Here we go again. [?=I bought this instead.] A genuine Springfield Armory M1 Garand. It's a CMP rifle. I'm never going to get that Blackhawk, am I? [/?]
No, that's exactly what the wood looks like all the way around. It was the straw that broke the camel's back when I was handling it. I had to have it. Hell, I stole it too. I got the rifle and a 192 round bandolier in en bloc clips in a tin for $100 less than what that rifle alone would cost if I bought it directly from the CMP.
Awesome. I bought one of S/A's "1 of 10,000" new production Garands about six years ago. I've only taken her out a few times, but, damn, is it a hoot to blast away with it! I first shot it during the day on New Year's Eve 2003/4 (IIRC). I was at my nephew's girlfriend's family's cabin and we went out back, I popped in an en-bloc clip, and unloaded all eight rounds on an innocent tree stump 30 or 40 feet away. I turn to my nephew--I was going to ask "How was that?"--and he's red-faced laughing, finally muttering "Dude, that...was...awesome!" If eight rounds of .30-'06 don't kill it, I'm not hanging around to see what will! (And I pronounce the man's name like HE did: GAIR-und. Not guh-RAND.)
Purdy. Is it as nice on the inside (like the bore) as it looks on the outside? I'd love to get an M1, but I have other priorities right now.
There's no way that's the original stock. But, I really don't care. I'm not after it for it's collector's value. I'm after it because it's a damned fine rifle that happens to be very attractive. The only flaw on this gun is some very, very minor finish wear on the bottom of the gas system in front of the bayonet lug. It looks like wear from someone attaching and removing a bayonet. I bought this rifle for one reason and one reason only. Ruger is making Super Blackhawks every day. There's only so many real Arsenal rifles left out there. It needs to go to a home of someone who appreciates it and will use it. If I can figure out a better way than Duct Tape to mount my EoTech and light, this just replaced my AR.
Yeah I was just curious. Damned beautiful. You know how to fix that blemish on the bottom of the gas system? Buy and mount your own bayonet. Come on you know you wanna. How are you fixed for a TM on it? Have you broken it down yet? Do you even know how?
Buddy of mine has a 16" M1905 bayonet of undetermined origin. I know it's at least as old as I am. He's gonna give it to me. My next trip to the range will be glorious. I'll feel like I need to wear all OD though.
Last night I got to thinking about the moral implications of owning this rifle. Face it. It's probably killed someone, or at least been used to try to kill someone*. This is reinforced by the serial number. The serial number indicates that it was built in May of 1943. It's a genuine war rifle. * - I really don't have a problem with it. It was just a thought exercise.
This brings an interesting point about this being a real and tangible piece of history. Every gun I own except for, now, three are for sale at any given moment. #1 - On my 21st birthday, my dad gave me the 1911 he'd carried as a police officer since the start of his career. All kidding and joking aside, you will pry that gun from my cold dead hands. #2 - My grandfather's coach gun. Living on a lake, he has problems with snakes. When he got old enough for the recoil of a 12ga to bother him, he told me he was thinking about selling it. I promptly and immediately fixed that by trading him the Smith J-Frame I had in my pocket for that coach gun. #3 - This M1. It'll be passed on with the other two to my kids.
Interesting philosophical thoughts. I'll play Devil's Advocate though. If you don't want me to try and kick holes in your reasoning, read no further. It's just me bullshitting anyways, though, so take it with a grain of salt either way. That rifle having been built in May of 1943 is really not a guarantee that it has killed anyone. Cops carry guns all the time. The number that actually shoot someone with one is small. I realize soldiers are different than cops. They're in the killing business. That said, a lot of people carry rifles that aren't front line troops. Yes, they had the M-1 carbine and a lot of support people likely carried that, but a fair number of cooks, clerks, and communicators probably had M1s too. Add to that rifles used at home to train GIs and by MPs and others to protect American bases and the number whittles down even further. It might have never even been issued. That's unlikely, but possible. And even if your rifle did get issued to a frontline infantry grunt, I've got a hunch that 80% of the killing got done by 20% of the troops. Well that isn't entirely true. A lot of the killing got done by planes, tanks, artillery, and machineguns, but of the people who killed someone with a rifle, I don't know how many that was. Or the guy carrying it might've been killed. All that said, the M1 Garand was used for about two decades or so and yours could've seen service for almost 15 years. That raises the odds that at some point it killed some motherfucker.
Guns don't kill people. The man pulling the trigger is the killer. C'mon Fox, you know that! Anyhow, that pic brought back some memories. I bled, blistered, sweated, and drilled with that 10.5 lb hunk of beauty five mornings a week for three years- regulation drill, exhibition drill, rifle PT... you name it. Year four I carried a sword- I was the Drill Team Commander that year. You haven't REALLY loved the M-1 until you've either split your head open trying to catch a bad toss or had the front sight embed itself in the palm of your hand. Or both. Good times, dammit!
Nice rifle. I've wanted one of those for a good while, but you know how it goes... Please give us a range report with a picture of a paper target. No starting over if you have flyers.
Except for when I broke it down to clean it, it's been in it's rack in a safe since I brought it home. When I do get around to taking it, I'll let you know.
I never did get to the range with it. But, that will change this week (I hope). In preparation, I broke it down way past field stripping. Everything still looks really good, but the "fit" of some of the parts is a little more loose than I'd like. For instance, the FM said I'd have to use something like a piece of wood to get the gas tube/front sight assembly off of the barrel. Nope. It just slid right off. But, that doesn't really concern me. The 1911 my dad gave me has been broken down so much that I don't need a bushing wrench and it still shoots more accurately than I can shoot it. Also, I don't see how combat soldiers field stripped that thing in the field. I can't imagine trying to do that in a foxhole. Oh, and that operating rod is a whole lot of fun to reattach to the follower arm after lubing it all up.
That's a sweet stock! There was an Italian Paratrooper M1 for sale at the range recently. It had a pleasing stock like yours. I wish I had noted it's designation; I can't find it on the internet and it was not a BM59.
How much did that run you, out of curiosity? I've been looking around up here, but it seems hard to find one for under $600.
$600 for the rifle and a 192 round GI case of ammo (pre-loaded into en bloc clips in bandoliers). We went to the range today. I got worried. The very first round in the first clip was a misfire. But, after inspecting everything, it was a simple bad round. The firing pin struck the primer with sufficient force. I expected a couple of bad rounds because this lot was from 1978. I mainly bought it for the clips and bandoliers anyways. But, the rifle did it's job. We only shot a total of 48 rounds (six clips), but we had no other problems and at 100 yards from a vice it produced groups that could be covered by a quarter. Not bad for a rifle old enough to draw Social Security. There were three or four fliers, but again, I'm going to attribute that to 34 year old ammo. It was a pleasure to shoot. Due to the M1's immense girth, the recoil was negligible. I would have no problem producing a "mad minute." But, that wasn't the primary reason for this trip to the range today. The primary mission was to function test and zero the optics on my dad's new Daniel Defense AR-15.
Sounds like she's a great shooter. Half MOA from a mass-produced military rifle built a lifetime ago using--shall we say?--less-than-match quality ammo...speaks volumes about Mr. Garand's capabilities. Just curious, what optics on your dad's AR?
