Question: single sling swivel on rifle

[pamtnman]

Years ago a cool 1905 nitro double rifle found its way to me. Made for the Scots Highlands, it has enough oomph for the smaller African critters. The Scottish family who owned the rifle still has tea and coffee plantations in Kenya, and at some point the rifle had made its way from Perthshire to Kenya. It has a small Kenyan government stamp in the butt stock. Thing is, the gun has only one sling swivel, located in the butt stock. Is there a certain style or type of African rifle sling that would be made this way? No sign of a sling swivel on the barrels, and no mention of swivels in the maker’s ledger entry for the gun, either. Any ideas, suggestions, history lessons etc that can shed light on this question are most welcome. Thank you and Merry Christmas to all (here in America Christmas is our national holiday, and we wish one another a happy one regardless of religion etc)

 

[fourfive8]

Only things that come to mind are either the gun is not as original or if all original... the front sling attachment is a simple loop (or separate thong) that fits over the barrel(s).

 

[pamtnman]

The maker usually mentions sling swivels in the ledger for each gun they made. So it’s probably not an original swivel in the butt. If I wanted to replicate what was used on the rifle when it was in Kenya, what would you suggest? The simple thong I’ve seen looks both weak and probably in the way of the open sights.

 

[TTundra]

Basic shotgun slings often have a loop over the barrel. However, some are designed to loop around the buttock as well.

Any custom leather maker could put together a nice sling for you. Sparky Wallace does leather and canvas and could do such a sling.

 

[pamtnman]

Thank you, TTundra. I’ll look up sparky

 

[fourfive8]

I've heard that Highlands "stalking" type guns, such as the one you asked about, sometimes used a type of sling that had a loop in the front. Simply create a slip loop using the front loop and slide over the barrel. It would tighten up some under tension and would be positioned just in front of the forend. The rear attachment would either be a harness affair over the butt or would attach to a more conventional swivel or screw eye screwed into the butt near the toe. Sometimes the rear sling attachment would be an elongated metal hook could be hooked through the screw eye. The sling would then be quick detachable. The only thing about the front slip loop is it needs to fit flat over the barrel otherwise it could interfere with the sight picture. IMO, a worthwhile study and project to come up with something that is reasonably historically correct for the gun.

 

[pamtnman]

I've heard that Highlands "stalking" type guns, such as the one you asked about, sometimes used a type of sling that had a loop in the front. Simply create a slip loop using the front loop and slide over the barrel. It would tighten up some under tension and would be positioned just in front of the forend. The rear attachment would either be a harness affair over the butt or would attach to a more conventional swivel or screw eye screwed into the butt near the toe. Sometimes the rear sling attachment would be an elongated metal hook could be hooked through the screw eye. The sling would then be quick detachable. The only thing about the front slip loop is it needs to fit flat over the barrel otherwise it could interfere with the sight picture. IMO, a worthwhile study and project to come up with something that is reasonably historically correct for the gun.

Daggone, here it is. What you write here makes sense. I just have not seen anything matching your description. It is open sights and anything over the barrels is likely to block them. I’ll have to check the height, because the front is a ramp sight, pretty high. Hmmmmm. Thank you

 

[WebleyGreene455]

Daggone, here it is. What you write here makes sense. I just have not seen anything matching your description. It is open sights and anything over the barrels is likely to block them. I’ll have to check the height, because the front is a ramp sight, pretty high. Hmmmmm. Thank you

Muzzleloading guns used a similar sling for years. A few examples are available at Track of the Wolf and Dixie Gun Works. They lace on over the butt with a harness-type setup, then tie onto the barrel usually with a simple thong or a thin strap. It'll depend on how tall your sights are whether they'll work well.

On the other hand, Rigby makes a classic "silent" sling with thongs instead of buckles that might do you fine too. Again you might have to worry about how tall your sights are but it might work.

 

[pamtnman]

Muzzleloading guns used a similar sling for years. A few examples are available at Track of the Wolf and Dixie Gun Works. They lace on over the butt with a harness-type setup, then tie onto the barrel usually with a simple thong or a thin strap. It'll depend on how tall your sights are whether they'll work well.

On the other hand, Rigby makes a classic "silent" sling with thongs instead of buckles that might do you fine too. Again you might have to worry about how tall your sights are but it might work.

Thank you. The oddity is the sling swivel stud in the stock. It calls for a strange sling.

 

[pamtnman]

Dawns on me, I live close to Gary Fatheree, the Leatherman. He hunts with double rifles (including Africa) and can probably figure this out.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

Thank you. The oddity is the sling swivel stud in the stock. It calls for a strange sling.

There is a kind of detachable sling swivel that might fit in the stud? German-issue Gew98s and their related guns used them. NECG has a version of them available: https://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/proddetail.php?prod=4272

 

[pamtnman]

There is a kind of detachable sling swivel that might fit in the stud? German-issue Gew98s and their related guns used them. NECG has a version of them available: https://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/proddetail.php?prod=4272

I have seen these. Pretty sure they are on several of our rifles. It does create another logical link in the strange chain