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| U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30 M1 (Garand) The M1 Garand is a full blown combat rifle with maxiumum range of 3,200 meters and maximum effective range of 400 meters.....or the greatest distance at which the weapon can be expected to fire accurately to inflict casualties or damage. Fully loaded with 8 round clip, cleaning kit in butt stock, sling and with stock of dense GI issue wood the M1 weighed in at 11-1/4 lbs. The M1 came into production in 1936 using the 30.06 rifle cartridge. The M1 was the designated service rifle of World War II for the United States Military. It was designed for semi-automatic fire using a spring steel clip containing 8 rounds. This is where the term "clip" originated. All other rifles used a detachable or fixed magazine. The M1 Garand was designed for long range accuracy i.e. battle zero was set for any target less than 200 yards It was the only rifle that had fully adjustable i.e. windage and elevation, rear sights. The The original rear sight of the M1 would not hold adjustments very well, so a locking bar was added in late 1942 which could be tightened after sights were set. The US Rifle M1 was the first semiautomatic rifle to be the standard small arm of the US Military, and the first semiautomatic rifle to be adopted by a major military power. It was the product of a genuine genius, John Cantius Garand. While the M1 Rifle was never officially referred to as the Garand, it is known by no other name so widely. First adopted in 1936, the M1 Rifle served the US in World War II, Korea, a host of "police actions" and interventions, and, in the hands of allies, in the Vietnam War. To many the M1 Rifle has a classic elegance and grace characteristic of a bygone era, when steel was forged in white heat and walnut was carefully shaped for both form and function. "There will never be again such a rifle, so brimming with the genius of an individual mind, so well constructed to outlive us all, so sculpted as to ask the hand to caress." Operation: Semiautomatic, Gas Operated Caliber: .30 (.30-06) Length: 43.6 in. (1103 mm) Weight unloaded: 9 lb 8 oz (4.37 kg) Barrel: 24 in. 4 grooves, right hand twist Magazine: 8 round internal box, clip loaded, clip ejected after last round fired Muzzle: velocity 2800 fps, 2903 ft-lb 500 yds: 1918 fps, 1362 ft-lbs Ammunition: 174 gr bullet, 50 gr charge, Ball M1 Effective Range: 440 yds Classification: "Standard" from 1936 until M14 adopted in 1957 Total production: Approx. 4,040,000 "In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised." LGEN George S. Patton, Jr. |
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