M1 Carbine Sling

[mattk]

Hey gang,
I recently purchased a sling from Fulton Armory for my Inland/Underwood carbine but it doesnt FIT! I have the oiler but it wont fit into its slot with the sling around and the metal hook for the muzzle end of the sling won't fit through the loop on the gun. Is it the wrong sling or do I have some strange stock thats out of spec?
Any body got a pic of the correct sling for an M1 carbine?

Thanks
Matt

 

[joegerardi]

Sounds like you're not quite doing it right...

Firstly, the front end: The metal hook does not go through the loop. There should be a pin/snap at the front, and the part above the pin (with the hole in it) goes through the loop, and then snaps over the projecting pin.

At the back, you must first place the oiler into the stock, and then loop the sling around it. It's a tight fit, and you might have to work it some. When you have it through, place the short end in the buckle.

..Joe

 

[Jim K]

The problem is that the original brown WWII slings were thinner. Post-war green slings are thicker, but the carbine stocks haven't changed. So people have devised all sorts of ways of getting around the problem including beating on the sling with a hammer to flatten it, flattening the oiler, smashing the sling tips, etc.

My solution, which I used in the army, is simply to take a flat file and remove a small amount of wood from the inside of the stock cut. It doesn't take much and the "fix" is invisible.

Jim

 

[mattk]

Sounds like I have the wrong sling. No snap on either end.

 

[Frandy]

Here's how I fixed the same problem...

I had one from cheaperthandirt.com and it was too thick. I sent it back and came across one on ebay that does work. By the way, he has more. Am I allowed to place that here? Moderators, remove if I can't:

coltranger on ebay selling M-1 sling/oiler

 

[bbrins]

For instructions on how to install the sling try HERE.
The few that I have put slings on have also been a bit snug on the buttstock end and a little filing like what Jim Keenan suggested worked. Make sure that you only remove just enough material to barely get the sling through so that it is still tight enough to keep the oiler from falling out.

If you don't have the right sling, try NUMRICH'S.

 

[mattk]

Thanks guys!

 

[MrAcheson]

At the back, you must first place the oiler into the stock, and then loop the sling around it. It's a tight fit, and you might have to work it some. When you have it through, place the short end in the buckle.

Putting the oiler in first and looping around won't work if you have a tight fit. There won't be enough clearance between the oiler and the stock to get the metal tip of the sling around it. Thats the widest part. I know this because I tried doing this for over an hour..

As one of the guys at the gun shop said to me, put a loop of the sling through the stock. Thread the oiler through the loop. Now pull like hell. Seriously. In my case I took the action out of the stock, laid the stock on the ground, kneeled on it and pulled. It worked. The oiler will pop in and once it is in position, the cut in the stock opens up a bit and will allow you to adjust the sling however you want. But you may have to pull very hard.

Just make sure the sling is the right way round because you don't want to have to do this twice. Or you could try to find a thin sling (good luck they thicken with any amount of washing). Mine was a thick one from cheaper than dirt. But it fit, I just had to really haul on it.