A saddle ring is a metal ring attached to the receiver of a carbine,

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with b ...

, or

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub- pr ...

allowing it to be tied to a

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kn ...

or used with a specialized sling. Saddle rings could be attached directly to the firearm, or in some cases to a saddle ring bar, which allowed the saddle ring to slide along the action, such as on the British Enfield P1856, a short cavalry version of the

Pattern 1853 Enfield The Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket (also known as the Pattern 1853 Enfield, P53 Enfield, and Enfield rifle-musket) was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifled musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867; after which many we ...

used in the American Civil War. Virtually every carbine-sized weapon used in the Civil War was equipped with a saddle ring and/or saddle ring/bar. Saddle rings are most commonly found on

lever-action The toggle-link action used in the iconic Winchester Model 1873 rifle, one of the most famous lever-action firearms Lever-action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger g ...

rifles and other firearms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that were suitable for use on

horseback Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. The muzzle of the rifle was placed in a ( carbine socket or boot )

scabbard A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and lever-action rifles on t ...

. The idea behind using the saddle ring, and its carbine sling, is to allow the mounted soldier to never be separated from his weapon.

References

Firearm components {{Firearms-stub