AkMike,

I don't know as I haven't used the leather covered snaps. The A. Henry sling has rotten stitching, as I mentioned. I carefully removed the swivels from that sling, keeping the leather intact. I'm hoping it can be restored by a skilled leather worker. Anyway, having harvested these swivels, I use them with the modern sling for any rifle fit with sling eyes.

The Woodward sling is in better condition, with all stitching apparently sound. Still, I'm not going to rely on 120 year old leather and cotton thread to sling a valuable classic over my shoulder, as you surely understand.

In a day or so I'll get both rifles and slings out of the safe so I can take some documentary photos showing details of the leather work on each.

If the Woodward sling is quieter it won't be by much. There's a lot of noise created by the hook moving in the eye - metal to metal contact. The leather covering on the Woodward swivel would prevent contact between the sling loop and the barrels, but it would have no effect on noise created by the hook and eye.

I hunt with my rifles, and I've been planning to devise a way to simply lash the sling to the eyes using leather laces. It won't be as elegant but it should be quiet.

Curl