One Man's View about the M1 Garand

[Sentryduty]

A very young writer, made obvious by the preface references to video games, not particularly old games either.

I find the assessment of the rifle to be rather juvenile as well, comparisons drawn against very dis-similar items.

However I am of mixed opinion of the M1 Garand, as a rifle design. I have never owned or fired one, which doesn't lend my opinions a lot of credit. However I have owned an M14 (Norinco M305/M-14S) and fired a high dollar Smith Enterprise build. Between them all I have a couple thousand rounds.

While different from the M1, and M14 is operationally very similar.

My main issues with the M14 platform where weight, generally average accuracy, and the violence with which the mechanism operates under recoil. Everything just gets crashed around, and I didn't care for it. By contrast my SVT-40 is a smooth shooting pussycat that is easy to hold on target for rapid follow-up shots.





The M14 is the only rifle to leave my collection, it just didn't capture my interest.

Now that I have some other firearms in the collection I am thinking about revisiting the M1/M14 platform in the way of an M1 Garand.

As a soldier's rifle in the time it was developed, I won't deny it was effective and by all reports quite reliable. Is it over-rated? That could be argued from a lot of angles without resolution.