pretty annoying. I spent a good chunk of my day just carrying my rifle in my hands because I didn't want to keep taking my pack off. Also, the boot portion is a good bit tighter than it needs to be but I never had a problem getting the stock out; just a bit tight to get back on to the stock.

Depending on the situation, I might be using my Kifaru gun-bearer a bit more. But, I really liked having the rifle out of my way.

 

[HGH90]

I just spent three days with the Exo rifle carrier. All in all it works well. When it is strapped on, the rifle is secure and doesn't seem to move around much at all. There are no extra straps flapping around and I never had it unintentionally detach. But, the fact that you have to take the pack off to get it back on is pretty annoying. I spent a good chunk of my day just carrying my rifle in my hands because I didn't want to keep taking my pack off. Also, the boot portion is a good bit tighter than it needs to be but I never had a problem getting the stock out; just a bit tight to get back on to the stock.

Depending on the situation, I might be using my Kifaru gun-bearer a bit more. But, I really liked having the rifle out of my way.

Thanks for the info. Do you think the rifle carrier will work well even with a fairly empty pack?

 

[steelheadmike]

Thanks for the info. Do you think the rifle carrier will work well even with a fairly empty pack?

I was using my K4 5000 as a daypack with not much stuff and it never seemed to be a problem. I don't cinch down my straps super tight, either. I was surprised at how little it moved around.

As long as you have the compression strap even just slightly snug and there's enough room for the tri-glides on the rifle portion it should be secure.

 

[Westernduck]

I like the way it carries better than the gun bearer. The downsides are having to remove my pack to mount it and I’m currently not flexible enough to remove it with the pack on. I’m like a dog chasing its tail trying to find the buckle. Hopefully with practice I’ll get proficient.

 

[swampthing]

I recently picked up and used the new exo gun carry system. I strapped my rifle to a fully loaded pack and rode a dirt bike 3hrs up a rough trail. With an empty pack I did two days goat hunting using it. It worked well with both the loaded and empty pack. I wasnt able to pull the rifle off with the pack on. I also have the kifaru gun bearer on my k4 and they both fit without interfering with each other. For the price I recommend it.

 

[sr80]

its also handy for holding trekking poles if you arent using them and might want access to them without having to pull your pack off.

 

[6.5x284]

My setup is similar to ChrisAU. Works great. I just hide the entire tail.

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[ChrisAU]

My setup is similar to ChrisAU. Works great. I just hide the entire tail.

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Ooo, about to go do that lol

 

[08glide]

My setup is similar to ChrisAU. Works great. I just hide the entire tail.

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That looks slick, where did you purchase the 3 bar slider?

 

[6.5x284]

milspec monkey. probably sold other places as well but they were super cheap.

AB Rounded Oval Slide Dual Slot 1inch

Rounded Oval Slides with dual 1inch slots that can be used as tri-glides, metal so low profile hardware

milspecmonkey.com

 

[08glide]

tactical monkey. probably sold other places as well but they were super cheap.

AB Rounded Oval Slide Dual Slot 1inch

Rounded Oval Slides with dual 1inch slots that can be used as tri-glides, metal so low profile hardware

milspecmonkey.com

Fantastic, much appreciated

 

[stoopiddumbman]

The Exo setup has worked well for me for my application with a 5000 bag. It holds the gun securely to the bag and if you have it adjusted properly you can deploy the gun quickly. The bottom mount having 2 straps makes it very adjustable so you can keep the rifle from being too close to you.

If you are like me and you are either A) not actively hunting an animal with your gun on your bag or B) actively hunting and have the gun in your hands. Then it works well. I am not sure what kind of hunting you would need to be taking your gun on and off the bag so many times per day that you couldn't take your pack off?

The downsides
- if the bag is completely empty I don't see it working well but I never have a completely empty bag
- if you drop off camp you need to kind of monkey around for a few seconds to get the rifle sitting right again with the less full pack

 

[chukwithak]

Look at the last couple of pages in the “Exo Mountain K4?” thread in this section, there has been some discussion on this. I’m using the Exo setup as well as a Kifaru Gun Bearer upper for forward carry.

Any idea if the Kifaru bottom will work with the Molle of the k4?

 

[grfox92]

Any idea if the Kifaru bottom will work with the Molle of the k4?

I can't answer that but Kifaru makes a universal gun bearer that will work on any pack. I used it on my Seek and never had an issue.

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[chukwithak]

I can't answer that but Kifaru makes a universal gun bearer that will work on any pack. I used it on my Seek and never had an issue.

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Yeah thats been my setup but was thinking about passing it down if i can connect to the molle.

 

[grfox92]

Yeah thats been my setup but was thinking about passing it down if i can connect to the molle.

Interested to know as well as I'll be picking up a K4 during the off season.

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