90th IDPG Reviews

 

At The Front M1907 Sling

Review Date: 7/18/2010
Author: Chris Guska


 


Photo from the Normandie Archive

Background:

Up until 1944, "the" sling in use for the M1 Garand and M1903 Springfield was the M1907. Even with the new canvas webbing M1 sling entering into combat use in 1944, the M1907 soldiered on through the end of WWII and into future conflicts. The M1907 remains in service to this day in the US Military in a variety of special applications.


Photo from oldhickory30th.com

M1907 Slings were made with brass or steel hardware. The brass hardware was blackened as delivered from the factory. The steel hardware would have a phosphate finish. There was a period when both brass and steel was utilized simultaneously on new slings.

Slings were issued and fitted to rifles with no distinction made between brass or steel hardware. As far as the army was concerned - it was simply a M1907 sling. As of the date of publication of this article, there is no known "magic" changeover date from brass to steel. Additionally, the Army, Marines and Navy simply did not "throw out" all existing stocks of brass hardware type M1907's upon introduction of the steel hardware.

As far as "in theater" impressions for ETO, or even MTO - there is no rhyme or reason between steel or brass hardware on Garands or 03's. Do not let anyone tell you that brass is the only correct option for 03's and steel for Garands.

M1907 Sling Instructions


Ordering:

I ordered a M1907 Sling from At The Front via telephone on 7/7/2010. The telephone ordering process was pleasant, straightforward and otherwise uneventful. The sling arrived two days later on 7/9/2010.


M1907 Sling
Price: $50



The Reproduction:

 

Overall:

My first impressions were positive of the sling - as the first looks of the slings were better than I had expected from the photos from the At The Front website.

The website photo shows the sling having two very dark lines along the edge of the sling - almost looking dyed or painted on. The effect is much less pronounced in person, much to my relief.

The photos in this review are of the sling, as is, out of the box - no neatsfoot oil has been applied.

Lets look at the hardware first

I'm addressing hardware first as it is the #1 failing point of so many other reproduction M1907 slings. While this is the first US sling offering from At The Front, it appears that care was taken to learn from where others have failed.

1.) The hardware is the correct shape. Typically, most other reproductions hooks are cut in such a way that the are not offset to hook in and hold the sling properly. The overall shape and bend of the At The Front hooks is "right on" to the originals.
2.) The hardware is the correct thickness. This is the most common flaw with other reproductions. ATF's hardware is quite thick, exactly like the originals. The hooks are not easily bent - and are NOT thin sheet metal.
3.) The hardware is securely and appropriately attached. Everything is tight and feels solid. The rivet heads are a little inconsistent, but are secure.
4.) The ring is the correct size and well made.
5.) The "finish" on the hardware is somewhat thin, and I'm having a hard time identifying if it is phosphated, or really lightly coated, or has no finish at all. Honestly, I have no clue what is going on here with these steel hooks other than theyre gray. Usually I can ID a finish at a glance - this one has me a bit puzzled.

Next thing - the leather

The leather is really nice. I'm quite happy with the feel, stiffness, details and tooling. Its real leather, without a dye or oil finish - to be finished off however you want.

1.) The leather is quite thick and feels to be of good quality. There is no lateral stretch to the leather. It is real leather and not some other mystery product.
2.) The holes for the hooks are OVAL shape and not circular. The holes are evenly spaced and appear to be gang die cut, rather than halfassed individually cut. The holes appear to be spaced too close together in width... I'm not sure about this.
3.) The leather is appropriately tooled along the edges as well as on the keepers. On the At The Front website - the tooled edge looks seriously deep and dark - where its nicely executed on the example I received. Not all original keepers were tooled as these examples are, but its a nice touch that was exhibited on some originals.
4.) The keepers are the correct size and function as intended. Additionally, they are hand stitched with tapered overlaps as evidenced on GI production slings . Many poor quality reproductions are stapled rather than sewn.
5.) There is no finish on the leather. No oil, no wax, no dye, no bullshit. This is fantastic. I like not having to try and cover up the nonsense a maker thought was a good idea. I'm oldschool - I just want a plan leather sling that I can oil and allow to age naturally. So many other slings have a dye finish from the factory - so to rectify the situation, it has to be stripped and redyed to cover up what was screwed up at the factory...

Markings-

There are no markings I was able to find on the sling. No markings = No FARBY markings. A poorly done marking can screw up a perfectly good sling. I have yet to see many repro slings that were marked in a convincing "period styled" way. LESS IS MORE.


Assessment:

The good:
Leather is good quality
Finish is minimal which is awesome
Construction is solid
Hardware is good
Markings = less is more

The So-So (I cant really even call this "bad"):

Hardware finish is thin and questionable as to wtf it is
Spacing between holes (side to side) seems weird

Photos of the sling once oiled:



Summary Pros and Cons

Prior to At The Front's M1907 Sling offering, the only M1907 Sling I recommended to friends or unit members was the offerings from Turner Saddlery. Based on what I received from ATF, Turner now has some real competition.

There's quite a few things about the ATF sling that I feel are superior to the Turner. There are also a few things that, if improved, could make ATF's offering truly the "only" choice in M1907 Slings for myself and the 90th.

If I had to recommend ATF or Turner - and make a purchasing decision right this instant - I would go with ATF. While the ATF sling isn't absolutely totally orgasmically perfect - and the Turner slings do have a few things still up on the ATF version. ATF WILL honestly state if they have the product in stock, ship in a timely manner, and you WILL get a high quality sling quickly. The same CANNOT be said for Turner Saddlery. Don't order from Turner if you are in a hurry or impatient...

M1907 Sling Instructions

 

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