Nice! There sure are lots of color deviations between the years on these. I ended up snagging a very early 1951 dated sling for one of my Russian SKS rifles last year, and although those still use a hook, they have a leather re-enforcement tab as well.

 

The least variation in color/style is in the 60's it seems. I have no desire to collect anything other then what I have.

I don't have any real early slings, but I have seen the sling your describing and the marine version and they are cool. I'm glad I only paid retail for a couple of these because the value of the Russian accessories really seems to have taken a nose dive. Those 85 slings were the last ones I bought and I didn't sell one.

The 92 aksu slings sold well.


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I ended up grabbing an all leather Russian sling several years for one of my SKS rifles, and if the information was correct, these slings were early ones used by the Navy.
Have you ever seen one of these?

 

Yes, azak had some at SAR last year. I should have left with more stuff but I was tapped out.

I like the navy leather tab early AK sling, the leather was nice too




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Old thread, just thought it may be helpful to update this with some year/rivet type/color variaations of Russian slings.

A couple questions:
When did the common riveted metal tab type sling start? Curious how long the leather tabbed T3 sling was used?

Flat vs rounded head rivets supposedly started in 61-62; is that info. correct?

 

Yes, an old thread, but the variations in slings are interesting to me as well. I really wish there were info out there about the markings/manufacturers. No idea if Izhevsk/Tula made slings at all, or if they were all subcontracted out to other makers.

The transition from the leather tab type to the riveted type was 1952-1953. I recall seeing pictures of 1952 dated slings with the leather style. I have an unissued 1953 sling on my unfired 1952 SKS. The stamp is similar to what you might have seen on those old post war Mosin slings with the hammer and sickle. I also have an unissued 1955 sling on my Arsenal SAM7 "type 3 wannabe" as well. Both the '53 and '55 slings have riveted and galvanized hardware, the '53 tab being painted green, and the '55 tab being painted silver. The transition to the commonly seen zinc plated hardware was around 1967 or so. I will give another update to this post next weekend when I can get some pictures of them. I reckon I lucked out on those slings, got them for cheap on ebay around 3 years ago from a guy in Russia that was selling a small handful of early ones.

 

Well here you go, first my type 3 wannabe that I fitted with Russian laminate, note the silver paint on the sling hardware:

 

And second is my unfired 1952 Tula SKS, note the green paint over galvanized finish on this one. 1953 was the first year of the riveted style for these.

So far this rifle has made it 72 years without being fired, and I have no plans to do so, it's just too nice.

 

Thanks for sharing. The color deviation is extremely helpful in recognizing slings being sold online. Currently, are you aware of the sling that is being used in the Russian military? Thanks so much

 

I've come upon a very interesting variation. This is a double hook sling, but an early one with galvanized hardware, flat rivets, and a 1952 date. I was under the impression that the double hook sling came about with the introduction of the RPK in 1960, but this is clearly false. Perhaps the double hook slings were also used on AKS folders, or maybe as a late style RPD sling?

Also, it seems 1952 was the transitional year from the old leather tab style to the new riveted style.

 

Or, it is very possible that this is a 1962 sling and the 6 just looks like a 5. This would make more sense putting it in the RPK era, and that style of stamp I don't ever recall seeing with a pre 1959 date. It sure does look like 1952 though doesn't it?