Anyone else have one?

My friend just bought one; got to play with it last Sunday at the range. It was neat to fire it along-side a Garand and a G43.

Looks like a snake that swallowed a goose egg. What is it?

I’ve wanted a Johnson for a long time. I’m envious.

I wish!!!

Alaskan Ironworker said:

Looks like a snake that swallowed a goose egg. What is it?

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M1941 Johnson rifle.

Developed as a competitor to the Garand, not officially adopted by the US, but several hundred were sitting on the docks after being ordered by the Dutch for their East Indies forces. The Dutch surrendered before taking delivery and the Marines "aquired" them.

Their performance in the Pacific was indifferent, and they were fairly quickly replaced as sufficient Garands became available.

In peacetime conditions, when kept clean (and without a bayonet attached), they work pretty well.

The 10 round internal magazine could be loaded via 2 5-round Springfield strippers or topped off, unlike the Garand, but the long recoil action is sensitive to dirt and ammunition variances.

No.
When I was a young lad, there was a Johnson as you show in a local gun store. The store wanted $69.99 (yes, the decimal is in the right place) and practically no one wanted it. It was too heavy for a deer rifle and autoloaders were very finicky, as everyone (back then) knows. The very next Johnson I saw was nearly thirty-five years later at a gun show and they have a tag of @1200.00 some odd. The story goes downhill from there.

I do not have one.

Nice gun

The first gun I ever saw that I thought “Oh man that’s cool!” I have many military rifles. From pre-civil war muskets to modern still in service (without select fire). Even some that are extremely rare like a mint condition Chaffee-Reece (only 753 ever made). But that one. That rifle. That is my Grail for military rifles.

Jeff olson

Now that's something you don't see everyday!

I think the M1941 Johnson is the one U.S. rifle my brother still doesn't have in his collection!

Jeff olson said:

View attachment 870442 View attachment 870442

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Nice! No, I do not own a Johnson but I have Bruce Canfield's book about them.

I had a Johnson barrel once.........screwed into an Eddystone M1917, lol.

I've always "sorta wanted" a Johnson. Earlier in my collecting career, other things, like Garands, took priority. Now, the asking prices for Johnsons, IMO, are just unreasonable. It would be a misallocation of resources for me to buy one.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

I had a Johnson barrel once.........screwed into an Eddystone M1917, lol.

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That's bad news. A "JA" barrel on an M1917 means it was rebarreled in WW2. In combination with an Eddystone receiver, there's a chance that the receiver ring cracked during the rebarreling process. At the very least, that's something that should be carefully checked. (You're looking for a very hard-to-see hairline crack.) (Remington or Winchester receivers should be OK with JA barrels.)

yep

AlexanderA said:

That's bad news. A "JA" barrel on an M1917 means it was rebarreled in WW2. In combination with an Eddystone receiver, there's a chance that the receiver ring cracked during the rebarreling process. At the very least, that's something that should be carefully checked. (You're looking for a very hard-to-see hairline crack.) (Remington or Winchester receivers should be OK with JA barrels.)

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Mine shot fine, but that was a factor in my decision to sell it.

I found an even better all original "E" M1917 a few years later.

I picked up a copy of Johnson's book on military rifle development. It got me interested in his rifle, but not enough to pay THAT price... .

Just last year I saw a primo Johnson for sale at a shop east of Cadillac Michigan, the tag was $8,000. A bit of markup over the usual pricing for one. Cannot own them all, but enjoy the ones you can own.