[John in CA.]

Found this on a blog-site, thought some here would enjoy.......

"Why I like Garands

It satisfies the eyes. It looks warm, robust, serious, and
capable. It looks like victory, freedom and liberation. It looks
friendly. It does not look evil. It does not look delicate. It does
not look cheap.

It satisfies the ears. The clocklike schnick when you pull the
bolt back. The warning click as you shove home another 8 round clip.
The massive solid slam as the bolt rams another round into the
chamber. The deep throated bark of the muzzle as you fire away.
The final Ka-Ting as the empty clip is ejected. The horrifying scream
of agony as the guy four benches down learns never to hesitate when
removing his thumb from a freshly loaded clip.

It satisfies the touch. The warm sculpted wood. The curve of the stock.
The curl of the bolt lug. The take-up of the trigger. The robust, solid, yet
unsharp push of the kick.

It satisfies the soul. It is the defender of liberty. It is the champion of
victory. It is the guarantor of freedom. It will not be used to rob banks.
No terrorist will unleash it on a crowd of unarmed victims. No gangster will
use it to shoot little girls while missing his imagined gangster enemies.

It is the good guy's weapon. It is just the ticket to liberate a country. It
opens the doors of concentration camps. It saves people from tyranny.
It topples dictators. It squashes fascists. It pushes communists behind
their walls. It defends the homeland. It provides for the common defense.
It is necessary for the security of a free state.

It brings joy to women and children as they fire it. It strikes fear in the hearts
of those that oppose freedom. It makes friends at the shooting range. It
reminds us of the cost of freedom. Its lavish expense is appropriately justified.

It is your duty as an American to own one. Get one now. Buy ammo. Use it.
Never mind the price, find the best one you can. You have no excuse.
The time is now!!!!!!"

 

[Terry N.]

Hooah! That's all I can say about that!

 

[Dana in Montana]

i've got mine....

A Springfield Armory,serial no. in the 800,000 range.I've had it for clsoe to 30 years......Also had a Fowler built National Match that was VERY,VERY accurate!!

 

[Mike in Fresno]

they are sweet to shoot. I had one that a friend picked up for me. He told me it was an IH and very nice. I told him to buy it. When I got it it turned out to have an IH receiver and not much else. It was fun to shoot tho.

 

[gccjr]

Dang you Dana. Got drool all over my keyboard. That ia one sweet looking M1 Forgot my rifle serial munber, but never forgot carrying one. Half a century ago.
________
buy herbalaire vaporizer

 

[MtBill]

Thanks John!! Had my thumb hung up not once, but twice(years apart). Life is exciting when one has a 400# battle rifle hanging on ones thumb!! The 2nd bite was during a lesson on how not to get M-1 thumb....I think I got my point across to the student, as soon as the laughter ceased..Bill

 

[s3gunner]

I have a "Tanker" model

I love to shoot the shorter version even better! It just feels a bit better.
The only problem I have, is that my middle daughter (5-2, 115 pounds) all but sleeps with it during deer hunting season. I offered her any gun she wanted, but she likes that one.... She said she might give it up if I hand over the keys to my '67 Land Rover.... tough call...

 

[Dana in Montana]

hey Bill..did ya

WET yer pants??????? I DID!!!!!!!...but even worse than the M-1 thumb was the time i was "chasing brass" at the indoor range and a .45 case rolled up to the outside door....just as i reached for the brass someone opened the damn door from the outside and caught my TRIGGER finger between the bottom of the door and the floor....the idiot kept PUSHING on the door cause it wouldn't open and i yelled and screamed but he kept pushing..I went to my knees and put my shoulder against the door to keep the dude from doing any more damage ...HOLY SH*T!!!!!When he finally quit he'd peeled the hide back form the nail to the first joint...it was so sore it kept me from jerking the trigger for a while!!

 

[John in CA.]

Pawnshop story

Thats funny Dana (years later it is anyway).

Thanks for the picture. Sure is a nice piece of equipment!

Back in the mid 80's, a friend, Ted and I made a habit of visiting the local pawnshops regularly for guns. Back then (as many of us remember) it was nothing to walk in and see 100 or 200 rifles in the racks for sale. Then the FFL laws changed and there went that hobby.

But one day, we walked in to a shop in Fresno, and they had a Johnson semi-auto paratrooper rifle. Price, $175.00. Ted plopped down a C-note, and the guy said "Whats this?"? .... .... Thats my offer... .... "oh,...OK....sold"

http://www.johnsonautomatics.com/identification.htm

Sometimes I had cash , and did the buying, and sometimes he would buy, and I would drive the truck....but after one of us bought something, anything...we would always flip a coin later on that same day, and decide who owned what. And then settle up the finances later. Ol' Ted won that Johnson coin toss, and still laughs about it when we visit.. Its worth about $2000 to 2500 today, and sits in the safe next to his M1 Garand.

 

[Monkeyman]

I don't have an M1, hope to soon. I do have an M14 though and, other than the fact that they are totally useless in full-auto like the FAL, it is a lovely gun to shoot. The .308 round is nice as well as the detachable mag and the shorter wood and barrel. The only thing I would criticize is the few options for mounting a scope but I s'pose in 1958 scopes were exotic things that cost too much to pass around to average GIs. What I find highly offensive is the lengths to which some manufacturers go to 'accessorise' the M14. Some of the 'tactical' stocks and gear out there for the M14 prompt regurgitation. The pistol grip could have a little more curve to it if I really wanted to be picky but they really are sweet guns - and the last of the wood&steel military rifles.

 

[Terry N.]

Gee, Monkeyman, you can buy a GOOD scope mount for that M14 for less than $300! Not MUCH less, but less. It will likely even stay put.

I still think that battle rifles are best left with iron sights, personally, but that's because that's how I learned to shoot them. The accuracy that an experienced High Power shooter can achieve with an iron-sighted M14 sometimes borders on the amazing!

 

[Old Doug]

Johnson Automatics.

What a great rifle. I have owned about haf/Dozen of them. First from SARCO in 1971. What a POS. They sent me another that was not quite as much of a POS. I did what my late Uncle Clarence (Wifes Uncle DDay +14 and commisioned in 1940) describes as clotheslining. Pull a piece of 1/4" rope thourgh the barrel, twist to open up the wraps, add very light abrasive compound and pull the barrel back and forth on the rope until it is "bright". I sold that 150.00 gun for about 450.00 a few years later. I owed a mint 1941 and sold it. doubled the money and bought one of my first MGs.

One of my greatest FTMAD (Failure to make a decision) was not buying a Winchester Collection 1944 Johnson LMG for $5000.00 in 1997.

I have an original 1st edition of Johnson's Book. Old Doug

 

[Old Doug]

George Patton said it best.

The Garand was the finest Battle Rifle ever invented in the late 30's.

I have one of each maker and owned an original M-1C. What a marvelous invention. When I shoot them, I wonder if the American GI really understood what an advantage he was given. Mr. Garand provided the WWII soldier with an amazing firearm. He did for the American GI what the MP-44 did for the Germans at the end of WWII, which was thankfully, too little, too late.

Bolt gun, Semi auto battle rifle, "assault rifle (sturmgewehr ) from 1936 to 1942 is an amazing technological leap.

Old Doug