Home Reviews First Sling FIRST M16 sling mount

FIRST M16 sling mount

by Arnie

FIRST
M16 Side Sling Mount
by
Permian

Stock
Specifications
RRP ???


Despite
being arguably the best AEG’s Tokyo Marui (TM) make, the M16
series of weapons does have its faults; barrel wobble, receiver
flex, HOP problems to name a few. One of the more practical
problems with the AEG’s for CQB users is fixing an assault sling
to them. First off you have to be sure your M16 will be strong
enough to take the extra force exerted by the sling. I have
seen an M16A2 snapped in half as a result of a sling being used
over actively. This is primarily a result of the ABS receiver
not being strong enough to take the extra force. In my particular
case this is not a problem as my all metal M4A1 can happily
withstand the extra force exerted upon it.

The
second problem is the sling mounts themselves. On all the AR16
variants, bar the M4’s and SR16 the front sight sling mount
is located on the underside of the front sight assembly. On
all solid stock variants the rear sling mount is located on
the underside of the stock, and on the sliding stock variants
sling mount is incorporated into the stock. The problem is that
99% of assault slings are designed to be fixed to mounts on
the side of rifle, so the underside mounts render the assault
slings difficult to use. Also on the sliding stock variants,
as the sling is mounted on the sliding stock itself it means
that moving the stock with he sling on is difficult. Because
there is a constant amount of material in the sling my moving
the stock you are reducing the available material that goes
round you!

FIRST
have taken a KISS approach to solving part of the problem, the
rear part of the problem. The Keep-It-Simple-Stupid has resulted
in the FIRST side sling mount, a piece of Stainless Steel 3mm
thick that sits between the back of the receiver and the stock
spacer.

The
sling mount is jet black with white engraved letters “S.S. 33×5.0mm”
(the specific dimensions of the gap for the sling in the mount).
With a gap 33mm wide the mount has the size to cope with just
about any sling on the market. It has 2 other holes machined
into it, the first to allow it to fit over the stock support
on the back of the receiver. The second is to allow for the
stock pacer of the M4 to mate with it properly and to allow
for the wires in the solid stock variants to pass through it.

Fitting
it involves removing both the stock and the stock spacer. Once
done you just slide the sling mount along the stock support
tube so it fits flush up against the receiver. Then you slide
the stock spacer on next and finally the stock itself. Simple.

After
fitting it I slung the M4 with my SA80 3-point sling I noticed
immediately that stock was more usable, since the new sling
mount allowed the stock to move independently of the sling.
As an offshoot I believe the weapon will be more solid and will
have a lower chance of breaking (ok not liable with the metal
body), since the 2 sling mount points are now closer together,
and also because the new sling mount is attached to the strongest
section of the receiver. For the £15 it cost me I believe
the sling will make a significant difference in CQB environments.
Perhaps a little pricey, and only recommended to those with
reinforced AR15 variants – M4 owners might want to have a look
at investing in one if CQB is you thing.

by
Permian

External
Links:
FirstFactory

Site
links:
TBA

Comment
on this review in the forums


Last
modified:
Sunday, March 9, 2003 7:01 PM
Copyright 2003 ArniesAirsoft




Cookies are used improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More