I received a link to this article today in my inbox and thought I would share it here. The article is from GUNS magazine and was written by Roy Huntington. For "old hands" it will bring to mind lots of memories and I hope newbies find the it interesting and thought provoking. As most know, Garands are great rifles and at the time it was introduced and adopted by the U.S. Army, it was cutting edge technology. Read more HERE.
Speaking of 'Guns' magazine, here is their archive--
ReplyDeletehttps://gunsmagazine.com/classic-issues/classic-guns-magazine-editions/
I urge everyone to take a look. Look at the ads. Read an article that is intelligently written and not dumbed down. It's a window into the world that old geezers like me grew up in.
Excellent! Thanks for the link!
DeleteThanks. I have "bookmarked" the site for future references, etc.
DeleteJust for the record, got my Garand from DCM back in 1983. $123.00, delivered by U.S. Mail. Still have it, still shoot it. If I may, a brief bit about DCM for those who don't know.
DeleteDCM stood for Department of Civilian Marksmanship. Yes, a dedicated gov't dept. The idea was to help keep marksmanship skills active in the civilian world to rely on in time of war. They did this by making surplus rifles and ammo available for civilian use. A local club where I used to shoot NRA Highpower was a DCM affiliated club (Paradise, CA). They had about a dozen DCM Garands on permanent loan. Every year they would make a trip to Sharpe Army Depot and draw several thousand rounds of 30-06 ball ammo, in the clips, in the bandoleers, in the 30 cal. ammo cans. Any American citizen could simply show up at a rifle match, pay the match fee, request a club rifle, and be issued 55 rounds for the match (five rounds for sighting shots). First come, first served.
Long ago, there was a time when you could ship your 1903 Springfield bolt gun off to a government arsenal and have them install a brand new GI barrel. Cost was about $10.
yeah. I remember spending hours reading my uncle old/back magazines just like them.
Deletesometimes I wish I had a time machine and maybe 5 grand in old money. I would go back in time and stock up
on all of the good weapons back then. anyone else remember old paper barrels stacked full of rifles at 12.95 each ? I think I was about 10 dollars short at the time. by the time I had some money, the laws had changed
and they wouldn't sell me one. paper route. different world back then. used to ride the bus to the city limits and go rabbit hunting. and yes a cop might stop and ask how we did. we showed him our haul of rabbits, he smile and tell us to be safe. that was when I was 12-13 years old. the world has changed here and not for the better.
dave in pa.
I own a Garand. I loved to shoot it. I retired it a few years ago due to my concern for parts availability should something break. I want my son and grandson to be able to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteParts are available from many vendors. I am not aware of any part that couldn't be replaced. I'd bring it out of retirement.
DeleteParts are all over. Nothing is non replaceable for them
DeleteParts are available and you should buy all of them now (and make sure they are correct and functional) while you can.
DeleteThey may not be available in the future for your grandson to purchase.
Carried one around for a month in boot camp, 1971. We were told not to mess with them and the DI would know if we did. Invariably someone would pull back the lever locking the chamber open. Those not familiar with physics would use their thumb to release the catch - and suffer a bit for it. The swollen thumb was a sure sign you were doing something you were not supposed to. :-)
ReplyDeleteFired one 1963 Army Basic Training. Well worn, rebuilt how many times, it performed flawlessly. The M-14 I was issued in Germany was a piece of shit.
ReplyDeleteI got real lucky when I ordered mine through the CMP. It was a new unissued rifle with a new CMP made stock.
ReplyDeleteMy comment when I received it was "I've been fired more times than this rifle has".
During WWII my mom worked at the Springfield Armory. My dad was a Marine in the Pacific.
ReplyDeleteBAMFs both of them.
DeleteAnon 2:08pm, my thanks to both of your parents for their service to our nation. And my thanks to Irish for pointing this article out. I subscribe to both Guns Magazine and American Handgunner magazine, both of which feature articles from Roy H. I also look forward each week to podcasts from Guns Magazine, hosted by editor Brent Wheat.
DeleteI actually wrote to Roy Huntington when considering whether to carry my Ruger SR9c or my S & W 3913, that I had just bought from my son, which is in mint condition. Roy actually took the time to write me back, personally, advising me to carry the Ruger, due to advancements in technology of materials and manufacturing. But he had good things to say about the S & W as well. I wrote back and forth with him a couple of times, and received a response each time. I don't know of too many other magazines whose retired editors would take the time to write and give advice to a subscriber.
I have a picture of my dad and his 4 brothers, from around 1951, with their parents, with all 5 sons in the uniforms of the service that they were currently in. Truly we were fortunate to have what many call the greatest generation, during our time of crisis. I also think that description can apply to others as well. One of my sons, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, is a gun nut, and owns an M1 Garand, which he reloads for, so he can shoot it. He lives in Kentucky, next door to another gun guy, who has often sent great gun deals my son's way, like the M1 Carbine he has.
Thanks also to your family for their service.
DeleteAlso thank you for sharing those thoughts.
Nice bit of history, just make sure you're using the correct ammo. I understand they can be adjusted to run say standard 30-06 but I hear they run far better on the ammo they were designed for.
ReplyDeletehttps://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/ammunition/m1-garand-ammo
my dad passed in 2010. we've been putting off cleaning out the garage. summer of 2021 I finally got to the back under the workbench. I found a 40mm ammo can full of bandoliers of .30-06 all on garand clips..all black tip AP.
ReplyDeletethanks dad!
Indeed. As Kipling said, a man can never have too much red wine, too many books or too much ammunition.
DeleteWhat many people don't realize about John C. Garand was that he also designed much of the tooling that made it possible for his big ugly rifle to be efficiently manufactured, perhaps as great a feat as designing the rifle itself.
"PING!" A sure sign of a fun time. Or bad time for someone at the other end of the rifle. If you'll excuse me, I have some clips to load.
ReplyDeleteyeah, passed up one for 600 bucks out the door one time back in the late 1990's. I regret that. although it was chambered in 308 Winchester. still used the clip though. they didn't have any clips in the store otherwise I might have bought it. about 10 years ago someone gave a Garand clip with 8 rounds of black tip AP rounds in it.
ReplyDeleteI pulled the heads and loaded them into 308 rounds using the load data from USdotmil. fired one at a steel
angle iron at 100 yards. yup. it went thru it. 1/4 inch thick steel with a nice roundish hole. saving the last 7 for if I may need to make a hole in something,,, dave in pa.
M2AP will come in handy when "they" start deploying those robot dogs.
Deleteyeah, I just know they will be nice to have on hand someday. they do make the 62 grain 5.56 rounds look kind of weak to tell the truth. dave in pa.
DeleteI bought mine through the DCM in the late nineties after competing in an event at Camp Perry in OH. That thing is a tack driver in my hands with open sights. I outshot all of my friends with their fancy ARs and AKs with 9 power sights. I also have my uncle's Model 1911 that he carried at the Battle of the Bulge. Two me, these are the finest two firearms ever designed and produced. Still perfect after 100 years. No changes needed.
ReplyDeleteHard to argue with 8 rounds of 'aught-six in a walnut n blued steel semi-auto package that says "fuck you" to an entire planet of wannabe tyrants. Tyrants require ships, tanks, artillery and soft-minded lackeys to enforce their will. Free men only need a rifle and the will to resist. Might not win but the motherfuckers will know they been in a fight.
ReplyDeleteI got to shoot blanks from an M1 when I pulled funeral detail while in the Air Force.
ReplyDelete