WWII Johnson M1941 rifle @ 420 yards

The M1941 Rifle was an American short-recoil operated semiautomatic rifle designed by Melvin Johnson prior to World War II. The M1941 competed unsuccessfully with the U.S. M1 Garand. Melvin Johnson campaigned heavily for the adoption of the Johnson rifle by the U.S. Army and other service branches. However, after limited testing, the U.S. Army rejected the Johnson in favor of the M1 Garand rifle developed by Springfield Armory. The M1941 Johnson was ordered by the Netherlands for issue to its troops in the Dutch East Indies, but the Japanese invaded the islands before the rifles could be shipped from California. At this time, the U.S. Marine Corps found itself in need of a modern fast-firing infantry rifle, and acquired some rifles from the Dutch East Indies shipment for issue to its Paramarine battalions then preparing to deploy for action in the Pacific theatre. By all accounts, the M1941 Johnson performed acceptably in combat with the Marines in the early days of the Pacific fighting.

Despite repeated requests to adopt the rifle by the Marine Corps, the Johnson rifle also lacked the support of US Army Ordnance, which had already invested considerable sums in the development of the M1 Garand and its revised gas operating system, then just going into full production. Johnson was successful in selling small quantities of the Johnson Light Machine Gun to the U.S. armed forces, and this weapon was later used by both Para-Marines and the Army's First Special Service Force.[4]

The Johnson rifle was also used in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion by the anti-Castro Brigade.

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[Icandrum2]

lol the reload is soo sick on this gun.... to bad they dont make it anymore! i would so want one! wow that must be hard to get the stripper clip in there in the middle of combat if your hands were shaking from the adrenaline. thank god the army picked the M1 garand when they did.

[mag30th]

@Icandrum2 Reloading this rifle is not as easy as the Garand, BUT it is really not that difficult either, in fact it is simple. The downfall of this rifle was its complexity, the rejection of it by the US military had very little to do with its performance. In fact, when the Garand was first designed and about to enter the competition for the government contract, it (the Garand) was designed to shoot ten rounds of the win 270 cartridge, while this rifle was shooting ten 30.06.

[bsrman36]

Is this rifle original or a reproduction?

[mag30th]

This is an original.

[gragrn]

Beautiful rifle, I'd only read about them but never seen one in action. Many thanks!

[WurledPeas]

These rifles are so cool. I wish I had one. I remember them being dime a dozen at the gun sows when I was a kid. Seemed the sellers couldn't give them away. I wanted to get one but was too young and my dad scorned them because they were "Marine Corps rifles." He was army. All of a sudden they are selling for outrageous prices, when you could find them. I wish someone would repro them. Very nice rifle.

[tsmgguy]

It's heresy, I know, but the M1941 has some features that I prefer to the Garand. I've often wondered how the '41 would have performed if it had been subject to the long product improvement cycle of the Garand.

The M1941 was never a serious contender for US adoption, although it was used in small numbers as a stopgap automatic rifle pending the arrival of large numbers of Garands.

[reddyeddy69]

The Garand had it all over the Johnson in durability, speed of loading and strength. Any rifle with an exposed moving barrel isn't fit for general issue. Still, it would have been a good idea for the WW2 US military to use this rifle as an alternate sniper rifle. The scope wouldn't prevent use of 5-rnd chargers like the '03A4.Issuing 1 or 2 to per squad for units equipped with 03s/17s like the Free French and dropping 8mm versions for the FFI would have been a good ideas too.

[kullas924]

u use regular off the shelf 30-06 or mil surplus i heard you put new stuff through m1 guarnds or rifles for from that time they get all messed up dueto higher overall manfacture

[gamerkid1177]

@gragrn I saw one in a gun shop for $6,000. I wish I had $6,000 :(

[Thatevilmidget]

@viperboost931 The easily dented magazine was one of the main issues cited when the Johnson was rejected, but the biggest issue was the complication and expense involved in building the rifles. Garands could be cranked out much faster and at much lower cost while providing similar firepower, so the military chose them over the Johnson. It's something of a shame because the Johnson is an excellent rifle...

[Thatevilmidget]

I love the Johnson... it's ridiculously complex, and expensive as hell to make, but it's also one of the most uniquely designed firearms that's ever been designed. Also, that's the first time I've ever seen one being loaded! I was always curious how that was accomplished.

[nativedjd]

beautiful piece

[santosm81]

One neat design there