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| Science & Technology |
| This Rifle Beat Hitler and North Korea...And It's Deadly at 550 Yards: Meet the M-1 |
| 2019-12-15 |
| [The National Interest] Key point: Plastic and metal are in, but this wooden rifle was the Greatest Generation's greatest weapon. A variety of outstanding weapons and pieces of equipment affected the course of World War II for both the Allies and the Axis powers. There was the British workhorse 25-pounder field gun, the deadly Supermarine Spitfire fighter, the Avro Lancaster bomber, the universal carrier, and the dependable Bren light machine gun; the rugged Soviet T-34, regarded as the best tank of the war; the devastating German 88mm antiaircraft and artillery gun, and the formidable Tiger tank series; the feared Japanese Mitsubishi Zero carrier fighter; and, from the American "arsenal of democracy" came the ubiquitous jeep, the Sherman medium tank, the half-track, the bazooka rocket launcher, the universally used C-47 transport plane‐and the Garand M-1 infantry rifle. Designed long before the war by John C. Garand, a French Canadian engineer, the semiautomatic, gas-operated, air-cooled, clip-fed M-1 was the main infantry weapon of the U.S. Army in 1941-1945. Firing a .30-caliber cartridge in eight-round clips, it was the world’s first semiautomatic rifle in military service and was used wherever American soldiers saw action, in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Pacific Theater, France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany. The M-1 had a significant advantage over the bolt-action rifles used by the other Allied and enemy armies because of its semiautomatic mechanism. Its shooter could fire as fast as he could squeeze the trigger. A trained soldier was able to fire eight rounds within 20 seconds and then quickly insert a full clip without taking his sights off the target. He could also load with regular ball, tracer, armor-piercing, or incendiary ammunition, and with relative ease he could turn the weapon into a grenade launcher. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #14 Huey pilot in Nam 70-71. Traded an ARVN for a full auto M-14 cut off at beginning of stock and a pistol grip. Great when I found myself walking around in the weeds. Muzzle flash and full auto surprised several NVA. |
| Posted by: Spert the Fat4840 2019-12-15 20:32 |
| #13 Sounds like paradise, Besoeker. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2019-12-15 14:44 |
| #12 I suspect the new Springfield Armory M1A in 6.5 Creedmoor tops the list for long-range accuracy. Not personal knowledge, I hardly shoot anymore, just anecdotal reporting. I use a Remington 7600 pump in 30.06, good for deer and hogs. But rigged into that stand safely at 10-12 feet and napping mostly. No better sleep can be had, and when you wake up.... you're HUNTING again. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-12-15 12:49 |
| #11 I use checkmate brand mags in the M1A. No failure to feed. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2019-12-15 12:49 |
| #10 I have an AR-10 in .308, it accepts 20 and 25 rounds magazines. It's a good rifle, certainly out to the ranges I would use it at, which for me is the same as the ranges I would use the Garand. The Garand though is a piece of history, one that just....feels right when you shoot it. Proper. No idea how to describe it other than that. Is there more effective rifles now, certainly. But it's just not the same. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2019-12-15 12:41 |
| #9 M-14 has to be a close competitor. Edson Range at Camp Pendleton I fired iron sight slow fire prone position at a Dog target (upper torso) at 500 yards with a tight sling and got 20/20 hits. My eyesight was better in 1969. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2019-12-15 12:01 |
| #8 How much is due to the 30-06 cartridge? I am ignorant to the reality of this stuff, I got my first rifle last year, a .22 bolt action pop gun. I learned my shooting in scouts 60 years ago but for a variety of female objections couldn't have my own till we moved to NH to retire. When I've had the opportunity I've shot a lot of different guns, but does 2 or 3 shots really count? I've heard that the AR10 with a .308 is a good match for a Garand, but as I said "What do I know?" |
| Posted by: AlanC 2019-12-15 11:57 |
| #7 I qualified with an M-1 Iron sights 300 meters You could reach out out and touch someone with it Too bad our kids are stuck with a popgun that is really best intended for jungle combat or a tent peg I hated the M-16 and many in my units were constantly trying to scrounge up something that actually would kill at 300 meters |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2019-12-15 09:40 |
| #6 That only happens once....you never want any body part in there after that happens. Hooboy no sir. Yeouch. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2019-12-15 09:34 |
| #5 I don't have a Garand but I do have a Springfield '03. Love it. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2019-12-15 09:32 |
| #4 Loved mine...even with the Garand thumb thingy |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2019-12-15 08:02 |
| #3 Yea, it's nice. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2019-12-15 01:36 |
| #2 I have an M1A by Springfield Armory. I originally had a synthetic stock, but I replaced it with a walnut stock. Now it is back to the original configuration and it is great, like it should be. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2019-12-15 01:27 |
| #1 I love my M-1. Mine is an international harvester one and I wouldn't trade it for anything. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2019-12-15 00:19 |