My New Berthier 1916 Carbine

[Aragorn243]

Is this the correct sling for my rifle?

Military Antiques, Military Collectibles and Militaria French Leather Rifle Sling: WW1 WW2 Era IMA-USA.COM

I can't tell if the end is correct for fitting through the ring. They are supposed to narrow somewhat which this appears to do but not much. I also understand the carbines had a slightly shorter sling. Can't tell a lot from the photos.

[Aragorn243]

Spent the day cleaning and oiling. That sight picture was really bothering me so I removed the veneer layer of wood that someone installed in the hand guard groove and it is a lot better now. I'm not sure why it was in there in the first place, the groove didn't have any major damage, one deep "ding" but nothing that leads me to believe it was broken at any time. The built up wood was obscuring the rear sight when it was in it's lowest position.

[Patrick Chadwick]

The sling is indeed a French Berthier sling. Whether the length is suitable - you can only try it out!

As to the vision thing - you need shooting glasses!. Not glasses for driving (they are adjusted for too distant objects) or reading (adjusted too close) but for seeing the foresight clearly (about 1 yard distance). You will never see backsight AND foresight AND target clearly, so don't try to square the optical circle. Get shooting glasses AND use an add-on (to the glasses, not the rifle!) variable iris aperture which will go down to about 1mm.

That means spending some money. You will save it over the next season in the ammo that you will no longer be wasting!

[Aragorn243]

Patrick,

I think my vision is more complex than that. I'm nearly blind without glasses. My focus point is about six inches. Up until two years ago, my eyes were fine for shooting. I have since lost my near vision as well so while I can see distance fine corrected, I either need to shift my glasses way down my nose or take them off for near work. I have an area of about six inches to 16 inches which they just don't focus anymore. I can see to read just fine with some adjustments. I am borderline "needing" bifocals. I can function fine without them but there are a few areas where they may or may not work, not sure. Shooting is one. The rear sight falls into that range that I no longer see well.

The issue with the Berthier was unrelated to that. They installed a 1/16th thick piece of veneer which lined the entire groove on the handguard and it was partially obscuring the rear sight. I can actually see the sights on this rifle fairly well due to the distance of the rear sight from my eye.

A friend of mine suggested a monocle type araingement which would fit over my shooting eye. I forget what he called it but it would be fine for target shooting but not for hunting.

Cabela's did not have 8mm Lebel in stock so it will not be traveling to the range this afternoon with my hunting rifles. I did find the one cartridge I have, a Remington.

[Aragorn243]

Sling and a box of ammo are on order. I can't believe it but I actually got Black Friday savings on both. IMA ran a 10% off everything on Friday and Shoppers Guide had free shipping which on ammo can pile on pretty fast. Saved me $14 on shipping charges. I bought two boxes of Swiss Surplus at the same time. My clips came yesterday and I spent a few minutes cleaning them up today. Very good condition, no rust at all.

[Aragorn243]

Ammo came yesterday and sling came today. Now if I can just find a bayonet.

The sling appears to be the correct length and is in good used condition. Matches the condition of the rifle well.

Question on the clips however. I've tried two of them without putting them loaded into the rifle. The cartridges at the top and bottom have a tendency to want to fall out, not completely but partially. Is this something that is corrected when the loaded clips are in the rifle or is it a sign the clips are worn out?

[jmoore]

Probably the clips are just a little "tired". Ought not be a problem when in the rifle, though. But the best check would be to load the clips with old milsurp ammo. The new ammo might have slightly undersized dimensions somewhere.

[Aragorn243]

It's Privi ammo. I don't really want to put the clips in the rifle here at the house so it'll have to wait till I can take it to the range. The clips look real good but I understand the "tired".