M1 Garand Question?

Question

I was watching Saving Private Ryan this evening. In this movie as well as several other WW2 movies, I've always noticed that once a soldier with an M1 Garand question shoots all their ammo, it looks like their clip pops out with a distinctive "ping" sound.

What exactly is happening/What pops out? Is it a stripper clip? Is it a special type of clip that ia designed for battle (Do all the M1 clips do this or just certain types?)

I was just curious. I was looking to buy a Garand the next time the CMP issues them (without going to Camp Perry in person).

Thanks.

Answer 1

Watch the movie again, as well as others where the troops carry Garand rifles, and look closely at scenes where they are loaded. The M-1 is loaded with a (standard) 8-round steel 'stripper' clip. In loading, the rounds AND clip are inserted into the magazine well and the bolt is released, chambering the first round. Upon firing the 8th round, the empty case AND steel clip are ejected together, clearing the weapon's magazine for loading the next clip into the weapon. The 'ping' that you heard IS the sound of the empty clip being ejected from the rifle.
There is an old soldiers' 'injury' called 'M-1 thumb' where troops would get their thumbs caught by the bolt when attempting to close the bolt on an empty magazine well, especially from the position of 'inspection arms' when the inspecting superior returned the weapon after inspecting it in formation. You can see this in DETAIL in any performance of the U.S.M.C. "Silent" Drill Team! (Closing the bolt, NOT M-1 'thumb'!)
If you look closely for details, you may see troops passing the 8-round clips back & forth when sharing ammo, and I recall several instances where troops carried ammo clips stuck in their rifle sling loops for faster access in combat.
There are some companies that sell special 3 and 5 round clips for hunting with the M-1 Garand, where state laws limit the number of rounds carried in the rifle.

Answer 2

Garand uses a little metal clip or holder for 8 rounds of ammo. When you fire the 8th shell it ejects and the action locks open so you can quickly insert another clip of 8 rounds and you are back in action. The sound of it ejecting is quite distinctive, it sounds like "ker chung", and I have never heard anything else other than a Garand make the noise. Something else unique to the Garand is call the "M-1 Thumb". When I first went to Ft. Ord I saw people walking around with a white bandage on their right thumb and when I asked was told it was M-1 Thumb. When you release the bolt on the Garand you stick your thumb in to push down on the eject spring for the clip which holds the bolt open, and immediately pull it out so the bolt can slam closed. If you didn't get your thumb out quickly enough it got slammed between the bolt and breech and got just a little bit messed up; so they put a big white bandage on the thumb so you wouldn't bleed all over everything. After one bout of M-1 thumb you generally mastered the process of releasing the bolt very quickly. To see how it feels just put your thumb on an anvil and hit it with a small sledgehammer.

Answer 3

i'm additionally slightly bowled over on the incorrect information so some distance...if a low-end Garand is now $1500, properly write me a verify cuz mine are bought! mutually as the Carbine is "lovable" and lightweight and has vast mags available, this is in no way greater effective than a sprig-n-pray gun for shorter distances. historic, particular, yet might besides get an AK if taking pictures is the purpose. The Garand is a genuine "significant conflict Rifle" that fluctuate into meant and used by genuine infantry infantrymen, with an entire-powered rifle around and fee of fire and reloading that positioned worry interior the hearts of this is enemies. It has ability and variety. For at present's collector and shooter, the Carbine is conventional as a novelty however the Garand is the single that genuine rifle shooters want and use in competitions. We shoot suits at 2 hundred yards each month right here and that they are consistently complete. i think of which you would be lots greater happy with the Garand first. lookup The Civilian Marksmanship application, examine the regulations and get your order in...it relatively is unquestionably properly relatively worth the hoops you're able to desire to bounce by.

Answer 4

Re: the clip popping out on the last shot..

Correct to some extent....

The Germans would listen for that and know the GI was out of ammo and would make their move.

In response, GIs would carry an extra clip and throw it to lure the Germans out.

In response, the Germans learned to count shots AND listen for the clip.

In response, the GIs would shoot five or six, reload, shoot two or three, throw the clip then wait for the Germans.

In response, the Germans stopped listening for the clip.

In the meantime, the GIs would look for the puff of smoke from the German guns. Since the German shooters never saw it, they never figured out how our GIs could spot where they were hidden.

Also, the American army was the only one that gave semi-autos to all of its troops. Kind of hard to compete when all you got is a bolt action.

Answer 5

It uses a box style clip. It holds 8 30-06 rounds and as it fires the round chamber and fire. Once it is empty the clip pops up and out. Many soldiers used to have 1 empty and drop it to lure the enemy's head out while in fact they had a full load inside the gun already.

http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl05-e.htm

Answer 6

The piece that pops out is the base from the eight shot magazine. I t makes a very distinctive sound to let you know your garand is empty. Simply take another full clip, slide it down into the weapon from the top..the bolt closes and you are ready to fire another eight rounds.Yes all Garands load and eject that way. I own two.They are the finest rifles I own. I have one Springfield field grade rifle, and my pride and joy Olympic National Match Garand both 30-06 caliber.Highly accurate competition rifles. The clips can be reused many times..........

Answer 7

This clip is designed for ease of loading, mainly in combat arenas. These rifles can also be loaded by hand...also, you should really check the requirements for purchasing an M-1 through CMP. They are very strict...good luck