USGI slings from CMP in Port Clinton, helpful tips for attaching them to guns

[Mutant Texan]

I went to the CMP in Port Clinton and bought six USGI slings.  They cost $5.35 per sling ($5 + .35 tax).  I tossed these slings in a deep sink with hot water and some Tide soap and got most of the crap and grime out of them and hung them up to dry over night.  I used these style slings at my first 2 Appleseed events and they are both good and cheap.   

I am planning to attend the October Appleseed in Gibsonburg Ohio at the Sandusky County Sportsman Club.  I will bring extra slings in case someone needs one.  The only thing I ask is that you cover the cost of the sling (tips always welcomed).

I am posting this to show how your sling set up (Magpul Quick Disconect, 1" or 1.25" swivels etc.) matters with the different CMP slings.  I will descibe it all in the paragraphs below.

Aside from the grime that they are coated with, they are good slings and they come in two colors; dark olive drab and faded olive drab .  They are also made of cotton.  I have compared the black nylon slings commonly attached to the black guns to the cotton slings.  I prefer the cotton for the increase in friction between your arm and the sling.  This friction prevents the sling from working itself down the arm.  I do like the color of black cotton slings but they are not sold at the CMP store.

The choice of slings matters as well (pics included to explain).  Some of these slings straps do not fit through both sides of the buckle and thus you can't take them apart all the way.  This does not matter if you are using the stock clip.  If you however want a Magpul push button Quick disconnect setup like the one I have on my CMMG Mutant Rifle or the Quick disconnect swivel for other guns (Ruger 10/22), you will need to find a sling that comes apart all the way.

I also know that the Ruger 10/22 comes with an OEM 1" swivel setup.  You can use the 1.25" slings with them if the metal tab on the end of the sling has a narrow metal tab.  You will also want to grab a sling with the narrow clip (I am guessing a dremel would also work on the clip).  These are a bit hard to find.  I highly recommend that you get a sling that comes apart all the way and put QD swivels on it.  See picture #2.

If you just put a Quick Disconnect (QD) swivel on only the barrel end of the rifle and use the standard clip for the stock end, you don't need one that comes apart all the way.  You would see this type setup on a black gun with a free floating barrel and the standard clip attachment on the stock of the rifle.

I have shown the different setups in the pics below.  The first pic is of a sling that has the ability to come apart all the way and has the Magpul style push button QD style swivels on it.  I like the push button setup a lot and highly recommend it to anyone with a "black gun" that does not have the standard AR-15 sling hardware.

The second pic is a sling that has been taken apart all the way.  This is what you want if you plan to put quick disconnect swivels on both ends of the sling.  I did this for my Ruger 10/22.  The QD swivels make it very easy to use the different sling setups when shooting offhand.  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-Connection-1-1-4-Black-One-Piece-Sling-Swivels-TAL79401/37387966  This is a link to just show what I am talking about.  Take a screw out of the Ruger and buy the kits that has the same screws in it and you will have a nice setup on a Ruger 10/22 as seen in the last picture.

The third pic is a sling that will not fit through the stock side of the buckle.  As long as you can get it through the first hole in the buckle, you can throw a QD swivel on the barrel end and then use the standard clip on the stock end of the rifle.  This is more for those guys with the black guns with the free floating barrels and a standard stock.

The 4th pic is just showing the Magpul style push button QD attachment spot for the sling. (my favorite setup) 

I have seen these push button QD attachment points in keymod, Mlok and a picatinny rail syles.  I have not used the Mlok standard so I do not have a strong opinion about them or any experiences with it.  I do however know that I prefer the Keymod vs the picatinny rail setup.  My CMMG rifle came with the Keymod system so I had to use it.  I will note that I like the Keymod setup a lot. 

The Keymod is deigned with an interesting cam locking system that holds very well.  The conical shaped cams on this standard will turn to the correct orientation when you tighten the screws assuming you have the cam lugs facing forward when you slide the mount in the holes.  You simply put them in the keymod holes, slide it forward a bit and torque them down.  As an engineer, Keymod makes a lot of sense to me and is designed well for the job that it is doing.  I have seen issues with Keymod on the internet and they all seem to be the result of incorrect installations or parts not following the standard.  Stay with metal parts that wont deform and parts that follow the specs.  There should be a built in recoil lug in the system that grabs a hold of the opposite side of the hole or in the next hole over closest to the cam.

I have read a lot about the Mlok system and think that it has a good shot at becoming the winning standard in the end.  FN and Colt Canada have officially adopted the Magpul Mlok system.  Magpul is now making tons of products in this standard in both polymer, and metal.  I will also add that I can find picatinny rail and Mlok stuff on Cabela's and BassPro's shevels but not any Keymod items.  I had to order the Keymod attachment for my Mutant rifle from the internet.  The Mlok system does require a bit more attention to detail because you must make sure that the tabs are rotated 90 degrees to engage in the Mlok holes.  If they are not perfectly oriented, you could damage the mounting surfaces.

Mlok is like VHS and Keymod is like Betamax I guess .  I am not investing much money in either standard because I want to see how things shake out before I put too much money in.  For now, the push button QD mount is as far as I plan to go.  I would lay money on Mlok winning over Keymod just based on the fact that Magpul is pushing Mlok.

The 5th pic is the stock of my Mutant rifle.  It came with the Magpul stock and it has a built in push button QD spot on the stock.

The last two pics are of my Yugoslavian SKS.  Despite being a commie gun, it is one of my favorites.  I was able to fit it with a USGI sling as well by using the standard hardware.  You just have to make sure that the metal tab for the barrel end is the narrow version.  The standard width metal tab simply won't fit through the mount on the SKS.  This is a poor man's Garand and a great gun for center fire shooting. 

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I posted this morning and have been noodling all day over how to move the sling swivel for the SKS closer to the wood hand guard.  The problem with the current placement of the front sling attachment is the gas ports for bleeding the hot gases out of the piston once the action has cycles would be under your hand.  The barrel and gas system of this rifle also tends to become hot very quickly.  The SKS is the poor man's Garand but damn, it has one serious design flaw that endangers the safety of the shooter if they were to use American skills.  I will post an update once I have found or come up with a better solution.  You can see the gas port on the far right of picture #6.  I have not fired this gun in many years and saw the issue early on this morning when I took the picture.  I just did not have a solution yet and planned to modify this post later once I had the solution.  I am still searching and thinking.

I thought I had a "good" solution of swapping the wood stock for an after market polymer stock and just attaching a new swivel in a better spot.  The concern here is that this is a Curio and Relic firearm.

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/guide/firearms-curios-or-relics-list-1972-2007-atf-p-530011/download  It is listed at the very end of Section II in this ATF document.  This gun was modified with ATF approved items like a spring for the firing spring to prevent unsafe slam fires and the Techsights.  I can't allow this gun to be modified in a way that would jeopardize the C&R status.

http://www.murraysguns.com/download/murrayfp.pdf This is a copy of the letter from the BATFE stating their official position on the subject of C&R in regards to what is allowed for a C&R firearm to retain its status.

                                                                                                                                                                                      This modify was added at 11:35 PM EST
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*rant, just my opinion*
I will add that I love the 7.62x39 caliber but I hate the AK-47 style guns.  I don't own an AK-47 style rifle.  I have shot them many times and I find them to be loose and sloppy.  I know that being loose and sloppy is why they are also reliable but you are sacrificing precision for reliability.  I would rather have a balance of both reliable and precision. 

This Yugoslavian SKS was $200 when I bought it "new" in 2006.  It came in a cocoon of hardened cosmoline.  For the next 4 years I was able to cook cosmoline out of it every time I went to the range.  You used to be able to buy large boxes with 10 of these things in it for very little money.  I have not seen them for sale in a long time.  If you have a SKS, buy the Techsight for it.  You get a sight radius that is the same as the M1 Garand.  This rifle seems to be as precise as my Garand but it is a lot cheaper to feed.