What do ya think

[Nacho Man]

Hey I had a quick question. I bought a reproduction sling for a 1909 Argentine and im going to use it, should the buckle go to the top or bottom. Most of the pics online show the sling mounted with buckle forward toward the front sling loop. Wanted to confirm the correct orientation.

[Aragorn243]

Best of my knowledge, buckle always goes closest to the bottom with the type that has the single loop on one end, buckle on the other.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Aragorn is correct. Almost all the online pics only show you what some other person today thought it ought to be, and in such cases the majority tend to copy what they see online. But repeated errors do not thereby become correct - the illusion of so-called "swarm intelligence".

However, there is one official photo from the Argentine National Archives on P.169 of Colin Webster's "Argentine Mauser Rifles". This shows an Argentine infantryman in a full parade get-up for the camera - and the sling buckle is at the bottom. This is the only photo that I have managed to find that seems to be from the period and authoritative.

Makes sense to me. A buckle at the top would press on the back of your wrist if you were firing the rifle. And even for parade purposes, the buckle at the top would be awkward for a smart "present arms".

[Patrick Chadwick]

Further support of what Aragorn wrote - the general applicability of the "buckle at bottom" setting.


If you look at the dust jacket of "Crown Jewels" you will see two Swedish soldiers posing for what is obviously a private photo, and the buckles are at the top.


But if you look at the inside cover and flyleaf (double page photo) you will see a more official photo of an entire troop - and every rifle sling that is visible has the buckle at the bottom.


Please note also that the ends are folded to the inside. Not (just) to look neat, but also to prevent the ends of the leather snagging on clothing etc.