Looking for some expert input on WWII carbine slings

[Ironlip]

I?ve read multiple posts or entries in books about WWII carbine slings and how to determine whether they are authentic or not.
Some have referenced a looser weave in repros. I?ve not read much that I can recall about hardware other than the observation that the very early authentic ones had a narrow buckle. I had one of those once, now long gone.

I?ve attached some pictures of four that I have and would appreciate any thoughts from this experienced group about which, if any, are real. The arrangement in all the pictures is the same. They all have the ?C? or ?horseshoe? type ends. The all have roughly the same buckle. The top two are olive with no date stamp. The hardware on both is about the same - blackened brass post with a snap that may be blackened brass with a copper colored spring. On one the ?dot? is indented and the other is raised. The raised dot appears worn revealing what may be pot metal.

The third is more khaki in color and is the only one with a different weave pattern. It seems to have 8 ?rows? of weaving where all the others have 9. The post is again blackened brass. The snap appears to be blackened brass and the dot is raised with slight wear. The spring in that one is also copper in color.

The fourth is the only dated sling with a mark that appears to be ? S M Co? above what appears to be ?1944? but could be ?1943?. Here again the weave is like the first two. The hardware is now all pot metal with now brass showing and a copper colored spring.

They vary in length as you can see from the second picture. The dated one is the longest.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Rick54C77C47-65CC-4DD6-84C4-768C0683CCD1.jpg178E3AFB-37F4-4157-8B34-CAF99B193D3A.jpgD0C04695-10C7-48EC-80A4-720EC4A27F7F.jpg5A8CCE45-F1EB-4469-B133-422DC207A01C.jpg41DE38ED-2873-4378-A6A9-AAA7EFFF9C33.jpg

[Ironlip]

Additional picturesD6CDAA9B-0380-41AB-B178-78BAA9A7A8E2.jpgA02E573F-1500-4B39-B520-2174A904F901.jpgE8ED8CB9-0892-4E60-ADC9-E4A9C946BF29.jpg

[Scott Wilson]

Hi Rick,
Over on Auction Arms, JTD currently has a Winchester carbine offered. At the end of the photos are some excellent shots of the sling that might be useful for comparison purposes.

[Ironlip]

Scott, thank you for referral to those Jack the Dog auctions. He had the Winchester and the week before had an Inland, both of which had khaki slings. I've included pictures from those auctions below. I think the khaki one I have may well be a repro. The looser weave, with 8 rows rather than the 9 in the other 3 I have and in both of those in the JTD auctions coupled with the lack of any pattern on the inside of the snap leads me to reach that conclusion. The pattern I refer to shows up in the third and fifth pictures of my initial post.

I was curious about the dated olive sling I have in my pictures above. It seems legit to me, but I was curious about the pot metal snap and post. In going through some of my collection of carbine mag pouches and cartridge belts that I have had for 30 - 40 years I am seeing some of the same metal. So I believe that one is real.

Khaki Steel Snap Rounded Buckle.1.jpgKhaki Steel Snap Rounded Buckle.2.jpg