I one side of an S hook closed and I tiea piece of parachute chord to the closed end. I then tie a loop in the rope about two feet above the hook, this is for the barrel. I keep the rope hanging from my stand so the end is about three feet off of the ground. When I arrive I put the end of the barrel through the loop and attach the hook the the trigger guard. It holds the muzzle up and next to the rope, this is very manageble and the gun doesn't swing aroung banging into the tree. I've never used one but a caribiner would probably work even better.