12-302 Garand Picture of the Day

[emmagee1917]

No , it's the later Isreal version that has the bipod fitting on the bbl jacket . The US A6 had a shorter jacket with a longer bearing assmly . The bipod head slipped onto the bearing assmly and was held by a snapring. Because of the lighter bbl on the A6 , they did not have a booster at first and the bbl had a nut and stuck out beyond the bearing assmly for quick changes ( over the A4 ) . Lack of power in the field lead to a longer bearing assmly and a booster being added , held on by a springy horseshoe clip ( which later had a hinged retainer added ) . The stock slipped over the tube above the pistol grip and a clamp swings down in front of the grip and holds it in place . When they came out with flash hiders , the A4 screwed onto the jacket replacing the bearing/booster combo . The A6s just replaced the slip on booster and is held on by the same clip.
It does look like there is a flat spot for the bipod in the photo plus you can see bits of white hair in the jacket holes here and there , indicating the thinner A6 bbl.
Chris

[browningautorifle]

OK, I think I follow. The guns we used would have been later as they were Canadian and we had a heavy bbl standard. I see the spot at the front of the bbl jacket you speak of without holes. The whole thing about the thin bbl is something we didn't issue, so that must have been early, this gun didn't surface until after WW2, right? Then would have succeeded to the...M60?

I guess this would be the time to acknowledge an apology to RCS for arguin'. I shoulda knowed better...

[RCS]

Jim, no need for an apology, we were just talking about the BMG's. That me in the photo with all the M1919A6 BMG's, a few were M37's from vehicles or tanks that were converted to M1919A6. The best way to remember (and I forget too) is that the M1919A4 had the heavy (seven pound barrel) and never had a bipod. Guys use to install them in the M1917 rifle to make a target rifle, they would use a bushing for the threads, they never shot well. I seem to remember that the fabric belt was smooth shooting and there was a British modification to the BMG to fire from an open bolt at one time ? Regards, Robert

[browningautorifle]

More thoughts come to mind. Our 1919A4s were converted straight across to 1919A6 using the standard gun. The bipod was from the FNC2 if you can look that up for referance, and I think they had the BAR handle. The standard flash hider was used. WE had nothing else to glean from. No M37s, I learned about them many years down the road. The guys that jumped them in said they shot for sh*t and jumped around lots. Where oh where were the MAG 58s or the (C6) when we wanted them??

Like I said, I haven't talked about these guns in years. I carried one, I was a gunner for dogs years. (I was younger then.)

[emmagee1917]

The A6 came out during the Italian campain right before Rome fell IIRC. The WW2 style handle was a round tube with a flat plate with a hole for the shroud at each end. It slid up and down the jacket and was too far forward to be balanced . The BAR handle came out at the war's end or just after. They used it as a model for the later A6 handle , replacing the bbl bracket with one that fit the A6 jacket. It could be bolted tight in one place and if all the way back with the handle over the reciever you can get a fair balance .
I think the A4 bbl will work in the A6 setup , but I need to try it before I can be sure .
I have samples of most of the USGI WW2 beltfeds , otherwise I would not know about these things either . :>)
Chris

[MeatMarket]

haha, that must have been the experimental mobile quadri-pod for the 1919.