M1, M1903 sling ROCK ISLAND 1918 PREMIUM (1) M1907 leather REPRO NEW

Description

These are on hand for immediate delivery,  but in very limited quantity due to heavy use by reenactors.      Additional stocks are always on order.    Very fast sellers.    These are bear brass fittings, NO BLACKENED STEEL.
Backup is JT&L 1942, another premium drum-dyed unit.  Those are listed in other auctions.
One per auction, as always.  I do have unmarked.
These are appropriate to the '03 Springfield,   the later '03A3,  the Model of 1917 "Enfield" U.S. Rifle,  and more-or-less anything produced with suitable  1  1/4" swivels from  1907 to well after World War II.
Also have unmarked and JT&L 1942.   If you need one of those, let me know.   They're in separate auctions, too.  The unmarked versions are great for sporters or to avoid being accused of using a "fake"  ( an actual fake is something intended to deceive--a "fake" would be much more money, marked with inspector's stamps, and probably heavily aged).
Not many on hand!!   The darker specimen shown in the photos has had additional neatsfoot conditioning
treatment
.
They are a stock item that sold out so fast I was astounded!!  Note: Keepers on these are, to some people's taste,   intentionally a tad loose,  to exactly conform to specification.  If you want them tighter,  a small leather, vinyl or even felt pad may be glued INSIDE with leather cement,   but more conventionally,  oil will make them cling tighter to the strapping.  Neatsfoot or other oil style conditioner is highly recommended.   They ARE "to regulation".   Indeed,  I'd like them a tad looser for my uses.
Genuine vintage specimens go for  0-250,  and are often so dried out as to be unsafe for use actually carrying or "shooter forearm wrapping" a rifle.
Very highest quality replicas, fully to optimum regulation, drum-dyed, select hide leather Model of 1907 full length and weight straps.
In 1941, the government regulation on fittings for rifle straps was changed to reflect that new ones had to utilize blackened steel, rather than brass, hooks and rings.   Civilian contractors were given substantial time to change over.  By 1943, brass wasn't being produced,  but the slings continued on into the 50's in their WWI configuration.
This is the best WWI repro around.
Looks right, feels right,  these even SMELL right.
1 1/4" wide, leather just over 1/8",  long strap 46-48",   short strap 24-26",  hefty stock all the way around.
These should STILL be neatsfooted or conditioned before use,  but this type will greatly outlast the lighter weight commercials and looks correct.  Neatsfoot or other leather conditioner increases flexibility and moisture resistance.  Many of these treated heavily with neatsfoot's oil from World War I  are still quite usable.
Rifles and other items depicted in the comparison and rigging shots are NOT included!!!
These are the very best of the M1907 reproductions,  and many precision shooters buy these because they are   so sturdy.
No two ways about it: The web sling was very much in the minority in fighting units until the very end of World War II, and was still a minority item in the field then.  The M1907 is by FAR the definitive U.S. rifle sling of World War II, especially among combat infantry.
Details,  M1907 sling:
These use the full  nominal 47-49" "long" strap,  full thickness brass fittings/furniture,  and two stitched keepers,  and they're dyed either a walnut/mahogany or reddish "cordovan" or "oxblood" brown.   i'll choose the color.
No maker's mark or date.    SPECIFY BLACKENED STEEL OR BRASS, PLEASE.  COLORS MAY VARY, THESE ARE USUALLY "BROWN SHOE" COLOR,  sometimes run more reddish.
IF YOU DO NOT SPECIFY A HOOK MATERIAL/FINISH,   that's O.K.    I'll simply send whichever I find firste.
These were produced new for all military services until the end of World War II,  and saw service way into the Korean war and after, but these are NOT military.
They LOOK military, and will last far longer than the G.I. units.
But they're civilian-made.   Fine for a hunting rifle, especially vintage ones!!  Unlike originals,  which can seem fine but break almost casually,  these should last a lifetime of fairly heavy use.
These styles were the dominant sling types during all of World War II in combat units,  and in the Pacific, were used virtually exclusively by the Marine Corps.
The one image featuring the terrier and stacked rifles is from Parris Island July of  1945, long after some loudmouths claim the web sling was used exclusively in all services.  The comments of the late Walt Ehlers  repeated in the GCA JOURNAL  confirm what every single veteran I interviewed over half a century and more  said.
Incidentally, these are "to specification" but carry no synthetic markings. They are 100% real leather, tanned and dyed,   not a polymer or synthetic, but are not "fakes".  In order to be that, they'd have to be passed off as old and mis-marked, and they aren't EITHER.
They are much safer than 60+ year old originals.
Included in the accompanying photo array are a couple of vintage shots to prove that point.
DETAILS:   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 in 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!!!
Brass hooks  ( I have shown one tarnished in this photo array)  will  acquire surface tarnish, and eventually probably some verdigris,  over time.     The tarnished one shown is more advanced than any oxide you will see on a brass specimen.   Bear in mind,  hooks on these are sturdy metal,  not the sheet stuff used in cheap commercial units  commonly  sold in walk-in stores
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.