M-1 envy

[GunnyGene]

An M-1 was the very first rifle I was issued when I enlisted and what I had for about 3 years. SerNo: 4260356.

In case anyone is wondering, the stack is always in front of the fireteam leader. The 3 men to his left are his team.

For the younger folks out there, now you know what the "stacking swivel" is for, and what it means when somebody says they're gonna grab you by it. :mrgreen:

Here's a saliva inducing pic :wink: :

 

[wwb]

Before my time.... in 1968, I had the M-14 in Basic Training, and the M-16 in Infantry AIT. Got the "New and Improved" M-16 in Vietnam.

 

[GunnyGene]

Before my time.... in 1968, I had the M-14 in Basic Training, and the M-16 in Infantry AIT. Got the "New and Improved" M-16 in Vietnam.

When I was in DaNang ('65-'66) the USAF had Marines guarding their helos. Big mistake. The helo's had M-16's clipped unsecured inside. More than one walked off in a Marines trouser leg. :lol: :lol:

 

[RSIno1]

A couple years ago I found myself with a safe full of M1s. Sold em all but got hooked on No1s in the process. My dad was at Saginaw Steering Gear in WWII and did a lot of tooling for the BAR and M1 Carbine. He said the carbine was the worst gun. I still had to have on in the collection though. I don't think he'd mind that I sold that one too. One nice thing is all of them went to guys under 40 so a whole new generation can enjoy them.

 

[wwb]

When I was in DaNang ('65-'66) the USAF had Marines guarding their helos. Big mistake. The helo's had M-16's clipped unsecured inside. More than one walked off in a Marines trouser leg.

I had an uncle who was a Marine who landed on Guadalcanal. Almost all the Marines then had bolt-action .30-06 rifles. Later, when the Army joined the fight, they all had M-1 Garands. The Garand of any KIA or WIA GI promptly ended up in the hands of a Marine. He claimed he didn't know how it could have happened, and he CERTAINLY didn't have any part in it. :roll:

 

[Fox Mike]

My first rifle also. Always thought it was THE rifle. I had the good fortune later in my career to shoot it with our Marksmanship Unit. It would reach out and touch someone.

 

[Pat-inCO]

Had an M1 for a while that had been built by a local smith. He built it for
high power rifle, and while in the rebuild process developed diabetes,
which for him was severely detrimental to his eyes.

As he rebuilt it, he changed the caliber to .308, so it shot like a powder
puff. Accurate as all get out and really fun to shoot. Unfortunately it had
the full right hand stock on it and I didn't want to convert it, so I sold it to
a buddie. I've replaced that with an M1A, with a "package" assortment
of goodies.

Both shot/shoot very well.

 

[blackhawknj]

I have 2 with 6 digit S/Ns, one built in September 1941, the other in May, 1942.

 

[contender]

Neat photo & all the stories.

I recently acquired an oddity. A 5 round clip for a Garand. I've only ever seen a couple of them, and the only one I ever saw for sale was marked $20. I no longer have a Garand, but I do still have a M1-A.

 

[Mobuck]

I've handled some M-1 Garands but was issued an M-14 which I considered "the improved version" of the Garand. I certainly liked the M-14 for it's effective power but probably couldn't manage the weight these days.

 

[Don Lovel]

I had to sell my 1952 International Harvester CMP rifle last year to help pay for my health insurance so I could get my cspine surgery performed. I sold it for $1100, considering I paid $165 for it in 1984, then shot probably around 20,000 rounds out of it, killed a deer with it, taught my grandson to shoot a full size rifle with it. I feel like I got my money's worth. I have another Garand my dad built out of CMP parts in his safe as he built one for each of my brothers and myself. I hope it shoots as good as the cornbinder did. At Whittington Center I got where I could clear 8- 500 meter rams standing offhand. It had a Smith muzzle Brake on it which tamed recoil down to M1 carbine level.

 

[Bob Wright]

Neat photo & all the stories.

I recently acquired an oddity. A 5 round clip for a Garand. I've only ever seen a couple of them, and the only one I ever saw for sale was marked $20. I no longer have a Garand, but I do still have a M1-A.

Five round clips were readily available in the late 'Fifties ~ early 'Sixties. These were intended for those who wanted to use the M-1 for hunting in states where a five round capacity magazine was mandated. Not sure how legal this turned out to be as the magazine still held eight (actually seven) rounds.

Bob Wright

 

[Merle1948]

Neat photo & all the stories.

I recently acquired an oddity. A 5 round clip for a Garand. I've only ever seen a couple of them, and the only one I ever saw for sale was marked $20. I no longer have a Garand, but I do still have a M1-A.

Those 5 round clips were intended for hunting were ammo capacity was restricted. The 2 round clips were intended for match use, where 10 rounds strings were required. :wink:

 

[loaded round]

They were also used in CMP rifle matches. I still have a half dozen left over from my competition days. BTW, there are also 2 round clips available clips also available for the M1 Garand back then. Twenty bucks for one...wow!

Neat photo & all the stories.

I recently acquired an oddity. A 5 round clip for a Garand. I've only ever seen a couple of them, and the only one I ever saw for sale was marked $20. I no longer have a Garand, but I do still have a M1-A.

Those 5 round clips were intended for hunting were ammo capacity was restricted. The 2 round clips were intended for match use, where 10 rounds strings were required. :wink:

 

[Valmet]

I'm lucky that I've been able to enjoy them as a hobbyist only but I appreciate your service gents. I love Garands, I'm a sucker for M1s with premium stocks.

 

[WendyZXZ]

We have a M-1 here, Kenneth loves it and I like it. It is a bit long and heavy for me. I am more comfortable with the SKS we have here!