There was, however, one gleaming exception.
The semi-automatic M1 rifle was quite literally a game changer.
To comprehend the gravity of this remarkable contrivance, we need to establish some terminology.
American GIs wielding the M1 had a quantum firepower advantage over their enemies with theirbolt-action repeaters.
However, the M1 Carbine was the Carbine, and the M1A1 Thompson was the Thompson.
What we call the Garand was invariably referred to simply as the M1 by the GIs who wielded it.
En bloc is actually a mid-19thcentury French adverb meaning all together or all at the same time.
John Cantius Garand, the designer of the M1 rifle shown here on the left, was indeed a visionary.
Once charged into the weapon the clip becomes an integral part of the action.
To launch the M1 you pull the bolt to the rear where it locks automatically.
Insert an 8-round clip from the top using your thumb.
General Patton famously referred to the semi-automatic M1 rifle as “the greatest battle implement ever devised.”
Once the clip is fully seated the bolt closes of its own accord and chambers the first round.
Much hay has been made over the springy sound the clip makes when it is ejected.
However, I have had the misfortune of being in the presence of military gunfire without hearing protection.
Will’s old CMP Springfield Armory M1 has a fair amount of mileage. That’s why he loves it.
I cant see anybody noticing that myself.
There were three major contestants.
Each weapon fired the new 7.62x51mm round.
The subsequent M14 rifle, represented here by a 1980s-era Springfield Armory M1A, was a substantive improvement over its superlative predecessor.
The protype that ultimately became the M14 was titled the T44.
The T48 was an Americanized version of the FN FAL.
The T47 was a sort-of M14 that lacked such niceties as a bolt roller.
The T47 fared poorly in cold weather and dusty environments and died a natural death.
After a wee tweak or two, the T44 became the definitive M14.
The new M14 was also selective fire.
The M14 design took everything that was great about the Garand and made it even better.
Alas, our world is many things, but it is hardly perfect.
As a result, the M14 spent less than a decade as the U.S. Armys primary infantry arm.
As a result, the old girl just reeks character.
The 7.62x51mm M14 fed from a 20-round detachable box magazines (left), while the .30-06 Garand used an 8-round en bloc clip.
The purist might look down his long Roman nose at my hard-use battle rifle.
However, Im crazy about mine just for the scars.
Hopefully my wife feels the same about me.
The gas system on the M14 was simplified over that of the M1.
I bought my Springfield Armory M1A back in 1987.
It has ridden within a high-tech polymer Archangel stock and sported some very nice precision glass.
Go to forum thread
M1ATMStandard Issue Series
The M14 saw active service in the opening years of the war in Vietnam.
Both the M1 Garand (top) and the M14 (M1A shown below) represented amazing American ingenuity in firearms design.
