Some Finnish Mosin Slings....

[fernleaf]

I've showcased my Finnish sling collection on a few other forums, but have yet to do so I present my collection here for your pleasure and reference.

Now, before I continue I would like to be clear that I don't know all there is to know about Finn slings. What I've learnt has come from reading and participating in various forum posts, looking at various websites, corresponding with Finnish collectors who have local knowledge, and trawling through the SA-Kuva photo galleries. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of primary source info available to us in Finnish, let alone English, but I'm sure some will be found in time.

From looking at SA-Kuva we can see that whatever sling was handy was used, so technically if it fits it is correct for your rifle regardless of type. Please note how largely I haven't said 'this is for an M28 or this is an M28-30 sling' as I don't believe slings were categorised this way - I believe that before 1941 you had Army sling types to go on rifles in Army inventory and Civil Guard sling types to go on Civil Guard rifles, after 1941 all bets are off and whatever is available is correct.

Here we go....

Civil Guard sling brown leather with riveted steel oval buckle - marked 'SY 1924' 54 inches long







Civil Guard sling brown leather with sewn German Silver(?) 'squarer' oval buckle marked 'SY 1925' 54 inches long









Civil Guard sling brown leather with riveted German Silver(?) 'squarer' oval buckle marked 'SY 30' (hard to see in the photos) 54 inches long









Army sling brown leather with riveted rectangular steel buckle. Also found in green leather perhaps the most common Finnish sling 1939-45? 53 inches long







Not REAL sure about this one, has been referred to as a 'Continuation War m/28 sling', but some Finnish collectors tell me it may be an early 1930s web sling intended for Civil Guard rifles. Thin tan web with German Silver buckle. 43 inches long (short?)





Civil Guard Depot replacement sling. Tan web with brown leather tab. 'Sk.Y' marked. These can be encountered without the CG mark, these are considered to be private purchase slings made by the same company. 49 inches long.







Army "M39" sling. Green leather with zinc(?) rectangular buckle. May be post-war. 49 inches long





Army 'M39' sling. Green Leather with reused steel oval buckle from earlier sling. May be post-war. 49 inches long





Army(Airforce? navy?) 'M39' sling. Grey leather with zinc rectangular buckle. Post-War. 48 inches long





Rubberised canvas 'tractor belt' sling. One end riveted together, the other with sling button. Made from grey rubberised canvas, this one is missing its keeper. 50 inches long







Rubberised canvas 'tractor belt' sling. Both ends with sling buttons. Made from orange rubberised canvas. This one is unissued. 50 inches long











Late Continuation War depot replacement sling. Made from green web with steel rectangular buckle. Many different coloured leather reinforcing pads available. 48 inches long











Late Continuation War depot replacement sling. Made from green canvas with a reused German Silver squarer oval buckle. 46 inches long







Civil Guard two piece 'M30' sling. Steel wire roller buckles. Also an oval buckle version out there. Long section is 45 inches long, short section is 12 inches long. After the war the Army removed the short section from these slings and issued the long section only.









Italian Mannlicher Carcano Sling. Brown leather - not too many variations of these....







Finnish Captured Soviet SVT38/SVT40 sling. Another variant exists using a smaller trapezoidal buckle.







Finnish Captured Soviet M91/30 sling. Fairly common, with some 'ersatz' variants being found.















There are a few different variants of Finn Mosin slings that I'm missing - I'd love to see what slings some of you guys have?

[Longcolt44]

You would be better off asking to see the rifles that match your slings. That is the best collections of slings seen here on these forums.

[redspoon]

Outstanding collection Looks like that could have taken years of diligent work. Thanks for sharing.

[Lotema]

That's an amazing collection you've put together! Thanks for showing all of those, I've not seen a few of those before.

[fernleaf]

Thanks very much guys. I've been collecting Finnish slings and rifles and other bits and bobs for nearly ten years - I wish I had rifles for all these to go on. All of these have had to come to me in New Zealand from the US or Europe.

There's a few types I'm missing that I'd love to own.

[Fledge]

Thanks for sharing this great resource. Maybe the moderators can pin this post or add it to the russian-mosin-nagant main information page.

[7x57]

Awesome collection, thanks for sharing.
Any chance to see a similar post of your great Finnish ammo pouch collection here, too?

[fernleaf]

Any chance to see a similar post of your great Finnish ammo pouch collection here, too?

Of course, all in good time.....

[Longcolt44]

You have a PM.

[fernleaf]

You have a PM.

Me?

I just checked and my Inbox is empty?

[Fledge]

Yeah sent it me by mistake. I'll forward it to you.

[zeebill]

Awesome group of slings!!!!! Learned something I suspected for many years. I had a Jap rifle I traded for many years ago and it came with a sling exactly like the unissued tractor belt sling you show but with no SA markings or anything else to indicate it was Finnish that I could detect. For some unknown logical reason before the Jap rifle hit the road I removed the sling and kept it. Many Jap collectors have looked at and told me yes it was indeed Japanese. Now the more I look at it the more I am sure it is a sister sling to your SA marked sling. That picture sure answered a lot of doubt in my mind about where it came from and I now indeed am almost positive it is indeed Finnish made. Thanks so much for the great set of pictures!! Bill

[fernleaf]

How about a couple more...?

These seem to be two slightly different variations of a pre-war Soviet Mosin Sling that have been captured by the Finns and put into their use...

[Fledge]

They just keep coming. You probably have the most comprehensive collection I have ever seen. Thanks again for posting.

[fernleaf]

Finn issued Swedish Mauser Sling.....

[fernleaf]

[fernleaf]

How about a couple more....?

Rubberised canvas 'tractor belt' sling. Grey version - in a LOT better condition (unissued) than my other example shown above. Quite proud of this one....











Captured Soviet pre-war leather sling. In standard Soviet configuration without any Finnish modifications unlike the others shown above.

[ksbanker]

I realize this is an older post, but how interesting is his collection! I love reading through old posts. So much knowledge is on this forum!