Gen. George S. Patton called it, '...the greatest battle implement ever devised by man.', and this weekend I took one to the range!

There were many rifles that distinguished themselves in WWII, but none so much as the M1 Garand. When you see its profile, it is as recognizable as the 1911 pistol or the German Luger.

During World War II, the M1 gave U.S. forces a distinct advantage in firefights against their Axis enemies, as their standard-issue rifles were slower-firing bolt-action rifles. In the time it took an Axis soldier to manually chamber and fire 2 rounds, the the American G.I. could get off 8; more firepower means more lead flying down range and the opportunity to overwhelm the enemy.

The M1 is an air-cooled, gas-operated, clip-fed, semi-automatic, shoulder-fired weapon. This means that the air cools the barrel; that the power to cock the rifle and chamber the succeeding round comes from the expanding gas of the round fired previously; that it is loaded by inserting an en-bloc (i.e., it goes into the rifle's action and functions as part of the rifle) metal clip (containing eight rounds) into the receiver; and that the rifle fires one round each time the trigger is pulled.[7] After the eight rounds have been shot, the empty clip automatically ejects with an audible "ping" noise.

The M1 was the standard-issue service rifle of the U.S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, and also saw service to a limited extent in the Vietnam War. Most M1 rifles were issued to U.S. forces, though many thousands were also lent or provided as foreign aid to America's allies. The Garand is still used by drill teams and military honor guards. It is also widely sought by the civilian population as a hunting rifle, target rifle, and military collectible. Although the name "Garand" is frequently pronounced /ɡəˈrænd/, according to experts and people who knew John Garand, the weapon's designer, /ˈɡærənd/ ('rhymes with "errand"') is preferred.[8][9] It is available for American civilian ownership through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. - Wikipedia

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has decided that they will no longer allow the importation of these guns back into the US; the very guns we made, the guns that helped us win WWII, because of their anti-gun agenda.

The future of our nation depends on our ability to defend ourselves, both at home and abroad. Having a Civilian Marksmanship Program is essential to introducing more and more people to the joy of sport shooting while learning of an important life-skill.

I hope you enjoyed the video and if you would like to see another classic gun in action, drop me a line in the comment section of this post!

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