Installing M-1907 Sling That is Too Thick?

[MarkinPNW]

I posted a question at the M-1907 page on installing an M-1907 Sling where the lower hook is too thick to fit through the rear swivel. I thought of an answer, but I don't know if it's a good one.

My answer (I have not tried it yet) is to remove the lower buttplate bolt to loosen the swivel, feed through the lower hook, then retighten the buttplate bolt into the swivel. Is this a reasonble solution? Do I need to also loosen the upper buttplate screw when doing this? Is there a danger of wearing out or stripping the threads for the upper screw?

(I have never done a detail strip of stock and buttplate assembly.)

[pickax]

You should not have to remove any butt plate component to install a sling. If it's a new repro sling it will be hard to deal with due to thickness of the leather. Make it supple by a leather conditioner. I use pure lanolin for that.
Look at this step by step instruction.
https://thecmp.org/1907-sling-installation/

[MajDave]

I had purchased a NOS M-1907 sling after I purchased my first Garand and had the same problem. I removed the long butt plate screw and rear swivel to get the thick, not broken in leather and hook through the swivel and then replaced the swivel and long screw on the butt stock. Over years of use, the leather became more flexible, and I can remove and replace the sling on the rifle the traditional way. Hope this helps.

[MarkinPNW]

MajDave, I did what you described, and I now have my M-1907 sling properly installed on my Garand. I suppose if I want to remove the short strap before it gets "broken in" I can just remove the butt plate bolt again. Not a problem once I figure out what I'm doing. Thanks for the encouragement.

[USriflecal30]

My experience with one like that was that the swivel had just gotten beat down in the past and was just too close to the wood (compared to some others). So I just took it off and "flattened" it a tiny bit, all good.