M1 Garand from 1943

[guscanoesp]

hi gus,
what a lovely looking rifle, you are very lucky to own and fire it.
We can only get deacs here in england, and they arnt cheap, but i would love one in my collection. thanks for showing it.
dave.

Dave,

Thanks for your compliments. I know your deact market, I have bought some weapons in the UK in the past (mainly from Ryton Arms). They were not so expensive ten years ago, and the deactivation process was not as destructive as the one you have today.

I was surprised to know that you cannot have a 30.06 caliber semiauto rifle as a hunting weapon in Britain. A pity.



Regards,


Gus

[zwerge]

Very nice,I am envious,take good care of it.

Zwerge

[guscanoesp]

Very nice,I am envious,take good care of it.

Zwerge

Zwerge,

Thanks for the comment. I will take good care of it. This weapon is definitively a keeper.

In fact, I will probably end up like Clint Eastwood in the movie "Gran Torino".


Regards,



Gus

[Rick]

Fantastic find, i would love to let a clip off my self......do you think it saw active service?

[gb416]

Hi Gus,
I had the privilege to do a fair bit of shooting with a couple of these here in Australia ....... unfortunately they had to be handed into the Government under a firearms buy back scheme due to an over reaction by the Government to the Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania .All semi auto rifles and shotguns were banned. I think they where bought back for around $500 Aussie dollars (200 pounds?) each. Thousands of guns were turned to scrap!
Regards Geoff

[Brian Childress]

Ned,

I had high hopes when I saw the photos of the weapon, but when I had it in my hands and was able to check every piece with the book wiritten by Scott Duff about the M1 , I was stunned. Every piece was correct, even the barrel. And all of them in a very nice condition. It was like winning the lottery.

I bought bullets to fire ten 8 round clips. And I tell you the sense of power you deliver while shooting is amazing. You can tear a person in two if you shoot several well aimed shots. The clouds of dust behind the target when the bullets hit the ground were quite big. And the kickback was relatively low. The only problem I had is that I am left handed, so I aim with weapons to my left side. The clip ejects really hard, and I had to be careful not to have my cheek in the way of the bolt when it happened. The empty cartridges also eject with quite a high speed, but the clip ejection is quite impressive.

With the M1 you can only shoot projectiles one by one (it will only fire one shot when the trigger is pulled) but you can fire the eight shots really fast depending of the speed of your finger pulling the trigger repeatedly.


Regards,



Gus

I too am left handed and had the same issues when firing a friends M1. Did you keep your fingers clear of the action when loading a new clip?

[guscanoesp]

I too am left handed and had the same issues when firing a friends M1. Did you keep your fingers clear of the action when loading a new clip?

Brian,

Well, I can tell you I did get the "M1 thumb", the typical injury while loading a clip. I inserted it too deep and the bolt closed and got my finger badly. After that I learned to introduce it slowly until the bolt "pinned" the first bullet and then closed the bolt manually by pushing the operating rod forward.


Regards,

Gus

[guscanoesp]

Fantastic find, i would love to let a clip off my self......do you think it saw active service?

Rick,

Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately the guy I purchased it from did not ask the american military from the U.S. base. All he said is that he kept his rifle with him after the war, but nothing more.

Having all the original parts is rare for a combat used rifle, as at least some parts were usually replaced during its service. The barrel is actually in a very good condition, which tells it was not shot thorougly, being as it is original to the rifle. But at the same time the rifle it is not in 100% pristine condition, the stock seems to have had some use. Maybe it was used for garrison pourposes in an american base during the war, or perhaps it only saw limited combat use. Sadly we will never know.


Regards,

Gus

[dvl]

I would imagine that this rifle did not see combat as it is in fine shape (what a pity!) I cringe when I think of these rifles being destructively deactivated. I have a '42 Lend-Lease Springfield with a 6 digit serial number. It is entirely original save for a poppet-type gas cylinder lock screw. A beauty collected by my father, it is a joy to shoot, as are its little brothers, the Inland carbines. Dad knew how to pick 'em!

[guscanoesp]

I would imagine that this rifle did not see combat as it is in fine shape (what a pity!) I cringe when I think of these rifles being destructively deactivated. I have a '42 Lend-Lease Springfield with a 6 digit serial number. It is entirely original save for a poppet-type gas cylinder lock screw. A beauty collected by my father, it is a joy to shoot, as are its little brothers, the Inland carbines. Dad knew how to pick 'em!

Dvl,

Thanks for the comment. I agree with you regarding the deactivation process. I hate it, so when I learned that this rifle could be owned live with a hunting firearm license, I did not hesitate. I am not a hunter (i would not kill an ant) but it is worth it to have a complete specimen.

Do you have photos of the Lend-Lease Springfield? If so, please post them. It is always nice to see a well kept specimen.

Regards,


Gus