Kerr sling

[Lancebear]

Hey guys,

Is a Kerr sling anymore appropriate for a Model 1917 than any other? What should you pay for a good one? Is it correct for WWI or did it come out later?

Think the 03' gods slammed me tonight. They are what I have been collecting for the last year. The Model 1917 Rem I posted about is my first, was trying to take some photos for ya'll tonight. Turned on the less than a year and a half old camera and got a message that said "Lens problem, restart". Looked that up in the manual. That message should say "You and the camera are screwed" , book says return to dealer/company.

Lancebear

Information

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[Dan Wilson]

Wow that sucks about the camera!!

Yes a Kerr sling is very appropriate for the M1917 but realize the 1917 sling is longer than the 03 sling. The Kerrs were made for the 03, 1917 and Thompson, all different lengths.

I have seen Kerr sell for 75 and up but not sure if I am seeing an 03 sling or a 17 sling.
The Kerr was the original sling for this rifle but the 1907 sling is just as appropriate for WWI usage.

Dan

[A square 10]

exactly what dan said , but ill add that neither the M1917 rifle nor the M1917 sling were 'first string' both were 2nd to the M1903 rifle and the M1907 sling were the US standard of issue , that i 'think' is why the two get paired so readily ,

ive no longer got a thompson sling but i do still have both an M1917 & a M1903 version of these , the latter is the shorter but also is missing the auxilery ring at the butstock end ,

im sorry my photos arent better but here is the M1917 rifle version , note the ring that the butstock [short strap] snaps to in its shortened position


and here is my M1903 version , note it snaps over itself

[Dan Wilson]

WOW that answers a lot of questions that have popped up here over the years about "why is my sling missing the extra ring" or "what is the extra ring on my sling for"

I never knew that (I prefer the cotton web slings myself), pretty easy way to tell the two slings apart.

Thanks

Dan

[GFH]

, the latter is the shorter but also is missing the auxilery ring at the butstock end ,

Do you have a source for this data? Manual? Research document?
Sounds like a reasonable explanation but I have never seen it in print.

Gary

[KarlKW]

Somewhere... I have an instruction sheet that I bought several years ago from Bill Ricca, sort of a photo explanation, that says that for the M1903, the spring clip on the running end of the sling (short section) is passed through the second ring on the Kerr sling, and doubles back to clip on the stock's sling swivel. Doing this shortens the Kerr sling enough to fit the M1903. For the M1917, the clip on the running end attaches to the second ring. No where does it mention only one ring on the sling. Somebody on "Old" Jouster had a fantastic picture of about two dozen Kerr slings, and there were many different lengths. I always thought that some of these differences were due to the cotton material shrinking at different rates, due to washing, drying, etc. HTH, Karl

[GFH]

Somebody on "Old" Jouster had a fantastic picture of about two dozen Kerr slings, and there were many different lengths.

That was Brian, I don't know if he made it over here but here is the photo.

[A square 10]

the 'old' old Jouster is the source of some of my info , and som,ewhere there was suficient backup for the concensus , i do not have it at hand , i believe that the shorter [mid length] sling for the M1903 may have been available with and without the spare ring ,

brians photo was part of that discussion as well - and although his photo appears to show lots of lengths i believe it shows three , and some examples of shrinkage