M1 Garand

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first post. I hope i am able to describe to you all what i have here with enough detail. This is my 1944, world war 2, M1 Garand. This was described by General George Patton as "the greatest battle implement ever devised." Truly it is an impressive piece of american manufacturing. Over 5 million Garands were manufactured in all by a number of contractors. Springfield armory was undoubtedly the biggest producer though, which is who made this one. I'm quite happy to own such a great piece of history. 

I have it pictured here with a number of accessories including a loaded 8 round en bloc clip, a Union Fork and Co. M1 Bayonet, an M7 grenade launcher attachment, and for fun a German language guide that was given to troops to help them translate. 

Here is another view of the rifle and accessories. 

You may recognize the Garand from any number of war movies and may also know of the distinctive ping noise the en bloc clip makes when it is ejected from the rifle. Without going into too much detail of the functioning of the mechanism, it is operated by gasses created from a round being fired to move an op rod, engage the bolt, and cycle a new round.

 This is me holding it with the bayonet attached at the end. Don't be scared! It was not loaded for any of these pictures. Safety first everyone.

Another picture of me holding it. It gets quite tiring to hold the rifle out like this for a long time, especially when your trying to get a good picture, since it weighs almost 10 pounds. I have the sling wrapped around my arm in what is called a hasty sling. It creates a more stable shooting position, and in my opinion helped with the weight. Again, don't fear, it was unloaded at all times.

Its truly an amazing find. Check back for more exciting posts and finds. There is lots more to come!

 Check out these great blogs ...