The Firearm thread: Engineering artistry of wood, polymer and steel.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by TorpX

If I lived out where I could blast away freely (and had the dough), I would undoubtedly get a

M-1 Garand

"the greatest battle implement ever devised".

800$ at my local gun shop.

They're very nice rifles. My friend's Dad has one and he's been telling me for 2 years now that we're going to go shooting...but he has work all the time...being a cop and all...

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

800$ at my local gun shop.

They're very nice rifles. My friend's Dad has one and he's been telling me for 2 years now that we're going to go shooting...but he has work all the time...being a cop and all...

They should be a lot cheaper they only made several million of them but everyone wants the M1 Garand (never was that interested myself in them).

I do have an SVT-40 just as good of a weapon actually better having a better magazine which was the biggest drawback of the M1 and not because of the ping and the myth that US troops got killed when the ping was heard.As if you would even hear that in the heat of combat if you where stupid enough to expose yourself when you heard the ping anyway you would get shot by everyone else that still had rounds left.In combat your enemy tries to get on your flanks whilst you are distracted and then kills you the condition of your weapons has little effect on this tactic because he should not know that you are flanking him until you engage at which point he is overwhelmed unless he has outstanding NCOs and tact and has a lot of luck.

The 8 rounder of the M1 did make topping off very tricky because you had to prop the rifle on your leg and use both hands to hold the bolt open and and bullets while also holding the the clip in the magazine.The US Army combat manual actually advised that when preparing for an assault or when needing to have a fresh magazine in the M1 the user was to fire off the remaining rounds in the magazine until the clip was ejected and then load another 8 round clip into the magazine.I think that entire feature was John Garands little bit of engineering that he thought was unique (which it was) and he clung to that feeling it was ideal and not really thinking about some of the impracticality in the field that such a design can bring up.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

Thye should be a lot cheaper they only made several million of them but everyone wants the M1 Garand (never was that interested myself in them).

I do have an SVT-40 just as good of a weapon actually better having a better magazine which was the biggest drawback of the M1 and not because of the ping and the myth that US troops got killed when the ping was heard.
As if you would even hear that in the heat of combat if you where stupid enough to expose yourself when you heard the ping anyway you would get shot by everyone else that still had rounds left.

That was always my thought.

Why would you hear that in a heated firefight? War is hell...but War is also loud as hell.

If it wasn't so intense...You might be able to hear it.

Another military channel show had a Weapons Collector and Historian talking on there about how the US Soldiers would throw empty clips against something hard and the enemy would jump up thinking the American was out of ammo.

They're beautiful rifles though. I'd love to have one.

[Stealhead]

I have heard that claim about throwing the empty clips as well and it also sounds like BS so the sound of a bit of metal getting tossed is supposed to sound like a clip getting popped out of a chamber under many pounds of spring force right.

Don't get me wrong the M1 Garand was good weapon it just was not the masterpiece better than everyone else weapon people make it out to be.Weapons are one thing but in war many other factors are important and the best weapon do not always win.The side with the best logistics and the best trained troops the best NCOs and the most well trained officers will win.Your brain is the ultimate weapon team work is the ultimate weapon.