The Grand Garand

In 1936, Canadian gun designer John C. Garand designed a semi-automatic combat rifle that would eventually replace our old bolt-action Springfield, as World War II got under a full head of steam for us. By the time they were replaced in 1957 by the M-14, there had been over 4 and a half MILLION Garands produced. The Marines were still using the old bolt action Springfields on Guadalcanal, but not long after that, they had the Garand.

Our military dubbed it the M-1. A magnificent design, it served faithfully through most of World War II, Korea, and anywhere else it might be needed. Rugged and reliable, famed Army General George S. Patton called the M-1, "the greatest battle impliment ever devised." It would be extremely difficult to argue with that, even today.

Like the old bolt action Springfield before it, it was chambered for the old tried and true 30.06 cartridge, which will stop anything on two legs, and most North American big game on FOUR legs. Because it was intentionally designed to "loose tolerances", it is not prone to jamming.

The M-1 is gas-operated (a ittle bit of the expanding gas from the cartridge being fired, is "tapped" off, fed back against the operating rod, pushing the bolt back, ejecting the empty, then springs forward again, chambering the next cartidge). It basically loads itself without you having to do anything except aim and fire. the rifle shoots from an eight-round clip, (you do have to reload THAT one yourself, obviously!)

It's a marvelous, well thought-out design, and like the Russian-made AK-47 we know today, the M-1 has proven its reliability in the snow & ice of Korea, the mud and hard winters in Europe, and in the island jungles against the Japanese.

At 9 1/2 pounds, it IS a bit heavy to pack around all day, but it's there when you needed it, and unlike that little 223 caliber "Mattel Toy" our troops have been saddled with these PAST 40 years, if you hit your enemy the FIRST TIME, the power of that 30.06 cartridge assured you, that you didn't need to waste a SECOND shot.

(If you've never SEEN an M-1, attend the funeral of a veteran. The VFW uses Garands to fire the volleys of the "21-gun salute")

I fired MY first M-1 at Camp Pendleton in 1966. It was like shooting a piece of history. LOVED IT! It had officially been replaced by then with the M-14, but a lot of Marine units still trained with it stateside.

"Fast-Forward" now to late 1993.........I had occasionally thought about buying a surplus M-1, but it was the coming of Bill Clinton that clinched it. His "assault weapons ban" would cost him his congress in '94, but it the meantime, honest people would have to live with it.

He and his "team" initially went after the AR-15's, AK-47's and a few others at first. The old M-1's were not on the list.........leastwise, not this FIRST list, and there would be others (that fortunately DIED when his first list "sunset-ed" a few years ago)...........they haven't given up, though, and being the communists they are, they WON'T.

Anyway, I knew THEN that if I wanted an old Garand, this might just be the time to finally get one before THEY got banned as well.

----as we speak, Obama has already DONE that by blocking the sale of surplus M-1's from Korea last year. They were issued to the South Korean troops during the Korean War, but Obama is afraid they might get into the "wrong hands" if they come HERE--------WHO does he think they're going to sell these rifles to NOW?

These rifles WERE to be shipped and sold through FFL dealers only.....so anybody here BUYING one, would have to pass the same background check you do with a NEW rifle. The Koreans will now sell these classic rifles to the highest bidder........and these aren't "RELICS" either, just because they're old. My PERSONAL M-1 that I own today is 1953 vintage, and shoots as well TODAY as it did in 1953!

Well..........thanks to Obama, they probably WILL get into the "wrong hands" now. Many of the president's errors can be attributed heavily to the congressional idiots that surround him, but THIS one was HIS. He has an attrocious anti-gun record, and maybe he thought this overseas sale wouldn't attract any attention, like a gun-ban HERE would. And his "bed-buddies" at CNN certainly wouldn't let it out, even if they KNEW about it. But the NRA and several OTHER gun rights groups found out.......and while your computer is still warmed-up...........it's easy to check for yourself.

Those Korean-vintage American M-1's will NOT adorn the gun safes of American collectors, nor will they see any competition rifle matches. WHO KNOWS how they're going to be used now.....and by WHOM?

Back to '93............I looked around. Most surplus Garands are already in the hands of collectors, but occasionally you can still find a few out there. Some old guy dies, and his kids sell the gun to one of the gun shops, or another collector.

Anyway......when you DO find one, they aren't going for the $80 apiece the GOVERNMENT paid originally. Add another "zero!" That was ok, though......I looked at a few in different places, picked the one I wanted, had to dig a little deep into my wallet for it, and brought 'er home. I have never looked back.

The first thing I did when I got home, was to take it apart for a thorough inspection and cleaning. I hadn't handled one in nearly 30 years, but I remembered where every piece went.

I oiled it, picked up a couple boxes of 30.06 and took it out that same afternoon, stuffed eight rounds in a clip and "locked & loaded". Snugged it into my shoulder and caught the faint smell of linseed oil in the stock. I adjusted and tightened the sling around my left wrist and sort of "hunkered-in" to that old rear peep-sight. I eased my thumb into the trigger guard and pushed the safety forward to the "off" position.

I was at the old "pits" near Grandview........but in my soul, it was "1966" again at "Camp Pendleton"...........

"Breathe, exhale, breathe, exhale, breathe and let half of it out, take up the slack on that two-stage trigger and........

............"BLAM---BLAM---BLAM---BLAM---BLAM---BLAM---BLAM---BLAM...................."KA-CHING!!" Out flies the empty clip.

Man, it was like thirty years had NOT gone by............"OO-RAH!!", as the old "Gunny" would say!

That rifle is now 58 years old, but you'd never know it to shoot it. One of the things I've noticed since I continued to collect old military rifles over these past years, is that they are more ruggedly-built than your average "civilian" deer rifle.....because they HAVE to be.

When you come home from an elk hunt with your prized Weatherby, it gets cleaned immediately, wiped down until it's a "mirror with a trigger on it." It's kept in a cushioned hardshell case while in-transit, and you're ever-so-careful with it while hunting, being cautious not the scratch the finish while going through the brush, etc.

A MILITARY rifle has to LIVE out there with the foot soldier. It is out there in the nastiest of elements, doesn't get the "ginger-est" of care, sleeps in a HOLE where YOU do, and thoughout its service life, is issued to 2 or 3 dozen different G.I.'s, most of whom take no "personal ownership pride" of it. Every nick and blemish is a story of some kind.

Miltary rifles not only have to FUNCTION......they have to SURVIVE! They are built BETTER than your new Remington, because they HAVE TO BE. I have a 71-year-old German Mauser bolt action rifle (8mm), that I would trust TODAY, over any brand new rifle on the shelf!

They are intriquing to handle too. As you wipe them down, you always wonder where they've been. Who they've killed, and what happened to the guys they were issued to? One of my war guns is a Japanese Type-99. As it was considered a disgrace to surrender, most Japanese fought to the last man, so I have to believe that THIS one belonged to a Japanese soldier killed by a Marine on one of the islands.

The Mauser I just told you about is a Model 98, 1940-vintage with RUSSIAN Armory markings on one side--------meaning it was a STALINGRAD CAPTURED rifle, when the NAZI's failed to take Stalingrad. It still has the NAZI eagles and swastikas on it, and hasn't been modified or anything like that. It was just taken from a German soldier (probably dead), and like the rest of those captured rifles, kept in a Soviet stockpile for decades before they decided to sell them back to the west a few years back. Knowing the Russians, they probably wanted to study the design to make improvements on their OWN bolt rifles. Just about everything THEY shoot today is FULL-AUTO, so they saw a chance to make a few rubles and sold the old German rifles to gun dealers HERE, to re-sell to American collectors.

And that's fine! In the "bolt-action world", the old German 98 is as good as it gets!

My Garand?..........well, who knows........the serial number dates it to 1953. The Korean War was about to come to a "cease-fire", so I doubt that MY M-1 ever saw any combat. Probably just used in stateside training. But there are an awful lot of them out there today that HAVE seen "the enemy", and a good Garand will easily fetch a "grand" or more.

Most were made by Springfield, but as demand for the rifle grew in World War II, several lots were sub-contracted to be made by Winchester, H & R, and there are even some rare ones out there that were made by International Harvester! During the war, EVERYBODY pitched-in.

That was a different time then, though. And a much diffent America. After Pearl, EVERYBODY here was on the same sheet of music.

There was REASON for THAT one!