Rockwall Gun Club Presents Famous Guns in History - M1 Garand

General George S. Patton referred to this weapon as “the greatest implement of battle ever devised”.  In the movie with Audie Murphy “To Hell and Back” he was using this new army rifle to mow down German troops like he did in real time. 

This semi-automatic rifle could easily fire 16 to 24 30-06 rounds in a minute from its 8-round clip.  Of course, we are talking about the so dependable M1 Garand rifle you can see in use today and is popular with drill teams, some hunters and collectors.  Who knows, you may even see one in action at the Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 TX-205 in Terrell, Texas.

During World War 11, the M1 gave American infantry a tremendous firepower advantage over German and Japanese troops.  With its semi-automatic operation, the M1 rifle's strong 30-06 cartridge released superior penetrating power because a soldier only had to aim, pull a trigger instead of using a bolt action. He could fire more rounds keeping his eye focused on the target. It had a range of 500 yards, muzzle velocity 2750-2800 ft/sec and weighed 9.5 lbs.  

Another advantage of the design of a M1 was the weapon's simple construction.  In the field a soldier could quickly disassemble the M1 to easily clean it and get ready for the next action.  Another cool thing about the M1's operation is that it utilized a gas-operated action that used expanding gases from a fired bullet to chamber the next round.  Thus, when the M1 was fired, the gases acted upon a piston which in turn pushed the operating rod. 

The inventor John C. Garland made the rod engage a rotating bolt which turned and moved the next round in place.  When the last shot occurred, the clip would be expelled with a “ping” sound and the bolt locked open and ready to receive the next clip.  Garland also tweaked the M1 so it could be reloaded before a clip was fully expended and even made it possible to load single bullets in a partially loaded clip. No wonder our men in battle loved this rifle. 

The M1 Garland continued to see action during the Korean War and used it until the M-14 replaced it around 1957.  But our ground troops had so much faith in the proven M1 it really wasn't totally phased out until 1965.  The total number built were 5.4 million, but trying to find one at a reasonable price could be a challenge. 

If interested in collecting a M1 Garland, you might get some help from the friendly folks at Rockwall Gun Club or by calling at 972.551.0470 or visiting them online at http://rockwallgunclub.com today!  Stay tuned for another chapter in guns throughout history.