A great regret of mine is that I once had an opportunity to purchase an M1 but decided it was more money than I could justify spending at that point in my life.
My right thumb aches just reading about this. For those who have never fired an M-1, the bolt has a nasty habit of slamming forward and catching the shooter’s thumb, generally producing a blood blister known as an “M-1 thumb”. This often happened during rifle inspections, and yelps of pain were considered unmanly and non-Marine-like.
My platoon was issued M-1s at MCRD San Diego in late '61. By the time I graduated twelve weeks later the new recruiits were being issued M-14s. Compared to the M-1 the M-14 was a POS.
Yes, my uncle demonstrated this phenomenon while showing me the rifle. Well, hey, you have to undergo some pain if you want to shoot the sweetest rifle on earth.
The Lee-Enfield doesn’t have the unfortunate habit of closing its bolt on the firer’s thumb, so I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. 
You guys are both nuts. The best designated marksman infantry rifle ever built was the Sig Stgw.57/SG-510. The Lee-Enfield certainly earned its place in history, and the M1 Garand has its cache, but for an absurdly well-built, accurate, general purpose battle rifle the Stgw.57 in unbeatable.
Next you’ll be going on about how great the 1911 is and why no pistol has ever superceded it…
Stranger
OK, I have to agree, the SIGs are insanely badass and though I’ve never shot one, I really want to. I also absolutely love the AMT and it is my “dream gun” that I will most certainly buy when I have the extra cash.
I like to think of the Garand as embodying the American spirit…it’s a heavy old bitch of a rifle that literally bites you when you load it, but goddamn is it beautiful.
Sorry, the Sig SG-510 is disqualified for not having been involved in WWI, WWII, or a Colonial War. Thanks for playing, though.
Come now, surely you must know of my fondness for the Webley Mk VI, the Mauser C96, the Browning Hi-Power, and the Sig P226. It’s Bobotheoptimist who thinks M1911s are the be-all and end-all of sidearms, IIRC.
That SLK guy, too. 1911s are what other handguns want to be when they grow up.
Some of you might want to have a look at this thread on the M1911’s popularity that I’ve started over in Great Debates, in that case…
You… you…
You treat Sue right, you hear?
Wonderful, wonderful. Just about the perfect thing to have in your hand when things go very bad.
It will smite zombies at 400m all day.
(I need to take mine in for some gun-smithing.)
Be sure to use ammo that closely duplicates the specs of military spec ammo. It isn’t a good idea just to run down to Wally World and buy a box of whatever .30-06 they have. The Garand was designed to function with powder that followed a particular pressure curve and bullets within a certain weight range. Getting too far away from military spec ammo leads to malfunctions and possible damage. Use of too heavy projectiles has been know, for example, to damage (bend) the operating rod.
CMP often has surplus ammo already put up in clips. You’ll see it from time to time in Shotgun News also.
Learn the proper field stripping, cleaning, and lubrication techniques. The Garand is a reliable rifle when treated right, but it doesn’t tolerate abuse or neglect like the AK has an exagerated reputation for doing.
Be careful with pre-1960s vintage military surplus ammunition; it’s generally primed with corrosive primers which will cause your barrel to rust if not cleaned promptly after shooting.
Through most of its service with the US, the Garand was fired with corrosive ammo with no ill effects. I would expect young Master Towers to take that into account as part of the responsibility inherent with owning the piece. Learn the proper cleaning techniques. Use the proper cleaner. If a shooter can’t be arsed to do that, s/he’d do better to hang the piece on the wall or (better yet) pass it along to a shooter who will do things right.
Ya know, with a modicum of coordination and forethought you can spare your thumb a world of hurt. I just hold back the bolt with my left pinkie when reloading. Once my thumb is clear, let the bolt slam home. If you’re paranoid, give it a slap with the base of your palm to make sure it’s seated properly. I’ve gotten very quick at this, so it doesn’t slow me down much when battling the zombie hoards.
Or you could just get a faster thumb.
Actually, funny detail I forgot to mention - when I was over there, my uncle asked as he was showing me around, “you want to see the rifle that won World War II?”
I smiled and said “you mean the Mosin-Nagant?”
Honestly, I know how to spell. In this case, the zombies had collected a flock of zombie ostriches and bedecked them with looted jewellery. Those birds were vicious!
Mosin-Nagant? And how far did you bounce after you said that?
My baby sister, who is a cop, is getting my Uncle’s M1 WWII era. I won’t own a gun, but I’m almost jealous. And he had no children who can swipe it first.
Oh, and it may shoot the balls off a housefly at 400 yards, buy many a German or Japanese mother lost a son at 800. The M1 is a serious is not a cool hunting rifle, it is most deadly weapon of war.
You guys are overstating the accuracy of the M-1 Garand. To be accepted for service, a rifle had to shoot only 4 MOA. Most will do somewhat better…but don’t get the kid pumped up thinking he has something he doesn’t; that’ll just lead to him being unjustifiably disappointed when the piece doesn’t shoot like a varmint gun. If he uses good quality ammo and practices his marksmanship skills he should be able to get groups of around 2 inches out of it at the 100 yard range. Nothing in his post indicated that the gun had ever been accurized or anything like that.
Remember that in the Garand’s early days the USMC didn’t like it because it wasn’t as accurate as the 1903 Springfield and they thought it would eat up ammo too fast.