Most American service gun!

Most American Service Gun

  • M1 Garand

    Votes: 100 21.0%

  • M-16

    Votes: 20 4.2%

  • M 1911

    Votes: 227 47.6%

  • M-14

    Votes: 8 1.7%

  • Springfield 1903

    Votes: 2 0.4%

  • M-4

    Votes: 3 0.6%

  • Winchester

    Votes: 30 6.3%

  • Browning Automatic Rifle

    Votes: 8 1.7%

  • Single Action Army /Navy

    Votes: 62 13.0%

  • Add Another gun idiot!

    Votes: 17 3.6%
  • Total voters
    477
  • Poll closed .
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L

Lone wanderer

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ok, so i got 2 thinking what is the most American Service gun. one that represents America, it's citizens, and what we stand for. feel free to tell me which gun i left out of the poll, no doubt i'll forget one :p

Contenders are:
Colt 1911
M-16
M-14
M-4
Springfield 1903
Henry Repeater
Sharps Rifle
Krag rifle
M1 carbine
M1 Garand
 
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Think you are missing the M1 Garand.

There are too many to really consider though.

M16 standard issue for the longest period of time.

Winchester 66, 73, Colt Peacemaker, guns that won the west.

M1 Garand, very distinct, easily recognizable and will eat your thumb when you don't respect it.
 
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Model 1897 Winchester Shotgun, 1863 Springfield rifle, 1873 Springfield Trapdoor, Browning Automatic Rifle, 1873 Colt Single Action Army, 1862 LeMat Revolver
 
The Krag was designed by Norwegians, and the Springfield '03 is almost a Mauser.

Colt SAA
Kentucky Rifle
 
Gotta be the Colt 1911.

The Garand - lauded as it was - was only in service for 21 years. The Colt 1911 was standard issue for 74 years and still serves in very limited issue situations in active duty. That aside, look at the civilian market today: the Garand is a very nice collectors item. They're expensive though, and there is virtually no interest in a reproduction version by the general public.

On the other hand, 1911's still sell in droves, and some version of it is made by at least half of the major arms manufacturers. Don't get me wrong - I would really love to have a Garand if I could, but all in all as far as in person I've only ever even SEEN maybe 15 to 20 real Garands. I couldn't even begin to count how many 1911's I've seen.

The M16/M4/AR15 platform (they're all pretty close - really variants of the same gun rather than separate ones) is a close second, but I think the 1911 platform is it beat both in service life and civilian ownership.
 
The Garand was invented by a Canadian, remember.

I'd have to say the weapons that America used to become a nation. Captured English muskets, "Brown Bess"es, etc.
 
Thus far I'm the only one who voted M14 ... here's my reasons why:

The M14 just blatantly seems like a brainchild of the US. It has a very classical stock with this "marksman concept" in mind and while being modifiable it is still truly a product of necessity, rather than some deliberate planning. IT feels like the step between a high volume low caliber PDF style weapon and this truly american concept of a "battle rifle" (read, big, accurate, grossly oversized in every aspect and for some reason more fitting for the last war.)
In short, it keeps the hallmarks the US military prides itself in, while showing the ingenuity of our military as a whole, or rather our lack of predictable planning, which in a twist of irony makes us exceedingly annoying to fight.
 
Gotta be the Colt 1911.

The Garand - lauded as it was - was only in service for 21 years. The Colt 1911 was standard issue for 74 years and still serves in very limited issue situations in active duty. That aside, look at the civilian market today: the Garand is a very nice collectors item. They're expensive though, and there is virtually no interest in a reproduction version by the general public.

On the other hand, 1911's still sell in droves, and some version of it is made by at least half of the major arms manufacturers. Don't get me wrong - I would really love to have a Garand if I could, but all in all as far as in person I've only ever even SEEN maybe 15 to 20 real Garands. I couldn't even begin to count how many 1911's I've seen.

The M16/M4/AR15 platform (they're all pretty close - really variants of the same gun rather than separate ones) is a close second, but I think the 1911 platform is it beat both in service life and civilian ownership.
Click to expand...

I would have said the same thing, almost word for word.

The M1Garand is a fine weapon, but even in WWII, the first ones issued to Marines in the Pacific were rejected- the Marines liked their tried and true 1903A1.

It continued to serve through Korea, and was still in use as a Sniper's Rifle in Vietnam.

My uncle, now in his 80s, was one of those Marines that turned down the new M1Garand on Tarawa, and still Has a CMP 1903A3(s). He can still out shoot me with it, most days.

IMO, the 1903Springfield, and the 1911 are the American firearms that made the last century. The M16 (AR15/M4/whatever) is the one that brought us into the 21st Century, and after 48 years (first issued in 1963) it is a classic in it's own right.
 
I voted Winchester, specifically one of several lever rifles (but mainly the '73, '92, '94, and '95)...a classic of the old West that is still used today. The M-70, albeit a outstanding rifle, is based upon the Mauser, so not a contender for the "most American" firearm. The same can be said for the M-1903 Springfield. The M1 Garand is a close runner up IMO.

:)
 
Dude, where's my Tommy Gun? :confused:

The quintessential firearm that the world recognizes, aside from the ol' Colt SAA and Colt 1911.
 
I'm gonna have to say, as important as they are, the Garand and the M1903 are less qualified than the rest. The Garand was designed by a Canadian, the M1903 by a German.

The Norwegian Krag really shouldn't even be on the list. Not only was it designed across the pond, but also built there. About as American as a Renault.
 
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