CUSTOM ITEM!  May require two weeks or longer to prepare,  add upgraded hooks!!

This auction is for  a VERY MUCH UPGRADED B.T.&B.  CO.  1917  LEATHER M1907 SLING REPLICA which has been  made more authentic in style  and fitted with continuously curved, G.I. style brass hooks of the more original  and stable type.  Can even tarnish the brass a bit for customers.

HINT:  Slings were NOT "with rifles when sent out from the factories".   Slings were applied at the unit level, sometimes in the field,  and were almost always OLDER than the rifles to which they were affixed.  1917 and earlier dates would've been FAR MORE COMMON in the field during the conflict.

Special note:  During WWI,  M1907 slings were treated with heavy coats of neatsfoot oil before entering service,  and this was done at the unit level.   The waterproofing was required for durability in the trenches!!!    If you want yours DARKER  ( which is the way they looked in actual service!!) application of a darkening,  oil-based conditioner will be necessary.     WWI-dated slings were still the most common in many infantry line outfits into and beyond World War Two!!    

Very sturdy, stable, authentically fitted and styled, with G.I. style hooks.    Hooks are  brass plated steel, very heavy duty, fully curved like the originals.    Hard to adjust, but MUCH more steady and accurate.

You'll have to use a  padded needle nose pliers the first time you  adjust/seat the hooks.
 
I only stock one of this.  and again, have only very recently  located more with which to re-supply.

Normally, this   would comprise CUSTOM MERCHANDISE.



One sling per auction.  Neatsfoot will darken any of these down and make them look more as they did in service.  They will ALSO last many times LONGER--so it pays.  Shoe supply places stock Neatsfoot oil  ( old terminology:  "neatsfoot's oil").  WALMART stocks it in the shoe department, along with other conditioners.

Same genuine cowhide (the finishes on my slings may differ, but they are ALL selected cowhide leather, no synthetics of ANY kind!!!), same "to regulation" quality of thick, sturdy leather.

Note the sturdy fittings and elliptical holes. These are NOT cheap, commercial "sort of" copies, they follow the old, original drawings.


In  over 50 years of collecting and shooting the M1 Garand and other U.S. military rifles,  I've always much preferred the M1907 leather sling and its variants and tried to use the "sling wrap" on my forearms recommended by the best of the U.S. military match instructors.


For the past six years or so,  I decided to sell of my excess from time to time,  and rarely  even bought specific items  to   help out other shooters.

Use of neatsfoot or other leather condition is strongly recommended before these are even fitted to a rifle!!!  So prepared, they will usually outlive their owners!!  The effects of light coats are shown in the illustrations herein.  Mink oil and so on also work nicely.

These are "to regulation"  Model of  1907 slings,  46-49" long strap, heavy hooks and fittings.


NOTE: It is NOT recommended that  70+ year old ORIGINAL M1907 slings be used on rifles actually being carried or shot in a "sling wrap".   Once dried or cracked, and sometimes with no obvious symptoms at all, they tend to crack and break. It's happened to me a couple of times, and can be expensive,  embarrassing, and once in a while, PHYSICALLY DANGEROUS.

These are technically "reproductions" because they bear   non-original markings.

Elliptical holes, proper rivets, sturdy hooks and D-ring.   Rifles and other items are NOT included.  An image is included to assist in setting up the sling--neither that strap nor the rifle is part of this auction.  

Those inscribed  are marked  just as shown  and would be appropriate for use/display with any U.S. rifle of WWI vintage.  Indeed, these were used long after WWI,  well into the 50's, tending to outlast the rifles in service.  Originally, the brass fittings would've been "blackened" with a coat of paint, which wore off quickly in service.

Generic information on the M1907 and background:

The U.S.  Sling,  Rifle   Model of 1907,  featured two sturdy hooks  ( called "frogs" in some parts of the world ),  was comprised  10 or 12 ounce leather strapping,  1  1/4",  in two belting components:  the longer by regulation ran  46-48.5".     The shorter, bearing the "D" ring,   was typically  24" to  26.5".    Length was adjustable,  and they were rigged standard with the hook "flats" facing away from the butt stock.  However, originally,  there were various other uses and applications for the slings,  and they were often rigged "upside-down" by users who wanted the sharp hook ends AWAY from their arms while shooting.  

These were used on the last of the U.S. Krag rifles at the end of their duty,  all '03 bolt action variants,  the M1917 "Enfield" U.S. Rifle,  the M1 Garand,  even shotguns,  and pretty much any rifle on military duty which could/would accept a   1 1/4" sling.   Rumors to the contrary,  if properly conditioned, they held up better to most climate and moisture conditions than the later web.  They were slowly replaced by web slings primarily because the web units were much cheaper.    
Until well into 1942,  metal fittings were brass, originally "blackened"  ( that finish wore off almost immediately),  after 1942 almost entirely blackened steel.    The blacking could be phosphate, blue, or various paints or lacquers.   It was adjustable for use as a shooting  brace/stabilizer with a "sling wrap",  and because it was so sturdy to use in that incarnation,  many additional nations utilized them.  Slings were issue at the unit level,  and during World War II,  generally, slings were OLDER than the rifles upon which they were first mounted.  Part of the reason for this was  the huge post-World War I surplus in military inventories,  and indeed,  many 1917 and 1918 dated slings remained in military inventories LONG AFTER WORLD WAR II!!!

These are all "to regulation",  with the correct riveting and stitching in the appropriate places,  using the newer, easier to adjust hooks.   Original hooks seem to have been almost all of the "continuously curved" style,  not popular in civilian use because of difficulty of adjust them until holes are somewhat fatigued.  The holes were generally elliptical,  and numbers varied.

The version--NOT PART OF THIS AUCTION!!--for the Browning Automatic Rifle  used a  third hook, and was called the "Model of 1907, Modified",  albeit in service usually called simply the "B.A.R. sling" or the "1918",  neither of which is CORRECT,  but which are more descriptive for ordinary folks.   Some versions of the B.A.R. sling were longer in gross length,  and the extant theory is that these were intended for the original "walking fire" concept,  albeit no hard documentation exists to absolutely verify that.


On Aug-18-21 at 14:04:10 PDT, seller added the following information:

Neatsfoot will blotch with the glossier finishes.  Some folks PREFER that.  But if you mean to darken one a lot,  and do so uniformly,   patience and plenty of conditioner is required.  I do sell them conditioned, but it's MORE.