laststandonzombieisland

The company we know today as SA, who use the same name as the legendary Springfield Armory founded by the Continental Army, actually started in Illinois in 1974 with the production of a semi-auto version of the M-14 rifle (dubbed the M1A) and a new-production version of the classic 8-shot 30.06 brawler of World War II and Korea: the M-1 Garand rifle. Would you like to know more?

The M-1

In military speak; the M1 Garand is officially known as Service Rifle, .30 Caliber, M1, NSN 1005-00-674-1425. Between 1937 and 1957, at least 5,468,772 Garands were produced by five manufacturers for use by the U.S. military. The government, always tight with a penny, kept these in front line service until 1963 and then transferred them to reserve and National Guard where they were often seen giving hippies some love as late as the mid-1970s.

The Army likes the M1 so much that they still keep more than 68,000 of them on hand for training and ceremonial purposes and loans out another 250,000 are still owned by Uncle but loaned out some 31,000 veterans groups and law enforcement agencies through the Ceremonial Rifle Program.

Designed by John C. Garand (hence the name) over a ten-year period, this iconic gas-operated, semi-automatic, rifle with its rotating bolt and long-stroke piston extraction is fed by a unique enbloc clip that holds eight rounds of 30.06 Springfield ammo and a skilled rifleman could run up to 50 rounds per minute through his weapon when the chips were down.

Out of production by the government since 1957 in favor of the M14, in the 1970s they made a comeback…in Illinois.

Read the rest in my column at XD Forum