The Obama administration has been relatively careful about not showing its anti-gun colors, but they’ve failed this time. South Korea has thousands of rifles that we gave/leased to them (I’m not 100% sure which based on the stories I’ve read) and now they want to return them to the U.S. for sale via the CMP to US citizens. The CMP was originally setup by congress to sell surplus firearms to US citizens with a few extra caveats, and while it was privatized some years back it still funnels returned firearms from foreign armies to US citizens at affordable prices. And all weapons sold are background checked and go through a licensed firearms dealer.
Getting an M1 Garand, the kind of gun my father carried in WWII, is one of the few empty slots left on the short list of guns I’d like to own. And an M1 carbine, another WWII era weapon, is right below it.
M1 Garand -- the workhorse of WWII
What makes this Obama decision so criminally stupid … the M1 Garand does NOT take a “high capacity” magazine and CANNOT take a high capacity magazine. It uses an 8 round en bloc clip (and “clip” is the right term here) that you slap down through the top. And it fires the .30-06, a powerful rifle round. For both of those reasons you’ll not be finding any street gangs making use of it, and while it’s still an awesome weapon from an historical and civilian sport shooting viewpoint … it is obsolete from a military point of view.
M1 Carbine - a fine old weapon designed for a rather weak cartridge.
The M1 Carbine fires a relatively weak cartridge, .30 carbine, and while it does take a detachable magazine it’s a wooden stocked rifle that, again … I don’t think you’ll see any gang members attracted too. The few gang members who want a long gun are going to want an AK as a status symbol as they really don’t care for history … but in any case there are very few gangs that use or even want long rifles, as it is pistols that are concealable and used in almost all crimes.
It would be a crime to destroy these historical weapons. They should be returned to the people of the country that paid for them. And made available for future generations to shoot and enjoy and experience a major piece of history.
When I bought my first rifle last year I thought hard about an M1 Garand, but decided instead on an AR-15 because it’s modern and more buildable. I just hope these fine rifles are still available when I do come up with the money, as whenever I shoot one I’m reminded of the greatest generation and feel somehow closer to my own father, imagining him as an 18 year old small town boy suddenly drafted into a World War and sent overseas.
If Mr. Obama has his way, my chances of experiencing that with my own M1 will be diminished. And so will everyone else’s. For no reason except he just plain doesn’t like guns and doesn’t trust guns of any kind in the hands of the American people.
These are not military obsolete – they work very well for an infantryman to reach targets out to at least six hundred yards. But they aren’t going to come back to provide an military use, they are historic, interesting and effective for competition and hunting.
I wrote my Senator, I don’t figure it will be effective, but she knows, when she comes back to campaign I will ask.
By obsolete, I just meant that there’s no military that is interested in them anymore. There are just too many other options and as much as I love Garand’s and realize that an army trained to use them would be formidable … they’re not the rifle I would arm soldiers with if I were in charge.
Never hurts to write your senator. I think that will be the next thing I’ll do — particularly since my senator wants to look pro-2nd amendment and is up for re-election.