How Garand's Rifle Became the M1
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- čas přidán 15. 02. 2023
- Everybody seems to love the M1 Garand. But there's a lot of the story behind this rifle that we don't often hear much about. Today, we're digging into that history. How did a stubbornly traditional Pre-WWI US military eventually equip their soldiers with a state-of-the-art semi-automatic service rifle just a few decades later? And just what was it about that rifle that those soldiers liked so much?
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John C. Garand’s true talent really lay in production design. He designed most of the machines that would be used to manufacture the M1 Rifle, and was always focused on making the process simpler and more efficient through improving the machining and manufacturing process.
I wonder if his background as a machinist and not an engineer had something to do with that. Garand probably had a much better idea of what makes sense ergonomically as an operator than someone who just drew it out on paper.
Spot on. Most people don't realize that old world designs were made on machines that usually did one cut at a time, on an assembly line of sorts. The modern notion of one machine doing every, if not almost every, cut just wasn't possible. A lot of good rifles had issues in tooling, so the tooling being worked on by the designer gave the M1 an advantage scarcely seen.
@@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz psst, that's still how a lot of things are made!
@@antonantolick5688 okay, I'll just take your word for it despite almost every firearms manufacture used CNC machines and polymer injection.
That's me sarcastically saying you're wrong, just so we're clear. Didn't want any confusion.
@@ALovelyBunchOfDragonballz I would caveate this by saying designing around the capabilities of machining equipment is still very important.
They are definitely much more of "do it all" machines than they used to be. But if you can make a design that takes significantly less machine time to make you can have a HUGE advantage over other designs.
It's been so interesting to me how modern gun design tends to trend toward fewer and simpler parts vs the other way around like most other technology.
I do not understand how this channel only has 519k subscribers. This is a fantastic channel with fantastic content and made extremely well. If I could subscribe 500k more times, I would.
Suppressed because their website sells ammo
@Rob That may have something to do with it, but honestly, the fact is that we just don't crank out as much content as a lot of other channels. We average about two videos per month. Most gun-related channels with "big" numbers publish multiple times per week.
And not to mention all the kids that just want to watch somebody blow s*** up without learning anything practical
This channel is for knowledgeable gun owners who want to learn more about the firearms that they own or are thinking about getting. The top gun channels are really just entertainment content, which attracts the attention of the CZcams crowd.
I feel like this channel has always prioritized quality over quantity, and for that I’m thankful
This near-documentary look into the Garand was an absolute joy to watch. I'm a sucker for historical information and footage, and you guys really knocked it out of the park with this one in terms of both content and presentation. I'd love to see more videos in this style in the future; the evolution of certain designs or gun uses over the years, US law enforcement's transition from revolvers to semi-autos, and the list goes on. Excellent work all around!
I’m with u 100% let our nerd powers combine.
We tend to not think about this today because most everybody owns AR's, but one of the major advantages of a semi-auto rifle is not merely the speed, but actually the ability of the shooter to preserve his natural point of aim between shots. Cycling a bolt requires the shooter to re-acquire the target, but with the Garand, he will be back on target immediately after the rifle finishes recoiling.
just bought my first garand last month. got an expert grade so still breaking her in. beautiful gun
That’s the new barrel and stock model right?
@@FishFind3000 Yep
Sent in my paperwork last week 🇺🇸
@@Leg239 Nice, i just got mine on gunbroker. is the cmp really still selling those? I thought they ran out a couple years ago
That lighting makes my knees weak! amazing episode, Chris!
I recently read an interview of a next-door neighbor of John Garand. She said he always introduced himself as John (GerAND) Garand. I found this interesting because many say it should be pronounced GARend. He lived in a modest home in a small neighborhood in East Hartford, CT. He had a small garden he loved tending and sharing vegetables with the neighbors. A brilliant, humble man who has his name firmly stamped in history.
Hmm... In 1943, John Garand wrote a letter to American Rifle magazine in which he told them how to pronounce his name properly. He said: hard G; short A, as in Harry; and rhymes with errand with the stress on the first syllable. This means GA-rand not ga-RAND. Ian McCollum over at Forgotten Weapons has a short video about this, including a copy of Garand's letter.
@@GallifreyanGunner The interview I referenced above can be found in the Summer 2018 issue of GCA Journal. (Garand Collector's Association) The neighbor of John Garand said everyone called them the Guh-RAND'S and John always introduced them as the Guh-RAND'S. Maybe he was just bowing to the popular pronunciation? .We may disagree on this one, as so many do, but I think we can agree on what a wonderfully designed rifle he developed, a rifle that played a critical role in winning WWII.
@@tinman8518 It just seems weird that he'd take the time to write a letter to a magazine to correct the pronunciation and then say it differently at home. Also, primary source, the man himself, vs secondary source, the neighbour. Mind you, at this point the rifle's name could be considered separate from the man so either pronunciation for it is up for grabs.
Indoor ice skating rink???
Lol he was french.
A good friend of mine takes care of a decorated Korean War Army Vet. The vet is 93 now and a man of few words...His best quote is " Thank God for my M1 Garand !"
My father was a prewar regular who started on the '03 Springfield. In the Spring of 1941 he got assigned to assemble the company's new M1s over the weekend. They came without a manual. He spent the weekend assembling them and by Monday morning he and his buddy were expert armorer's.
The first combat use was not Guadalcanal. A unit of Philippine Scouts, part of the Territorial Guard, had M1s and destroyed a Japanese battalion as they tried to cross a river.
Lucky Gunner does Forgotten Weapons...and does it well!
Feels like a blend of Forgotten Weapons and Loadout on Gamespot.
The Garand will never be forgotten!
Better, honestly
Good job sir!! I think you covered this subject very well. I own a Korean war vintage M1, and love it. My grandfather carried a M1 in WWII. I have a lot of nostalgia for this rifle
I think part of what makes the M1 magical in my opinion is that it's point of impact is not very affected by variations in the cartridges it shoots
Glad to see you referenced George’s book. Used it as a reference on a trip to Giadalcanal.
Who better to pass judgment on small arms than a competitive marksman turned platoon leader in the Solomon Islands.
His section on Arisakas, where he recruited Japanese POWs to learn about their marksmanship training and tactics, is especially compelling.
Yeah, it's really a fantastic book. I'm not aware of any other first-hand account of war from the perspective of a real "gun guy." He answers all the questions shooting enthusiasts always want to know that typically get left out of other war stories.
Hands down one of the best channels going!! Outstanding AF!!
This is definitely one of my favorite channels on CZcams and it's because of content like this. I've been watching for a couple years now and the production quality and information quality in these videos is outstanding. Keep up the good work.
A really thoughtful, enjoyable video! Actually, an M1 rifle can be topped up, but it is slower than dumping rounds and loading a fresh clip. Also, Army Ordnance was experimenting with detachable magazine Garands during the war.
Even with a det. Mag, you don’t know how many rounds you have left. Carrrying extra mags means more weight. The M14 was actually designed with a stripper clip guide and those clips were the designed means of reloading….but yeas, easier to top off, even if the mag wouldn’t accept a full clip. So, the soldiers would still have to have a supply of loose ammo or remove the rounds from the clips, that they were packaged in.
The M1 was the first gun I ever fired. In 1956, still in high school and a member of the NY National Guard, I went on a weekend encampment and qualified as a rifleman. It was a delight. Slightly off topic, a few years later, I fired the M1 carbine., another great rifle. Ah sweet memories!
Chris, this was a remarkable video. You're an excellent presenter of interesting firearm history. Thanks for doing this; looking forward to more videos like this in the future!
Awesome content I love hearing how firearms types came to be and even the stories behind them. I especially like anything to do with Eugene Stoner and his designs and not just the AR-15 all of his designs
My M1 Garand is the jewel in my small collection of ww2 battle rifles, absolutely a blast to shoot , and I never get tired of hearing the ping and searching around for the enbloc lol
I always enjoy Luck Gunner videos. This one is my new favorite. Thank you so much, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I love the use of language from the 40's. Its just colorful, simple, and to the point. It seems like that is lost in todays General Officers. Im talking to you Milley and Austin
Awesome video and I loved finding out more about Mr Garland. Very informative and truly a man ahead of his time, I would love to see you make a series like this or at least continue onto the M14
Holy cow Chris. Extremely well done, professional production. Thumbs up for your efforts here.
Perfect timing with this video. I just bought my first Garand today!
Congratulations! Hope to join the club one day.
Thanks for putting this together! Really enjoyed this mini docu style video. The first rifle I ever bought for myself was a CMP M1 Garand when I was 24. Been obsessed my entire life so I welcome anymore great content about it!
Great video. I have 2 Garands and an M1903A3 (which is a WWII upgrade of the WWI rifle). I consider myself to be somewhat a student of the M1 Garand and I learned several things I didn't know. The best part was at the end to hear John Garand's voice, which I have never heard. Great job!
This was great! Please do more like this!
When ever I'm bummed that LGA hasn't put out a video in a while I remember it's not Lucky Gunner Video. Keep up the great content and I'll keep grabbing ammo from you guys.👍
Love the new set! I was so excited to see this video!
An absolutely fantastic video. I've saved it under my favorites.
I may be wrong, but I hold strongly to the belief that the M1 is still relevant today. A designated rifleman in a squad equipped with this rifle can give the extra range, accuracy and punch that the 5.56 cartridge does not have. There exists a micro red dot rear sight mount that can be adapted to the M1 rifle in minutes, in a non-permanent fashion that greatly increases the long range accuracy of the rifle. The .30-06 is still plentiful and affordable. I recognize that the weight of the rifle and its ammunition are significant challenges.
I agree. Eight 30-06 is a better application than 30 rounds of 223's or 7.62x39 (Just slightly on the AK.). I like a bigger round at HV.
Chris that was an excellent video. Thanks for the knowledge download.
Thanks!
That was a very excellent quick history on the Garand, thank you. I will be recommending this one to people who want to know more about the M1.
That’s one of the best documentary style videos I’ve seen on a firearm. Please do more of these!🎉😊
This was an excellent video by an excellent beard about an excellent rifle
Have owned more than a dozen M1 Garands and recently passed one to my son. I am a recently retired career police officer and still travel and teach gunfighting to law enforcement instructors. Though I would pick up an AR-platform if I knew a rifle/carbine fight was at-hand, I would not feel outgunned if I grabbed my Garand instead. As a matter of fact, there are M1's still in field service today around the world. I know I can't shoot as quickly, use modern sighting systems and larger capacity magazines, utilize a collapsing/adjustable stock not accessorize like many modern battle carbines/rifles but I can promise you, that you will not be happy if I was shooting at you with an M1 inside of 300-400 yards. Press on dear warrior.
Excellent video, Chris. Been excited about this one.
Excellent presentation! Have owned a Garand for many years. Very accurate, performs flawlessly...
Chris, excellent work. You really outdid yourself.
Nice job Chris. Well done!
Outstanding documentary!! Would love to see more!
My great grandfather stormed Normandy with a Garand rifle in his hand. I remember as a kid how cool I thought that was that he personally and used a rifle as an infantryman
Chris this is a terrific video. Concise and very informative! My father, who served in the Third Marines seeing action on Guam and Iwo Jima, loved his Garrand. He would’ve loved your video.
Great video and well put together.
As always, it is very informative. Lucky Gunner is my favorite channel.
Thank you!
One of your best videos so far!! Thank you very much..
Thanks guys, another classic production!!
Excellent detail and history!
Awesome video with so much good information. Thank you!!
Great video! Looking forward to the next instalment.
Excellent production. Keep up the good work.
Chesty Puller might shout "If your rifle's too heavy, you can drop and give me 50! Now PUSH!"
No, Chesty Puller understood the physical limitations of his marines and of military logistics.
👍👍appreciate the history lesson, it was really well done.
I remember reading a book on Douglas MacArthur that had come out a couple years ago, and during the chapter on his time as Army chief of staff, this rifle was being developed with it's experimental caliber. But because it was the 1930s, Army budgets were stingy, and there were still warehouses full of WW1 era .30-06 ammo, MacArthur and some others forced Garand's hands to change it to be .30-06 to "save' money and burn up all this .30-06 ammo that was collected dust
At the time, it was absolutely the right call to make. Having billions of rounds of .30-06, not to mention other weapons in inventory like the BAR and M1903 using it, switching calibers for the M1 Garand, even a better cartridge, wasn't feasible in the middle of the Great Depression. Everyone was broke already as is.
@@gameragodzilla That's a thing I think people over look, you can develop the greatest caliber/rifle ever...but where's the budget and infrastructure to build and maintain it for Army contracts?
@@Tadicuslegion78 Yup, and that's why even though self loading rifles existed, even for military issue like the RSC 1917 in French service for WW1, the M1 Garand still gets credit and fame for being the first truly standard issue semi-auto rifle because all the underlying infrastructure and manufacturing were also in place.
If the infrastructure wasn't there, then the Garand would've only been issued to select troops and most would still be using bolt action M1903 Springfields, thereby making the Garand probably a footnote in history at best.
@@gameragodzilla The RSC 1917 falls well short of meeting the criteria of “standard issue” while rugged enough for field issue, it was temperamental at the best of times, and at its peak select units had enough RSC to issue at at a rate of 1 per Groupe (squad) making it more akin to DMR than standard infantry rifle. Plenty of semi-auto rifles were issued on a trials or limited basis during the First World War, but the first military in the world to actually procure and issue semi-auto rifles to each individual infantryman in the army, was the United States.
@@MaxwellAerialPhotography Exactly. So that is why decisions like using the already existing stockpiles of rounds rather than switching to a new, weird proprietary round is a good decision. Easing manufacturing and procurement allows everyone to get an M1 Garand, not just select troops.
This was a great video, well researched and thought out presentation. Really enjoyed it!
Watching Garand talk about future rifle development gave me flashbacks of Tony Stark's father talking to his son via an old black and white movie in _Ironman 2._ "I'm limited by the technology of my time..."
Love this historical type content! Keep it coming!
Always had a tremendous amount of respect for this rifle and cant wait to get my hands on one, but your presentation on this video took it to a whole other level, thank you!
Great video. Thanks Chris!
Great story. Thanks Chris.
Thought you guys had given up on us. Glad to see a new video.
Actually, it is quite possible to reload a Garand before it's empty. Hold the bolt to the rear with one hand, place the other hand over the top of the rifle and hit the clip release with that hand's thumb. The hand over the top of the rifle will prevent the clip from fully ejecting; it will also trap the cartridge coming out of the chamber which will wind up lying on top of the clip. Let the bolt go forward until it butts up against the back of the clip to hold it in place. At this point, you can feed the round that just came out of the chamber back into the clip, and other rounds, as well. Once the clip is fully loaded, push on its top to reinsert it back into the rifle, then the bolt will either go forward on its own, chambering the top round in the clip, or a tap on the bolt handle may be necessary. Admittedly a fairly time-consuming, multi-step procedure, and not something anyone would be doing in combat. But the common statement that the Garand "can't be reloaded before it's empty, you have to hit the clip release, and completely unload the rifle then reload it with a new clip, or fire out the gun until it's empty" is absolutely untrue, and only said by people who don't really understand the rifle.
I was looking for this comment 👍
Well done indeed--keep that content coming.
Excellent video. The topic was interesting and the delivery was very good. Good balance of details, length and pacing.
Great Video! I hope you do more deep dives in the future!
The first center fired rifle I ever shot was the Garand. It was literally in a high power match.
Tremendous video, and you will keep getting my ammo orders. Thanks!
Great History lesson on this firearm. Thanks for sharing.
Well done. Thanks a bundle. Good information.
You have no idea how disappointed I am that Manny Mansfield didn’t narrate 😢
Fascinating, well done video!
Excellent video. Thanks for the history lesson!
Excellent vides content, thank you!
I'm also a regular ammo buyer from Lucky Gunner, keep those deals coming too!
Great episode!!! Thanks!!
Great video! Would love another about the history of the M16!
bought mine about 3 years ago, finally got around to loading for it!!
Fascinating! Well done!
Excellent presentation! Thank you
Fantastic video. This has easily become one of my favorite gun channels
Loved the video. RockOn.StayFree.
Well done sir.
Thank you for that knowledge !
Fantastic video. Thankyou
Excellent video guys, absolutely loved it. I'll make sure to purchase some 30-06 from you to fund more fine presentations!
Excellent presentation. Full of interesting information and presented in a very professional manner. I'm sold, I'm going to subscribe.
Great video!
Awesome info on this masterpiece!!!
Artillery is the KING of battle. That said, I am glad we did get the M1 for WW2. Sometimes, rate of fire is very important. I have two. Both are all original and shoot extremely well. The key is to not exceed the pressures they used when the rifle came out. Easy to do if you reload or buy M1 specific ammo. I do have an adjustable gas plug in one which turns my M1 into a single shot, just cycle the bolt manually, but I can run my bolt action 30-06 ammo through the M1, if I want. The iron sights on the M1 are probably the best iron sights I have ever used. With young eyes, accuracy to 500 yards should not be a challenge if the shooter is a decent marksman.
Enjoyed and learned some things.
Love this video. Thanks!
And here I thought I already had a pretty good understanding of this story. Very informative. Excellent
this was such a great video. I was so engaged and it left me wanting more.
Great video Chris 👍
Another great video.
Fantastic job!!! Thank you
Thank you for video!
Love !! this ‘semi-documentary’ on the M1. Very nice choice of background topics/questions to focus on and an excellent presentation technique! Please do a similar effort on ALL the principle US infantry weapons!?
Fantastic video, thank you.
Excellent history lesson of my eloped M1 Garand. Thank you.
This channel is a National Treasure!
My basic training company in the 4th training regiment at Fort Dix, in 1963 was issued M1 Garands. I fired expert with mine. One of the great things about the Garand was also that with a bayonet is was one hell of an up close and personal weapon. Just the feel of the rifle gave an infantryman great confidence.
Excellent video and great job to the presenter. I enjoyed this video and leaned a lot!
Manny should have made a cameo in this feature, after all...he is the preeminent living authority on the subject.