Sling question Hickock 1943

[FCPDAVE]

Hi,
I'm looking for info on a sling from one of our VFW 1903's. It is marked Hickock 1943 on the rough side near a hook. The sling has 3 hooks, which is new to me. Another of the 1903's has one also. Surprisingly, the leather is very nice, tan in color. Is it a regulation sling? If so, does it have a designation? BAR sling? Any history on it?

Thanks,

Dave

[Ironlip]

Dave, I think the three hooks means it's a BAR sling. Does it otherwise look pretty much like a standard Model 1907 leather sling?

[Ironlip]

I googled BAR Sling and got the following image, does it look like this?

BARslinginstallation0014.jpg

[FCPDAVE]

Thanks for the info Ironlip. It does look like the picture. The 1903's came to our VFW in 1946 I believe. We have 2 MARK I's out of 6, though we only use the 03's for the colors these days. When I joined the Honor Guard, the guys called the 03's "dummy guns". They thought that the rifles were deactivated - WRONG. Any way, 2 of the 03's have these slings, and they are in much better shape than the other slings.

Dave

[Richard Turner/Turner Saddlery]

The sling you describe is for the M1918/M1918A1/M1918A2 Automatic rifle (BAR) and designated the M1907 (Modified). All that was changed from the standard M1907 Sling, was the deletion of one pair of holes on the feed end of the long strap and the addition of a third gun sling hook (frog) at the feed end of the long strap, therefore allowing for a longer adjusted sling in order to fire the BAR from the hip.

Here is a copy of the Rock Island Arsenal Drawing showing the modification of the M1907 Sling into the M1907 (Modified).

[IMG][/IMG]

[FCPDAVE]

Thanks for the info Richard. I can't believe how well preserved the sling is. They look a little bulky on our 1903's but they'll have to do. I wish that we could afford nice slings like yours, now that I have restored most of the rifles back to service condition, but funds are very limited at our VFW. I tried to get them to use green cotton slings, but they want the leather ones, so I search Ebay for sling parts and sometimes I can find half slings to put together and keep the old ones going. Dave