Garand Front sling question

F

Falcon5NZ

New member
Hey all.
Don't know if this should be in GDF or here but I'll start here (Mods don't hesitate to move).
What was the purpose of this? Was it to allow it to be slung more securely when marching with it?
On a related point-In an early episode of Band of Brothers you see a soldier (think it was Capt. Winters) firing his Garand with an en-bloc clip wedged onto the sling. Was this standard/recommended/allowed?

Nick
 
I've seen en-bloc clips wedged onto the sling during fire fights in a number of movies. Looks like a convenient place to grab your next 8 or 16 rounds.
 
I'm with Jag06 the second sling mount is a Stacking Swivel it's open in the center about 1/2 inch.

300px-Garand-1.jpg


The Stacking Swivel is above the ^ mark.
 
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In this age of black plastic rifles, a stacking swivel (which IS what it is)
seems positively archaic to a lot of the younger generation.
When I did my boot camp rifle range time at Camp Pendleton in 1968, we
spent all morning one day stacking and unstacking our M14s. Who knows
why, because as soon as we got to ITR, we were issued M16s, and
I never laid hands on an M14 again.
:(

Walter
 
So THAT's how it's done!!!! I never even thought of that. That's damned cool. And yes I am one of the younger generation (19). However unlike most guys my age i prefer the Garand to the Deagle :barf: (My mates at the hostel I lived at knew that calling a Desert Eagle a Deagle was one way to get me seriously peeved)
Is it just a case of slotting them in or is there a knack to it?
Redy on the Right- You mean "This is why everyone needs Garands in multiples of 3."?:D
 
The British called it a "piling swivel". Same thing.

FWIW, only a few real M1 rifles were used in BoB. Most were plastic dummies, but some had holes in the top so the actors could be seen inserting dummy plastic clips. A year or so ago, the NRA museum had a display of those "rifles" and "ammo". They were cleverly made, but even in the movie an experienced eye could see that the guns were fakes.

Jim
 
sling

It is a little off the topic but how does a sling attach to a 1903A3? Have a WWII GI canvas sling and am not sure how to hook it on properly.
 
re: en-blocs stuck in the sling

You can find many photos of actual US troops in WWII with clips wedged into their slings. Seems to be an ETO thing, or perhaps I've only ever seen photos of ETO troops that did this
 
Great photo, Orlando!

Should you tell them all there's only two Garands in that photo, or shall I? ;) Handy that the '03 is the same length as the M1, eh?
 
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re: en-blocs stuck in the sling

You can find many photos of actual US troops in WWII with clips wedged into their slings. Seems to be an ETO thing, or perhaps I've only ever seen photos of ETO troops that did this
Click to expand...
The author of the book, "About Face", Col. David Hackworth enlisted in the army just at the end of WWII, served in Italy, was an enlisted man in the Korean War. Mentioned how he had seen "old timers" stick a clip or two onto the slings of their M1s. Said it really looked like they knew what they were doing (looked cool) so he emulated them...until he discovered that if you had to "hit the dirt" quickly into the mud, the mud would render the loaded clip useless until it was cleaned. So, after a few such mishaps, he stopped doing it. Nevertheless, it did seem to been practiced in Korea as well as the European Theater of Operations during WWII.
 
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