What's a correct sling for a No.5 carbine?

[#5MK1]

NO.

Your sling is the regular Enfield slings and have the ridge on the edges.

The slings I am refering to are the same type web with brass ends, but aren't as thick and they don't have the thick ridges on the sides.

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[rondog]

NO.

Your sling is the regular Enfield slings and have the ridge on the edges.

The slings I am refering to are the same type web with brass ends, but aren't as thick and they don't have the thick ridges on the sides.

I knew you were gonna say that.....

[JBS]

Look like any of these ? some of the L1A1 slings have very thin edges.
British L1A1 Sling

[#5MK1]

No,the slings I am refering to do not look like anything anyone has posted.

Interesting.

I'll take some pictures this week end and post them.

[gew8805]

#5MK1, I think I had a couple of the slings you are referring to. They were flat rather than having the ribs and were green in color but were made of a slightly narrower and thinner nylon or some sort of synthetic material. The brass hardware was almost identical to the standard "Sling, rifle, web, G.S. (Mark I) (second issue)" but slightly narrower to fit the sling. I purchased these slings directly from Century Arms International back in the early '90s. They cost $1 as opposed to the $2 price of the standard British slings. The biggest problem with them was that they would not stay adjusted to a certain length: in other words, if you tried to carry a rifle with the sling over your shoulder, the brass fittings would allow the sling to slide to a longer length and would not stop until they hit the brass hardware. Yes, they looked good but for use they were totally crap.

[#5MK1]

#5MK1, I think I had a couple of the slings you are referring to. They were flat rather than having the ribs and were green in color but were made of a slightly narrower and thinner nylon or some sort of synthetic material. The brass hardware was almost identical to the standard "Sling, rifle, web, G.S. (Mark I) (second issue)" but slightly narrower to fit the sling. I purchased these slings directly from Century Arms International back in the early '90s. They cost $1 as opposed to the $2 price of the standard British slings. The biggest problem with them was that they would not stay adjusted to a certain length: in other words, if you tried to carry a rifle with the sling over your shoulder, the brass fittings would allow the sling to slide to a longer length and would not stop until they hit the brass hardware. Yes, they looked good but for use they were totally crap.

Yes, the description is right.

I ony used those slings for show.

When I take my #5MK1 coyote hunting, I install a wide leather modern type sling, padded for comfort and easy to use.

However, the sliding problem problem and not staying adjusted on the surplus web slings was easily corrected by tweaking the brass prongs on the end of the sling.

Even with that fix, I would not use any military sling for personal use. They just aren't comfortable.

Military slings are OK for show, but they are not as user friendly as a GOOD commercial sling.

I think most of the guys using #5MK1s for truck guns out west here on ranches, use a commercial sling for ease and comfort.

But, the green web slintgs mentioned seemed to look the best on #5MK1s. I don't think they were made for the rifle, and we never found out what rifle they were for.

[krinko]

Would these be the Mystery Slings?
Two minor varieties with identical brass ends, one with unribbed web edge, one with a slight rib.
One sling seems to be marked "ABL" over "??" over "1954" and another "GIE" over "AL" over "1954"---these are the two with the slight ribbing. The thinnest type I have never found marked. I think the end tabs tie these two types to the same source, by the way.

So, Belgian?





-----krinko