Alphecca: The Love of an M-1 Garand

June 26, 2005

The Love of an M-1 Garand

There's a nice (alas short) feature in today's Green Bay Press-Gazette by Ed Culhane on M-1 enthusiasts:

He asked Ploeckelmann to leave the gun with him for a couple of weeks. Seeing the M-1 Garand sparked a flood of memories, some of them hard. He needed time.

They restored it together and went to the range. For the first time in a half century, Bruce had fun shooting, remembering the skills that made him a gifted marksman.

That day changed Ploeckelmann’s life. He fell in love with the art of shooting. He learned about breath control, about calming the mind, about the dynamics of body position, about adjusting for the wind, about placing the finger on the trigger so that the pull is straight and comfortable.

Now, he owns three M-1 Garands and loves meeting others who share an affection for this piece of American history. After the matches, if someone expresses an interest, as I did, he’ll point to his open gun cases and say, “Grab a Garand.”

Read the whole thing, of course. Needless to say, Culhane's column isn't syndicated to the New York Times or WaPo. And feel free to post your own fond thoughts on the Garand here.

Posted by Jeff Soyer at June 26, 2005 08:53 AM

Comments

I've fired a Garand on a couple of occasions and I am definitely going to buy one. They are amazing weapons. The history is tangible when you pick one up and the sound of the strip plinging on the last shot is the sound of freedom ringing.

Posted by: elgato at June 26, 2005 06:24 PM

Love mine. As i blogged after I took it out the first time:

Bang!, Bang!, Bang!, Bang!, Bang!, Bang!, Bang!, Bang!

Ping!!!!

Posted by: countertop at June 26, 2005 11:53 PM

My thoughts on the Garand? I only have one thought: I WANT ONE.

Posted by: Ken Summers at June 27, 2005 11:40 AM

I bought a CMP garand last year, and love it. It was the perfect weapon for its time, and is still a formidable rifle today. Mine has never jammed once, never had a mis-fire, nothing. Add to that the fun I've had restoring it to service condition (hunting up decent Garand parts is a hobby all it's own), and it's easily my favorite rifle.

I've thought about building a black rifle, but after getting my Garand, the closest I think I'll ever get is an M1A with a composite stock.

Shoot a Garand. Shoot an AR. which one would you trust to:

kill a target
work after being dropped
load dirty ammo
etc.

AR's suck.

Posted by: Eric at June 27, 2005 03:04 PM

Ah, Garands. To hold one; shoot one; merely gaze upon one.. It always brings Keats to mind:

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever". & 8 .30 holes in a 2.5: circle at 100 yards is indeed a thing of beauty.

If you ever make it to Colorado the range time is on me. Don't know if you've ever shot one before but a Garand is like a 10/22 except funner. More expensive to feed, yes, but much more fun.

$370 shipped to your door from the CMP. Helluva deal for a helluva rifle.

Posted by: Publicola at June 28, 2005 05:58 AM

My range buddy has one inherited from his father. It's a great gun and very accurate although after about 50 rounds the shoulder gets a bit sore... And if you're not careful loading the "clip" and the bolt snaps forward... Still, I would like one for myself but then, I want one of EVERYTHING for myself! I'm sorta' greedy that way, or is it just the gun collecting bug infecting me?

Posted by: Jeff Soyer at June 28, 2005 09:47 AM

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June 26, 2005

The Love of an M-1 Garand

By Golly, you're reading an archived post. Click Here to head to the main page and read current stuff...

Check it out:

My group sci-fi blog novel:

Colony: Alchibah