The M1 Garand Rifle

M1 Garand Rifle:
An American Battle Rifle Legend

Here at Select Fire, we try to give you blog/email articles that are interesting and informative…while we usually like to write about topics regarding modern shooters and firearms, we also like to talk about historical weapons every now and then. This will be one of those times! Today, we’re going to give a brief look back at a true American legend, a gun which General George Patton once described as “the greatest battle implement ever devised”. That gun is the famous M1-Garand main battle rifle.

The M1 was a gas operated, self-loading, semi-automatic rifle (meaning that if fired one round, each time the trigger was pulled), fed from an 8 round ‘en-bloc’ clip (seen in the photo), and chambered in 0.30 caliber. Once all 8 rounds were expended, the rifle automatically ejected the empty clip; this led to a rumor that enemy soldiers could hear the sound of the empty clip hitting the ground, and would know that the user was out of ammo. Some soldiers began occasionally tossing empty clips on the ground during battle, hoping to draw enemy soldiers out from cover, though post-war interviews with German soldiers revealed that they almost never heard that during battle, and the rumor was unsubstantiated. Despite that rumor, the M1 quickly gained a reputation as a hard hitting, reliable infantry weapon that gave American troops a real edge in battle. Its high rate of fire, compared to contemporary rifles, sometimes convinced enemy soldiers that they were facing machine gun fire. That high rate of fire (up to 50 rounds per minute) is what led Patton to give his famous quote.

The story of the Garand began right after World War I, when the main battle rifles of all sides were bolt action weapons. These included the British Enfield, the German Mauser, and the American Springfield rifles. Each of these weapons required the user to manually operate the bolt between each round, which ejected the spent cartridge, loaded a new round into the chamber, and cocked the firing mechanism. Once the trigger was pulled, the bolt had to be manually operated in order to fire again.

Clearly, this manual process limits the rate of fire; for a bolt action weapon this depends heavily on the training of the operator, with some bolt action guns being just slightly faster to operate than others. In practice, the Enfield was generally thought to be the fastest firing bolt action rifle, with firing rates (in the hands of a well-trained, skilled soldier) being as high as 25-30 rounds per minute. In the hands of an average soldier, 15 rounds per minute was actually more likely.

– – –

1 Note that the M1 uses a ‘clip’ to feed its internal magazine. Most modern rifles are fed from external box magazines, not clips. The terms ‘clip’ and ‘magazine’ are not interchangeable.

2 This round was officially termed 0.30 Govt ‘06, which is generally shortened to 30.06. The “06” refers to 1906, the year the round was adopted by the U.S. Government. Both 0.30 cal and 30.06 are used interchangeably to refer to this cartridge

– – –

However, World War I also demonstrated (with the advent of machine guns) that ‘rate-of-fire’ could be a decisive factor in modern battles: whoever can put the most rounds downrange the fastest will have a big advantage (called fire superiority). This led to weapons designers looking to develop gun systems that could fire more rapidly, but that were still both portable, and able to fire powerful cartridges. Submachine guns were developed that fired pistol caliber cartridges automatically (continuous fire with a single pull of the trigger), but the goal of creating a reliable, lightweight, self-loading weapon that could fire full powered rifle cartridges was a trickier problem. In fact, at the beginning of World War II (1939), the main battle rifle of every combatant was still the bolt action rifles (in many cases, the same models and even the very same rifles) that had been used in World War I.

During the years between the wars, designers tried lots of designs to solve this problem. Changes in rifle calibers were also considered, as experience in World War I showed that the 30.06 caliber of the Springfield rifle was more powerful than necessary, at the ranges of the modern battlefield (the 30.06 round was effective out to 1,000 meters or more, while the average engagement range for most infantry battles was found to be about 300 meters). In concept, a smaller round that would be effective only to 300-500 meters would allow a lighter cartridge and would then permit the soldier to carry more ammunition for the same weight. Using a somewhat less powerful cartridge also allowed for a lighter weapon, which would not have to survive the higher chamber pressures of the heavier calibers.

Despite testing which proved lighter caliber rounds to be effective, one simple logistical fact overruled that argument: the Army already had massive existing stocks of 0.30 caliber ammunition left over from World War I. The notion of a lighter caliber round for infantry use would later be revisited, and result (eventually) in the 5.56mm round, with the M16 rifle. However, during the interwar years (marked by the economic troubles of the Great Depression), the idea of having a lot of existing ammunition was quite attractive, and the decision was made to stay with the heavier round. Having one caliber that could be used in both rifles and light machine guns (like the Browning 0.30 cal) also simplified supply logistics.

That decision to stay with 0.30 caliber was not the only factor for choosing the Garand over its competition, but it may have been the final factor. Two of the primary competitive weapons considered were the Pederson rifle, chambered in 0.276 caliber, and an early version of the Garand, also chambered in 0.276 (others were also considered). The Garand design chambered in 30.06 was eventually accepted in 1937. Early design problems limited the number of rifles fielded until after America had entered the war; while the Army was largely equipped with Garands by the end of 1941, the Marine Corps was forced to continue the use of

– – –

 3 In practice, due to the need to re-load, the ‘rate-of-fire’ for a weapon is often lower than the listed rate. The rate of fire is usually calculated on a rounds per second basis, then converted to rounds per minute.

– – –

The bolt action Springfield until 1942-43, when enough of the new rifle became available. By the end of World War II, more than 5.4 million M1-Garand rifles had been manufactured, and production (under license by multiple companies, including Winchester, Harrington & Richardson, Springfield Armory and International Harvester) continued until 1957. The Garand served as the main battle rifle during the Korean conflict, and even continued in service with some units in the Vietnam war, though it was officially replaced in 1958 by the M14 rifle. Some Reserve and National Guard units still used the M1 until the early 1970’s, and it remains seen in limited action in small, regional conflicts around the world to this day.

Today, the M1 has seen a new life with collectors and recreational shooters. The Civilian Marksmanship Program makes M1-Garands available to the public, and even holds competition shooting matches which are open to the public. The volume of the available weapons means that a stock-grade M1 can be purchased for somewhere around $1000-$1200, allowing many recreational shooters and collectors to own a genuine piece of American military history: the iconic M1-Garand battle rifle.

Like this article? Please share and leave your comments below!

Select Fire Training Center (SFTC) is the premiere training center and indoor shooting range facility in Northeast Ohio. Dedicated to offering a top notch facility with highly skilled instructors, a wide range of classes and a state-of-the-art shooting range experience. We are here to serve your needs, make you feel welcome and we do this by offering you true customer service by friendly, knowledge people.