WWI Era US ARMY AEF M1903 Leather Sling for M1903 Springfield Rifle NICE RARE

Original pre-WWI Era US Army M1903 (not M1907 sling) Leather Sling for the M1903 Springfield – RARE 1st Pattern Sling for M1903 Springfield Rifle – Nice Condition. Up for sale is an Original pre-WWI Era US Army M1903 Leather Sling. There are no visible markings or dates. It does have inspector initials E. This sling has the correct WWI Blackened Single Brass hook. Still retains some of the original blackening on the brass hook. The sling is used, see photo’s for condition. The sling has one leather keeper. The leather is soft and pliable. No rips or tears in the leather. There are surface cracks and wrinkling of the leather, please see photos. The leather has darkened due to age, but still retains much of that rich russet brown color. The stitching is all tight and intact. This is an Original Functional pre-WWI era Sling and would look great on a WWI era rifle. This is NOT a M1907 sling. It is the M1903 Sling, which was the first sling used with the experimental M1901 rifle, which evolved into the M1903 Springfield Rifle. The sling is a single length of leather, approximately 68.5 long, it is russet brown in color, it has one brass hook. This is similar to the slings used for the Trapdoor rifles and the early Krag Rifles. This sling was only manufactured for a few years in very limited quantities, before being replaced with the M1905 sling and later the M1907 sling. The M1903 Leather Slings are VERY RARE, most people, except for advanced collectors have no idea they even exist. NOTE: this is a collectible item, suitable for a correct historic display. It is NOT recommended for actual use. This is the sling that was commonly used on the M1917 Enfield, the M1 Garand, the M1903 Springfield, the M1903A3 Springfield and the M1941 Johnson Rifles. Check out my other items. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Militaria\WW I (1914-18)\Original Period Items\United States\Personal, Field Gear”. The seller is “koolstuff1958″ and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.

• Branch of Service: US Army
• Item: M1903 Leather Rifle Sling
• Conflict: WW I (1914-18)
• Time Period: WWI 1914-1918
• Manufacturer: Unknown
• Theme: Militaria
• Original/Reproduction: Original
• Country: United States
• Region of Origin: United States
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
• Weapon: M1903 Springfield