Beretta BM 59

If I am in the wrong forum please move my thread.

Would a Beretta BM 59 be considered part of the Garand or M14 collection? I recently received a BM 59 in VG to Exc condition and I was wondering where it would fit in my collection.
I have Krags, Springfields 03 & 03A3s, M1 carbines, M1 rifles, M14s, and ARs. I figure it will fit between the M1 rifles and the M14s. Its a great gun, but the amount of work that went into it is amazing. The grenade launcher & sights, bipod, selector parts made the gun overbuilt.
I will post some picture if the guys want to see them.

It would in my book. It is a variant of the M-1, there is no doubt of that. Beretta made M-1's as well, and that is when they got the idea to improve it.

Pictures are ALWAYS nice :D

Alba,
Going from conventional wisdom, Domestic collectors say that it "isn't" an M1, so doesn't fit into their collection (especially as a US arm). It wasn't adopted by the US.
That being said, Beretta based product in the past haven't gotten alot of recognition, since they are not "made here" or "real" USGI. But I feel that this mentality is slowly changing. If you look at the cost of Beretta components (receivers and FCG's) on Gunbroker, due to the pricing, I don't believe that they are being ignored.
Coming from someone with both the M1 and M14 (M1A1) I think that you have something that will fit "in the pocket" of this genre of rifle. I don't think prices are that bad (in my neck of the woods) for a BM-59 (Sarco clone or not). I think that as more people recognise that M1's aren't only Winchesters... you will be ahead of the curve.
My advice would be to purchase one... or to keep one if you have it.
Yes they are overbuilt, but I haven't run across any complains on function. And it isn't just another M1.
We would love to see pics!

I don't completely understand your question, about where your BM59 would fit. It sounds like you are talking about fitting in, as a part of a display? Or is it whether it belongs in a collection of M1s' or M14s'? Anyway, I have a Breda mfg. Garand, and I consider it every bit as much of a M1, as any other M1. Just not a USGI rifle. Thanks,

Charlie

I have a Garand that I consider highly collectable. It is .308 and unfired. Its all Beretta. Not a BM59. No surplus parts. It fits in my collection with distinction. Gary

I have a friend in NJ, that has a Beretta M1 rifle in 30-06 caliber with a three digit serial number.

It seems to fit this forum better than any other, I reckon. Interesting rifles for sure!

Mechanically, it fits between the M-1 and the M-14.

It is definitely a part of the series; John Garand built a very similar rifle, although in .30-06, in 1944.

BM-59s commonly sold in North America were semi-auto only. There was also a selective-fire rifle of the same designation.

FWIW.
.

The BM59 is part of the Garand extended family , IMO anyway . It was a smart , economical way to modernize the older design at less cost than starting over from scratch as was done to produce the M14. Seems like the various other Italian 7.62 conversions were well designed , too.
The Tipo2 seems especially economical.

In 1959 Beretta formally proposed converting US M1's to BM59. It was considered and rejected based on cost -- it was only cheap in Italy ($34 a rifle), but $68 if done here. Ordnance decided the money would be better spent on the new M14.

And we could have had the FAL. Like 90 other nations. Still in service. Government?.... Gary

Ordnance looked at the Belgian designed GPMG and inflicted the POS that is the M60 machine gun on 2 generations of US troops.
What's the standard US 7.62 belt fed now ?
An updated version of the 1950's Belgian gun , of course .

But I digress ....

The BM59 is a variant of the M1 garand . M1 Garands are still to this day being converted to
BM59's.
It is interesting that there is not much known about the history of the BM59's like other arms from the same time period.
Check out http://www.machinegunbooks.com for the most information available on the net about the BM59.

I would very much like to see pics. Thanks and take care. Larry

I will try to get some pictures of the BM-59 this weekend.
I landed two H&R M14's just recently and am waiting for the paperwork to arrive so I can pick them up. One is in a wood stock and the other is in a GI synthetic stock but the butt plate assembly has been replaced with a synthetic material to make a recoil pad.
I have filled one gap in my US collection. I have a Krag, about 8 or 9 03's and 03 A3's, M1 Rifles and Carbines, M14's, an M305, Thompson's, and some AR's but not an SP1. That will show up sooner or later, just have to wait around for one. I will have a commercial Browning HP coming in on a trade and if anyone would like one as a partial trade on an SP1 we may be able towork out something.

there great i just pick up one,with 3 mags,