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Unusual Sling
I have had this sling for some years and have never been able to ID it. It is made of folded canvas, with eyes for securing to the rifle. On a No. I Mk. III rifle, when secured at each end, the length is right for over-shoulder carry. The three sets of eyes in the middle are positioned about right to shorten the sling for parade carry. There's a partial marking stamped on it, that I can't make out. Any thoughts on whether or not this is an Enfield sling? Perhaps from Pakistan or India?
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ebSling1-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ebSling2-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ebSling3-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ebSling4-1.jpg
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Doesn't that stamp say "Made in ****and", ie England?
It resembles wartime "utility pattern" items in its rough construction, and the lacing system resembles older UK slings. The material might be Jute, which place it in WW2 India - the 14th Army fighting in Burma developed a whole support industry based on Calcutta Jute mills, including webbing & thousands of supply parachutes.
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those can be found mainly on No.4s supplied to the Turks durring their time in Korea. Congrats!!!!
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Thanks! I was thinking that the marking might be a partial "Made in India."
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The sling was interesting to me because someone here has an Indian made SMLE that he's used on and off for the past 30 years for a bit of deer management and that came to him all those years ago with a sling exactly the same as that. I thought it was just some home made thing that had been left on there since before he got it. In fact it's only in the past few months that he's swopped it for a webbing sling that we gave him. I'll give him the good news that its a genuine warime Indian Army economy sling. The info that come up on this site is amazing!
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Thanks everybody!
I have tried to ID this sling for many years, so it is exciting to finally pin it down. I suspected it was Indian, but could not find anybody who had seen one like it.