CD87 p92 - SS tells us the rifle Kleins shipped to Hidell was a 91(T)roop (S)pecial carbine

[Bob Prudhomme]

It may well be that C2766 first arrived in America with a bottom sling mount on the forestock and a side sling mount on the butt stock. Changing it back to the original side sling mount may have occurred when the rope sling was replaced with the holster sling, and would have taken about five minutes.

By who though? When and where? By Dial Ryder?

Bob, look at my posts. Chances are the rifle in the backyard photo already has a barrel side sling mount. However it appears it has one with an abnormally wide band.

Would the Italian preparers send mismatching mounts which would be awkward due to their discomfort? Are there any other cases where buyers received mismatching mounts?

It would be the same person that fitted the rifle with a piece of rope for a sling, and then swapped that rope for a sling made from a holster strap. I would think the strap swap would bother everyone more than the sling mounts.

I would also think the wide band would be indicative of something amiss with the sling mount. I don't think the Italians particularly cared if the mismatched sling mounts were uncomfortable or not. As I said earlier, I have seen Carcanos with forward sling mounts that have both a side and a bottom ring. Also, there is a Carcano registry that shows a small number of M91/38's with bottom sling mounts. When and where they received these is not stated, but I would guess it was just prior to being exported as surplus.