USMC M1 Carbines in the Pacific

[browningautorifle]

By far, most of the U.S. troopies had never seen a real firearm before being in the military.

Never mind him troops...

[DaveHH]

"...many men during WW2 hunted at home..." By far, most of the U.S. troopies had never seen a real firearm before being in the military. The idea of the U.S. being a "nation of riflemen" is a myth.

With all due respect, that is a really silly statement. While a lot of guys from NY city had never seen a weapon before, almost every kid across America had been shooting or hunting with a .22 or 30-30. I was raised in a small town 60 miles N/O S.F., hardly out in the country. I was drafted in 1965 and I was an expert rifleman when I walked in the door. My friends and I had hunted all of the time and some of the guys had big toys like Johnson Automatics, Mausers and Arisakas. I had a Kriegsmodel BYF 44. I remember the first time at the rifle range at Ft Ord. There were maybe 60 stations and the targets were trainfire at 100Yd. We were given a single 762.51 round each. On command we were told to load, aim, fire. The volley went off in one loud boom, I looked out there and one guy had missed. I made a mental note that someone could get hurt out there. I went on to score expert with the M14. In my company, there were dozens of experts.

[mrclark303]

From a UK perspective, most country boys also shot and hunted (scouts, army and air cadets were also very popular) and rifle and pistol club memberships were encouraged and popular.

The idea being in the event of general mobilization, the armed forces could rapidly expand with kids already trained in the principles of marksmanship.

[Singer B]

I appreciated the information in this thread reference the altered sights. I may have passed on a M1 with the sights altered like that in the future, but now that I know the history of this modification, I will be happy to add one to my collection and leave it as is. It is a really cool piece of historical information to share with my friends when I share the rifle with them.

[imntxs554]

Good to see you back in here Frank...

Thank You Jim

[imntxs554]

"...many men during WW2 hunted at home..." By far, most of the U.S. troopies had never seen a real firearm before being in the military. The idea of the U.S. being a "nation of riflemen" is a myth.

I don't know if it's still done today, but many years ago in Boy Scouts at Camp our Scout Leader with Volunteer Fathers taught us how to Shoot with the Awesome Pump .22 "Gallery Gun" that was the best time ever. In my family we were fortunate to have a Ranch that has been passed down and grew up Hunting with a open sight Marlin 30-30. When I was about 14 yrs old I had switched to a 25-06 with Optics my Father bought for me and to me that required to almost learning to how Hunt all over again. I Love Open Sight Rifles now more than ever because of all the Wild Hogs out there and when there charging you don't have time to use Optics unless your in a Deer Blind.

[DaveHH]

When I was a Cub Scout we were shooting carbines at the Army Post at Two Rock They provided everything.

I can see why some guys altered the sights. If you were taught on a rifle with Buckhorn sights (Almost All Winchester Levers) you look for the shape first and refine by using the bead front.
In Combat, inside 75 yds the sights are almost never used. That's why a good shotgun hunter can become a serious killer of men in that zone. Especially if you have a group of NVA coming at you. Put the barrel in the middle and shoot that sucker. At night good shots become very ordinary shots. The point and shoot method becomes essential. It came after me but the Army went to those BB guns to encourage point shooting. My last deer kill was a 200lb Mulie crossing at an angle about 60 yds away. I just put that Mauser barrel where I wanted it and whack. Then I gave him another....whack. Two in the liver maybe an inch apart. Never saw the sights. He was one messed up Buck. Then I met a girl and just stopped hunting everything.

[Wineman]

Frank, glad to see that your 10 years of 2020 like misery have paid off and you can look at this and laugh. How you get all this great Carbine lore is beyond me. I have enjoyed every post and thanks for the support.

Dave

[imntxs554]

Frank, glad to see that your 10 years of 2020 like misery have paid off and you can look at this and laugh. How you get all this great Carbine lore is beyond me. I have enjoyed every post and thanks for the support.

Dave

Thank You Dave it's Great to hear from you. I just use different search engines not the norm like Google and Yahoo and when I was taking care of my Sister for a long while before we lost her I spent many, many sleepless nights searching in sites and just dig away. I have something for you email me when you have some time.

[imarangemaster]

My dad and uncles all fought in WW2. The uncles lived in a small farm town in Southern Illinois, and all shot guns regularly. My dad grew up in Chicago, and even he had handled guns and shot before the war. (He really liked a WW1 Luger he shot before the war).



The US was different 70-80 years ago. At that time, a majority of the population still lived in rural areas and small towns, not in large urban areas. Urban growth and the explosion of suburbs did not explode until post WW2 (1950 to 1960)