US WWII Weapons, Part Three, US Rifle Cal 30 M-1 Garand

[bigndum1]

I always enjoy seeing M-1s getting a workout. I own an old Blue Sky Korean returnee Springfield Armory Garand made in 1954 that I had a Fulton Armory Medium Weight .308 barrel installed about 15 years or so ago, and Boyd's furniture. That 9.5 lbs rifle eats alot of the recoil compared to the old '06 and like you I'm glad I converted it due to the price and availabity of 7.62x51mm vs. 30/06. Watch out for that Garand Thumb!

[Jseim25ify]

I heard a ping perfectly I don't know what is wrong with you but you need to go to a hospital

[creamofcardstv]

classic gun

[CanadiansKicksAss123]

I wanted to hear the "ping" :(

[Martintheauthor]

I got to fire one of these one a target range once. It was beautiful.

[TyronetheAussie]

i played with one for 10 months never got to fire it

[Schutzy121]

wow that gives a lot of recoil

[alexchiem2]

man that's the cadillac of semi auto rifles!!!

[strlder]

Damn. wanted to hear the ding ;)

[darkman1234567891011]

damn thats a sexy gun

[1shot3killsH3]

Heheh. Ol' Army Joel.

[douchbag117]

where do you get all these rifles?

[imgordonfreeman]

my favorite gun

[Larousse1995]

This rifle is beautiful. You are practically liveing my dream! Is that a 7th cavalry hat? I wanna own a huge ranch and dozens of old firearms!

[olarmyjoel]

The hat is 1st Cavalry Division with whom I deployed twice; once to Desert Shield/ Storm and the second time to Enduring Freedom immediately following 9-11.

[Larousse1995]

That's awesome. Thank you for my freedom!

[wwood14]

Did you say that the rifle was rebarrelled for a 308?? Why?

[olarmyjoel]

Good question. Yes, it is .308 or 7.62x51 NATO. The Navy converted alot of the M1 rifles to fire the same round because it is the standard NATO round as fired by, among others, the G3, MG3, FAL, M14, M60, M240B, etc etc, etc. I was happy to get one in 308 because there is more surplus ammo available, it costs less than 30-06, and the ballistics are virtually the same despite the fact that the round is shorter and has a lighter powder load. The bullets are the same, 147 grain is the norm.

[crippy1927]

lean into that weapon

[Noogai98]

I love that little thing called ''PLING*. :)

[Noogai98]

When the name of the video said 30 cal.

I tought that he'd be the Browning (no, not

the B.A.R rifle) 30 cal. machinegun/team-

support weapon esp. used in U.S.A army

in Vietnam and in the World War Two.

You also could see one in the hands of a

British rifleman. But mostly in the U.S.A

army.

P.S I'm not from U.S.A, I'm from England,

UK.

[Ariels839]

M-1 Garand is awsome and i like the "ping" to

[spec520]

i love this weapon.. esp when it "pings"

[lliamcoombs]

ew why was it re-barreled in .308 that looses the whole point in an m1 garand, to be a very powerful and scary semi automatic weopon, the 30-06 is big enough to take down any big game in north america, .308 is merely a deer rifle

[olarmyjoel]

30-06 is more expensive and harder to find. Balistically, 308 and 30-06 are very similar and the bullets are both 147 grain, .308 inch. Whats the difference?

[WWIIOLgeorgh]

Also, the Navy rebarreled garands in .308 to save money (as opposed to procuring thousands of M14s), as riflery/marksmanship in the Navy was not a priority.

[skylined12]

@olarmyjoel The LTC is correct, the 7.62x51 is very comparable in ballistics to the old M2 Ball cartridge that the M1 Garand was designed to fire. I think where the confusion lies, is that people compare modern commercial 30-06 to the 308 (still very similar but the 30-06 gets the edge) this is due to advancements in powder allowing a lighter cartridge with a more modern powder to match the older/longer M2 Ball. That's why you hear of guys bending op rods shooting heavy commercial loads in M1s.

[skylined12]

@olarmyjoel Also thank you for the video sir, just got into the M1 game myself. It seems as though I'm slowly regressing in my taste of rifles. I started with ARs, then fell in love with a M1A (civi version of M14 for others) and am now drooling on a recently acquired Winchester made M1 Garand. I'm just worried that before I know it I'll be that crazy guy in a floppy stetson hat chewing on a wad of paper as he pours the other end down the muzzle. haha Thank you again for the video.

[olarmyjoel]

@skylined12 I have the full spectrum as well with a M1861 Rifle. 58 cal, 550 grain bullet. Try it some time, it is like shooting a freight car through the air. Maybe I'll shoot that video next. Stay tuned.

[ironwalle]

mmmmmmmonster kill..kill...kill.

[supernole100]

In WW2 and Korea this would be my weapon of choice.

[NJPurling]

That round they use now 5.56 mil/223Win. About right for ground squirrels & other such pesky creatures? The British service rifle we have is regarded as a right POS. It looks like something out of the Sears catalogue.

Would the Taliban mess with you if they knew they'd get a blast of 30:06 from every man as well as Ma Deuce.

[olarmyjoel]

I have qualified with the SA80 in Kuwait while training with some Brit infantry and New Zealand SF. Yes, it is a POS. Black enamel finish, lots of jams. I wouldnt trust my life with it. M16s are good, but yes you have to keep them clean and you cant have too much lube in the desert or else it is just a grit magnet. A 5.56 bullet will drop a man, but not carry through brush in a straight path. The 7.62, 147 grain bullet just has alot more inertia whether it is on top a 30-06 or 308 case.

[4638JL]

I really like that rifle! I would choose to carry this over anything else in a combat zone. That is such a tough round "mean". Thanks Col.

[ramberghini]

me too

[batbag12]

Personally I would want an M14 instead of a Garand. You get all the reliability, toughness, accuracy, and knock-down power (.308 Win is a heavy kicking/hitting cartridge, on par with 30-06, just a touch less recoil) in an easier loading, more rounds, little bit less weight, and full auto (Military only) function package. If there was no M14 I would want a Garand. I plan on carrying an M14 and a M1 Carbine in the trunk when I become a police officer.

[stuartallford]

infamous?

[NJPurling]

When did the M14 appear. It wasn't in WW2, was it? I was thinking maybe Korea.

It was about that time we were moving to the .308 Belgian FAL from the .303 Lee-Enfields.

The British Army re-barelled the 1942 Enfield sniper rifle to the .308 NATO round.

The Enfield was, and still is a good rifle.

[olarmyjoel]

I believe the M14 came into service around 1959. I am just saying that your point is valid, a magazine fed, semi and full auto rifle in a caliber that is not a varmint round is a good thing on the battlefield.

[warAxeFIN]

M14 were not in WW2. It was used in Vietnam war. M14 is full auto weapon.

[Daynknight1001]

@warAxeFIN wrong m14 was used in korean war along with the m2 carbine they used the m16 in the vietnam war they rarely deployed the m14 in vietnam and the m14 is crap with full auto good luck standing off against a vc with that while he can actually control his ak-47

[LoneWolf051]

@Daynknight1001 The M-14 came out in 1957...Korea ended in 1953.

[NJPurling]

Is it true that it is impossible to re-load part way through the clip?

I always wondered why they didn't manufacture them to use the BAR magazine.

[olarmyjoel]

I would say it is difficult and dangerous, but not impossible to re-load up to 7 rounds in the clip.

As far as a Garand with a BAR mag, don't they call that a M-14? Considering the M-1 was up against the Johnson rifle in the Army trials, the military made an excellent choice. The Johnson has a ten round rotary clip that is exposed on the stock. If you dent it, you are SOL since it is not removeable and your weapon will be inop.

[John234pwns]

No, there is a swich on the side of the reciever that will eject the en bloc.

There was a prototype of a Garand with a BAR mag, but the M14 uses a different magazine and has heavier construction

[LoneWolf051]

No it's not impossible to reload an M1 mid-clip, if it was, or even hard to do, it would've been rejected by the government. A trained soldier would be able to reload it as quickly as any other weapon, it takes me only about 2-3 seconds to reload it.

[Dude319]

Nice! Are going to do the Thompson Submachine gun soon? :D

[kemposoefi]

The caliber mentioned is .308 NATO. Is this correct or is it the original caliber .30-06? My Dad used the Garand still in '61 in Europe, just before replacement by the Belgian FAL (.308). Thank you for posting the series!

[olarmyjoel]

This one was modified to shoot 7.62/.308 NATO. Originally they are for 30-06. 7.62 is cheaper to shoot and there is lots of surplus around.

[kemposoefi]

Thank you very much for your reply sir!

Keep on posting. Kind regards, Fred.

[DanHalen2100]

nice shootin, ace