Yeah they’re tight at first but the leather will soften once you use it a bit, you can give it a wipe with Neetsfoot oil as well to soften it up. It will darken the leather but that will happen over time with use anyway.
I have a bunch of those chicom sks/ak slings, they’re great value for the price.
Twenty years from now they will be worth 20X what you paid for them.
I bought a box of Pattern 32, Canadian made slings, all dated 1944, with broad arrow stencils on them for $5 at a Vernon auction. There must have been close to a thousand slings in that box, all in bundles of ten, tied together with heavily waxy cord.
That was in 1988. I put that box on a shelf and forgot about it. When I came across it again, searching for other Pattern 32 gear, I decided to keep five bundles and take the rest to gun shows.
They were all in as new condition, no stains, unissued or used. I put $10/sling on them at the first show and one collector bought all I had with me.
Then I took them to a Kamloops show and put $15/sling on the ten bundles I brought with me. They didn't last past day one.
I finally sold off all of them over a period of three years. The last bundle sold for $20/sling.
Looking around, the prices I was charging were quite reasonable. All of the other tables and shops were selling them $5 more expensive than I was.
One thing I always look for at gun shows are 1914 leather slings, with date/manufacturer stamps. These are desirable for collectors trying to complete original rifles, especially No4 MKI T types. In excellent condition, some of these will bring $250+, while a well worn specimen will bring around $100.
At least once a year, I find one of these on a table priced around $20 or less. They were sold surplus NOS in the seventies for $1-$5 ea.
