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Right, I carried a carbine during our maneuvers in Louisiana in 61-62 and it was a wonderful weapon to carry but I had to qualify with one on the range and felt in a real fight I would be terribly undergunned. Always thought I would trade it off for something more powerful if they sent us against the Warsaw Pact people. I magine there was a decent supply of Garands and bandoliers on that beach in Normandy after the first wave hit.
The only defining feature of the M1 Garand was the semi-automatic ability of it. It lacked the stopping power, accuracy and range of standard British and German bolt action rifles.
.The clip wasn't small; it carried 8 rounds but it couldn't be reloaded mid-clip.
The Lee Enfield Mk.IV was one of the best rifles of the war, it wasn't revolutionary but it was a good solid build and would easily stop someone in one shot
You know guys a couple of years ago I bought a Johnson in a Pawn Shop
cause the owner wasn't sure what it was....ran just under 400 bills...
traded for a Valmet from a buddy...I got the best end of that one.
Wasn't suggesting the M1 didn't have its short comings. That darned "ping" when the empty clip was ejected was one of them. Some old hands would toss an empty clip to fool an unsuspecting enemy into believing that there was empty rifle in the middle of a fire fight ...
My Dad could pull a clip out, hold it in his right hand, push back the operating rod with the heel of his hand, push the clip in with his thumb far enough to release the bolt and pull his hand away while the bolt closes to chamber a round. All this in one smooth motion, (without the thumb being caught) - probably faster than most peole can push the magazine release, pull a fresh magazine out, insert it and chamber a round with the M-16 ...
If there was a partially empty clip, the operating rod could be pulled back to extract the chambered round and holding the bolt open, depressing the magazine catch would eject the partially empty clip. All this is done with the right hand, of course (heel on operating rod handle, thumb depressing the catch and catching the ejected clip). A full 8-round clip could then be loaded, usually faster than a bolt action can be "topped up" with loose rounds.
A half empty "Smelly" (SMLE) could be topped up with a 5 round clip ... but then who could count so precisely in the excitment of action!?
Re: wound ballistics, the first study of the 30-06 was done on goats (French and Callender of the US Army, 1935). The amount of devitalized tissue was somewhat exaggerated because the tests did not control for hitting bone(!) Explosive comminution ... Modern tests are done on anesthetized hogs - usually on a hind limb avoiding hitting bone. All WWII FMJ rifle rounds performed pretty much the same according to the publications I've seen.