It’s amusing to see the later manufactured non-lever action carbines with sling rings.  The Remington M14 slide action is an example.  It would have been fascinating to hear the management discussion when they decided to put a ring on it.  From a utility aspect, I can’t see that there would have been demand from the public.

pdog72 said
Or the occasional rifle ……….

And nope, I can’t say I’ve ever used the ring ……. or the sling…… that doesn’t attach to the ring

  

Beautiful piece! For me, the ring is very additive.  On rare occasions we have seen rings on nearly all Winchester rifles.  They routinely add a good bit of value.  In every example I’ve seen, I’ve found it a very appealing aspect. 

clarence said

steve004 said For me, the ring is very additive.

Not if you have a constitutional aversion to foolishness in whatever form it takes.  Attaching a moving part that serves no useful purpose, but is detrimental in so far as being a noise-maker, falls into the category of “foolish” for me.

Ask yourself, would you want such a ring attached to your modern rifle? 

  

Clarence – as you know, collectors are attracted to rare special order features, so a sling ring attached to a rifle fits the bill well. 

What is interesting is that for decades, rings were standardly attached to a variety of Winchester carbines – in fact – there was a good period of time where to not have the ring attached, was accomplished by special order.  I apply this to your statement regarding the foolishness of attaching a noise maker to a modern rifle.  Back in the day, these SRC’s (e.g. the hundreds of thousands of ’92, ’94 and other carbines) were purchased by the modern men of the day as their modern hunting pieces.  Yet apparently it was the same then as it is now –  the ring was nothing more than a noise maker.  Was there that strong of a nostalgic connection to a sling ring for all of these hundreds of thousands carbine purchasers?  

But you are correct. I’ve owned a couple Browning BLR rifles and would feel ridiculous having a ring put on the receiver.  

Bill Hockett said
The U.S. Army cavalry carried the carbine with a shoulder sling during the frontier era from approximately 1840-late 1880’s.  See the photo of a reenactor carrying a carbine slung while mounted on his horse.  In this case it’s a Spencer carbine but the idea was the same for Sharps, Springfield, etc.  A thimble on the saddle kept the barrel from flopping about.  The carbine takes a lot of abuse when the horse is at any gait faster than a walk. 

The sling is worn over the left shoulder and a snap connects to the ring on the carbine.  The command “Sling Carbines!” was the order to attach it to the sling prior to mounting the horse.

Oliver Winchester always hoped to get military contracts and the early carbines and muskets were made to meet the specifications in use at the time.  As we know, those military contracts never happened with some exceptions of trial arms or guns sold to foreign governments.

  

Thanks Bill – any examples involving lever action rifles?  It’s interested how this history explains why hundreds of thousands of Winchesters (not to mention Marlin, Savage, Colt, Burgess, Whitney-Kenney etc. etc.) were carried and hunted with an attachment that served no function for anyone who carried it.  I will attest that unless you tie a leather lace around the ring, the ring does act as a noise-maker which is very undesirable for deep woods hunting where shots are often under 50 yards.  The clank of that rings carries a good distance.

Bill Hockett said

steve004 said

Bill Hockett said

The U.S. Army cavalry carried the carbine with a shoulder sling during the frontier era from approximately 1840-late 1880’s.  See the photo of a reenactor carrying a carbine slung while mounted on his horse.  In this case it’s a Spencer carbine but the idea was the same for Sharps, Springfield, etc.  A thimble on the saddle kept the barrel from flopping about.  The carbine takes a lot of abuse when the horse is at any gait faster than a walk. 

The sling is worn over the left shoulder and a snap connects to the ring on the carbine.  The command “Sling Carbines!” was the order to attach it to the sling prior to mounting the horse.

Oliver Winchester always hoped to get military contracts and the early carbines and muskets were made to meet the specifications in use at the time.  As we know, those military contracts never happened with some exceptions of trial arms or guns sold to foreign governments.

  

Thanks Bill – any examples involving lever action rifles?  It’s interested how this history explains why hundreds of thousands of Winchesters (not to mention Marlin, Savage, Colt, Burgess, Whitney-Kenney etc. etc.) were carried and hunted with an attachment that served no function for anyone who carried it.  I will attest that unless you tie a leather lace around the ring, the ring does act as a noise-maker which is very undesirable for deep woods hunting where shots are often under 50 yards.  The clank of that rings carries a good distance.

  

Steve, I know of an 1876 short rifle in .50-95 Express SN 16710 with a staple and sling ring.  It was a presentation gun from Buffalo Bill Cody to his friend William B. Schneider and is currently in the Cody Firearms museum collection.  Cody also gave Schneider a 1873 short rifle with staple and sling ring, SN 72583.

  

Bill – 

Those sound two interesting and desirable rifles.  Particularly the .50-95.  I would be fascinated to know the specific thought that when into Bill Cody’s choice to include the sling ring when he special ordered those rifles.