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Posted: 8/25/2006 2:20:46 PM EDT
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I just got myself an A1 with the FA and have had military manual from April 1977 for a while. Well, I was wondering what the correct sling would be for a 1977 to 1983'is Beruit A1? Thanks |
| The SP1 I purchased in 79 came with the black web silent sling. The one with the two keepers but no buckles. I would guess would be the sling you're looking for. But I really doubt the older cotton web sling (like the Garand/m14 sling) would be out of place either. |
What time period were you there? If we could get enough people to post what they carried,where they carried,and when they carried....we could figure out if there is some kind of pattern. Doc |
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I've never been in the military, but I would hazard most units used what they had or received for replacements. The cotton web sling was introduced in the mid/early forties for the M1 Garand. There was a slight change to the buckle post-war. It was the standard sling for the M14. And I'm sure many of the wartime slings were used with the M14. The same sling was the first issue sling with the M16. Wartime experience in Vietnam showed the cotton web was susceptible to mold, mildew and rotting. Thus the nylon sling, in the same pattern, was introduced. At some point the web silent sling came into being. Probably post war. Maybe very late in the war. Thus, in my opinion, any of the three slings would be appropriate to an M16A1 rifle. Most M16A2s would not look out of place with any of the three either, I don't think. Here's what I've done with the ARs I own. The USAF M16 (model 604) w/ 3 prong flash suppressor wears a cotton web sling. My XM177-style clone wears a nylon sling. I've got a silent sling on the M16A1 kit I built up. Sorta' for a postwar/80s look (Panama/Grenada). |
Ok, I just thought of something while driving home in the pooring rain...as I posted above, I was issued a cotton sling in '82 in basic traning, which happened to be at Ft.Bliss Tx. just up the raod from El Paso Tx. which is pretty much DESERT. Could it be that the Army knew that mold, mildew, and rot wouldn't be too much of a problem in the desert?!?!?!  Doc |
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You guys are waaaaaay over thinking this. In my 10+ years in the Army (off and on between 88-03) I've see all the variations. You get what is on the rifle when it's handed out the arms room door. Some supply Sergents are anal, and make sure they are all the "latest type", but most just use what they have on hand. Hell, I was issued an A1 as late as 2000. |
24th MAU, BLT 1/8, May-Nov 1983. USMC did use the black silent sling on the A1 through the 80's. No variations that I'm aware of. When we got the A2s in late '84 they came with the black cotton slings that attached with a metal clip to the lower sling swivel. Noisy suckers. The finish wore off the metal clips fairly quickly. We had to touch them up with Em Nu. The sling on the A2 made it easier to make a hasty sling on the range. |
Sounds like the same situations I experienced. I joined the Army in 1977, got out in 84. This is what I got: Basic: green cotton AIT: green nylon 1st duty station (Bragg): green nylon & green cotton 2nd duty station (Benning): green cotton, smelled nasty! 3rd duty station (Gordon): really beat up A1 with green nylon Reserve unit: had a sidearm, but the slings issued were green nylon and cotton, to be used up before the new black ones were issued. Most of the supply sgts or armorers I dealt with didn't give a damn what they handed out unless you traded with them or they owed you for something. Or, as it was right before I got out, you outranked them. |
| I enlisted in the army during the mid 1970's, got out in the late 1980's, the only slings I can remember used on the M16's was the standard black slings with 2 adjustment buckles, I served at several stateside posts and spent a couple of years in Korea with the 2nd ID. |
Exactly.....the Army as a whole doesn't have enough insight to be concerned with things like "what is thje sling made of". You get basically what they have. I get a kick out of people worrying about the color match between their upper and lower recievers and what color Magpul follower they have. |
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