Full Automatic M1 Garands

[Pong]

Hi all.

I was reading Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers and in one chapter Ambrose mentions that
one of the E-Company men (Forrest Guth) used to modify the M1 to fire automatically. Unfortunately Guth forgot how he modified the rifle to fire automatically. I was wondering whether other soldiers modified their rifles to fire full automatic, and how they tricked the Garand to do this.

-Arlo

 

[Barrakooda]

Bump fire maybe?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBQrtzSdVDo

 

[Shortround6]

It may be possiable with a little grinding/polishing of the sear. The trouble comes that most such "modifications" have a tendency to keep firing when the trigger is released

 

[Messy1]

Wow, with a 8 round clip, would there really be that big of a advantage over the semi-auto Garand? With only the 8 rounds, that's not going to give you much of a firing window.

 

[davebender]

It would have been less trouble and more effective to carry a BAR.

 

[Barrakooda]

I think you will find that Guth modified a M1 carbine not a garand to fire auto, thats what i found at least in my limited research

 

[comiso90]

I think you will find that Guth modified a M1 carbine not a garand to fire auto, thats what i found at least in my limited research

I agree... the Garand has a hell of a kick and would be terribly inaccurate on full auto.... and as mentioned an 8 round clip....

waste of time

 

[ToughOmbre]

I agree... the Garand has a hell of a kick and would be terribly inaccurate on full auto.... and as mentioned an 8 round clip....

waste of time

No doubt about it.

TO

 

[Messy1]

I agree... the Garand has a hell of a kick and would be terribly inaccurate on full auto.... and as mentioned an 8 round clip....

That was one of the downfalls of the M-14 which owes alot of it's design to the Garand. Highly inaccurate at full auto.

 

[fastmongrel]

I can see or should that be hear a problem with the Garand

The noise as an empty clip hits the ground havent you just told the other guy you now have an empty gun

 

[Messy1]

I can see or should that be hear a problem with the Garand

The noise as an empty clip hits the ground havent you just told the other guy you now have an empty gun

GI's used to , or also could use that sound to their advantage as well. They could carry a empty clip with them, and throw it on the ground, and see if anyone took the bait to pop their head up thinking the gun was out of ammo.

 

[fastmongrel]

I can see or should that be hear a problem with the Garand

The noise as an empty clip hits the ground havent you just told the other guy you now have an empty gun

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

I can see or should that be hear a problem with the Garand

The noise as an empty clip hits the ground havent you just told the other guy you now have an empty gun

I think when the bullets are flying, nobody is going to hear the clip eject, especially if there's a MG-42 firing lead in your direction.

 

[Soren]

It's not that big of a problem in most situations, and like pointed out it could actually be used to trick the enemy into thinking you were vulnerable. Not a flaw in my book.

That having been said, when'ever a German heard a clanking sound during fighting an Allied soldier he could probably not be blamed for actually seeking cover instead of popping up to shoot the guy as most Allied hand grenades used a detachable metal safety lever which made a similar noise when released as the grenade was thrown.

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

I forgot about the grenades making almost the same noise.


Wheels

 

[GrauGeist]

I'm going to suppose here, that in the middle of a firefight, no one's really going to hear the tinny sound of an empty magazine hitting the ground, especially if everyone's ears are ringing...

 

[RabidAlien]

I thought it was the clip ejecting, not hitting the ground, that made that distinctive "ping"?

 

[ToughOmbre]

I thought it was the clip ejecting, not hitting the ground, that made that distinctive "ping"?

You're right RA. The "ping" is from the clip ejecting.

TO

 

[Soren]

I'm going to suppose here, that in the middle of a firefight, no one's really going to hear the tinny sound of an empty magazine hitting the ground, especially if everyone's ears are ringing...

Very true. But the ejection sound is actually quite distinctiv on the Garand, even when guns are being fired at the same time. The frequency is so completely different that it usually very clearly rings through to your ear, atleast up close.

As for the ejection of the safety lever on a handgrenade, well I doubt it can be heard amongst heavy gunfire, but between shots it definitely can. A very old friend of mine swears he owes his life to hearing the ejection of the safety lever from a handgrenade about to be thrown once.