M1 Garand Help

[rongee]

After coming to the firing position, on command the left hand comes off of the handguard and quickly slides down to the operating rod and works the action while the weapon is held by the firing hand in port arms.* The trick is,,,,,,,,,,getting everyone to cycle at the same time.* Seven rifles cycling at the same is awe inspiring, but,,,,,,,,,,it is hard to get everyone in time.

This maneuver is not particularly easy to perform, especially if it has not been thoroughly practiced and rehearsed with the honor guard. A previous poster stated that he used to manually cycle the op rod without difficulty along with 800 other guys. But doing it as a training exercise is one thing, doing it in sync with six other guys is another. I vote with the majority; render the rifles semi-auto.