Military sling and bayonet questions.

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Military sling and bayonet questions.

Posted: 2/10/2010 6:34:20 AM EDT

Hello all. I have an M-16A1 and M-16A2 clones and need the proper time period slings. What type of slings were issued for the two rifles and where can I purchase them? Also, the same question goes for the issued bayonets. Thank you for the advice guys!

Pete

Posted: 2/10/2010 7:46:26 AM EDT

[#1]

What time period? Some A2s are still in service. Believe it or not when I first joined the Guard we were still using A1s stamped over with A2.

Posted: 2/10/2010 7:59:50 AM EDT

[#2]

Numrich has both items you are looking for. They are used but they are also very inexpensive. The only knock is shipping and handling cost.

Posted: 2/10/2010 8:59:56 AM EDT

[#3]

Both items are all over gunbroker.For sling type in M1 sling,for bayonet,type in M7 bayonet.For the retro look,you want the M1 sling in cotton web,not nylon.

Posted: 2/10/2010 10:24:31 AM EDT

[#4]

For A1 use USGI M14 nylon "seat belt " material sling in the Brownish Olive color, for A2 look at the Eagle Industries Tactical sling in OD (M16/AR15) $33.95 ea.

Posted: 2/10/2010 11:34:39 AM EDT

[#5]

For a Vietnam era A1 clone, one of these for a sling:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/new-us-military-m14-sling-olive-drab.aspx?a=606312

New and not a bad price.

Posted: 2/10/2010 1:03:58 PM EDT

[#6]

Well this is interesting.

What era is the olive coloured nylon seat belt type material
from ? I mean what year ?

One more.....

Whence did the black M1 slings harken ?
again, are dates available ?

( no dates on "retro black rifle")

Regards
michael

Posted: 2/10/2010 9:30:32 PM EDT

[#7]

Guess on Seat belt slings (66-76) with some posters in military saying they used them into early eighties

Posted: 2/11/2010 2:31:35 AM EDT

[#8]

Don't one of our members make a Retro sling ?

Posted: 2/11/2010 3:06:38 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Don't one of our members make a Retro sling ?

Don't think so,but a seller on GB makes a repro 601 sling.There's really no need for "retro" repro slings except for the 601 type as slings can be found almost anywhere.

Posted: 2/11/2010 3:47:36 AM EDT

[#10]

For the A2 you might want an M9 bayonet.

Posted: 2/11/2010 8:09:38 AM EDT

[#11]

What is the difference between the M7 & M9 (are they interchangable or is the M9 just correct for early A2) ??

Posted: 2/11/2010 8:26:37 AM EDT

[#12]

Funny I still issue out A2's that are stamped out XXXXX and we still have tan and black slings that are all original. We even have stuff still new in the package.

Posted: 2/11/2010 8:41:30 AM EDT

[#13]

The M7 bayonet has been issued w/the M16 since about 1964, the M9 was brought into service in the late 80's/early 90's, it was originally meant for specific issue & not to replace the M7, here's a pic of the M7 (center) & M9 (bottom), the top is the original Colt bayonet for the Ar15/601.

Here's a link to a couple more pics: http://imageevent.com/willyp/firearmsalbums/uscoltarmalitem16ar15556/m16accessoryitems/bayonets
Either would be correct on an M16A2 but the M7 would be more common, also the M9 is much more expensive if you're looking for an original military issue blade, there are plenty of commercial contract M9's available at this point from the current contractor but these are a later variant (minor differences in mfg, later M9's are made by Ontario & lanCay), for a military issue M9 w/an M16a2 say for the Gulf War era you'd need a Phrobis mfg military contract M9, again there are commercial variants out there & the military originals bring fairly big $, the M7 is much less $, any M7 maker would be correct although Ontario & General Cutlery are both post VietNam M7 contract mfgs.
For more info on the M9 check the M9 bayonet site (simple search, M9 bayonet) & for the M7 ck humes M7 bayonet pg.
Here's a couple pics of my replica A2 w/an M7 & another w/an M9:

Posted: 2/11/2010 8:48:21 AM EDT

[#14]

Nice pics ,thanx for info (can't wait for my Del-Ton A2 kit to get an M9 for ,have nam era M7 & M8 for my A1 already) USGI style Rifle length A2's are a nice addition to the Retro section of the Forum ...

Posted: 2/11/2010 1:29:41 PM EDT

[#15]

Thank you for all of the great info gentlemen. I just ordered a brand new M-7 bayonet, M-8A1 scabbard and M-17 OD green cotton sling. Thanks again guys!

Posted: 2/11/2010 1:38:10 PM EDT

[#16]

Hope this doesn't start a retro cage fight. But my opinion is "Original" slings were of the cotton web variety, not nylon. The nylon slings are of later Mfg. Either green/tan cotton web m14 for early AR, or black cotton web for the A1. Black nylon would be OK for late M16A1 or A2 and later...I have a tan nylon M14 sling. But it is a new copy, of the old cotton sling....

Posted: 2/11/2010 2:54:18 PM EDT

[#17]

Black nylon silent sling for the A2.

Posted: 2/11/2010 7:52:26 PM EDT

[#18]

Only sling I used in the Corps from 77-82 was an OD seat belt type on an M16A1.
Weird thing is I spent the last 20+ years with bad memories of those rifles and now my wife and kids all want one.....

So the wife and youngest daughter have XM177 style and my son is getting an IDF clone and damned if I aint building a 603 for me.....
Getting old sucks.....

Posted: 2/12/2010 4:53:58 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Black nylon silent sling for the A2.

The A2s we were issued in the Corps from '90 to '94 all had black nylon (the thicker weave, not the "seat belt" material) M1-style slings. I believe these were standard for much of the '80s and early '90s."Silent" slings, as issued gear, showed up some time after that. The trick here is determining which era one wants thier build to mimic and finding out what's correct for that era.

Posted: 2/12/2010 7:34:12 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Only sling I used in the Corps from 77-82 was an OD seat belt type on an M16A1.
Weird thing is I spent the last 20+ years with bad memories of those rifles and now my wife and kids all want one.....

So the wife and youngest daughter have XM177 style and my son is getting an IDF clone and damned if I aint building a 603 for me.....
Getting old sucks.....

So these slings were in place for the A1 -A2 SWITCHOVER and would as I said be in place for use with troops getting the new A2's .

Posted: 2/12/2010 9:05:41 AM EDT

[#21]

I entered the active-duty Army in 1983, and the only sling I remember seeing in line Infantry units was the black "silent" sling.

Might be doctrinal differences that account for the USMC still using the older style sling during that time. The M1 style is designed to be used as an aid in shooting, while the silent sling is not. Sure, you can use it as a hasty sling, but it's not anywhere near the same as using a loop.

Posted: 2/12/2010 10:18:08 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
I entered the active-duty Army in 1983, and the only sling I remember seeing in line Infantry units was the black "silent" sling.

Might be doctrinal differences that account for the USMC still using the older style sling during that time. The M1 style is designed to be used as an aid in shooting, while the silent sling is not. Sure, you can use it as a hasty sling, but it's not anywhere near the same as using a loop.

http://www.fototime.com/1788DD12B093EB0/orig.jpg

And in other threads there was a Pic posted of an Army guy in his uniform on duty with his service rifle with the Dark Olive "almost brown" nylon seatbelt material sling in 1983 (Go figure)

Posted: 2/12/2010 10:56:11 AM EDT

[#23]

I don't know which photo you saw. I can only describe what I saw in my part of the Army at that time.

I think it's possible that soldiers in units other than Combat Arms could have continued using older accessories for years after the newer stuff was adpted. This was probably also true for National Guard and Reserve units, too.

Posted: 2/12/2010 11:44:43 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
I don't know which photo you saw. I can only describe what I saw in my part of the Army at that time.

I think it's possible that soldiers in units other than Combat Arms could have continued using older accessories for years after the newer stuff was adpted. This was probably also true for National Guard and Reserve units, too.

It was a pic of a poster here standing next to a Helocopter (Neat smaller type Military/army copter) and it's in this section of the forum board and the topic was about slings & acessories ... He was in when you were in (1983)

Posted: 2/13/2010 6:35:11 AM EDT

[#25]

Here's my $0.02, I was in the US Army from 1986-1994, and was issued M16A1s 86-88, and M16A2s 88-94, and all of them had the P.O.S. black "silent sling".

The brown nylon "seatbelt" slings I bought from Moore Militaria were NOS/NIW and marked 12/68, FWIW.

Posted: 2/13/2010 7:12:31 AM EDT

[#26]

I have the Green SP1 canvas "Knockoff" replica sling on my A1 with a minty USGI Olive "almost brown" seatbelt sling held in reserve until mt NDS Black A1 lower arrives, then I will switch lowers & slings for the correct USGI look but my A2 will use a more modern Eagle OD M16/AR15 tactical sling (I'm no fan of the "Black silent sling") ...

Posted: 2/17/2010 8:24:22 AM EDT

[#27]

Is there really a "correct" sling for US military style rifles?

I've seen tons of different styles and types of slings in use, from "seat belt" nylon slings to black "silent" slings to leather shooting slings in use all over the place.

Most unit S-4 types will issue what is on hand, and many Soldiers will purchase stuff to add to their weapons. Our Cav Scout platoon had several M-14's issued for use as DMR's, and they all used MRT-marked leather shooting slings that I found for them because they had no issue-style slings to hand out with the rifles. Some guys would use the old nylon "seat belt" slings with their M-16's because they liked the quick adjusting feature.

You never know what you'll see out there. For "authentic" early-style rifles, I would think that nearly any sling known to be issued during the target period would be correct, regardless of style.

Posted: 2/17/2010 8:33:00 AM EDT

[#28]

Green web surplus slings, cheap as hell:
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/m1greenwebne.html

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Military sling and bayonet questions.

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