Sand & Mud: Which Would Function Better - Garand or M16?

[Hangingrock]

We had family in the ETO in WW2 as members of the 28th, 78th, and 79th USA Divisions. They complained about every thing as I recall listening to them in my formative years. One item they never complained about was the M1 Garand.

Fast forward to this day and these wars we’re involved in now. I am a firm believer in is the biggest war is the one your currently in. The M16/M4 series has had four plus decades to evolve into what it is. There has been a learning curve along with extended usage. Those that use it I hope it serves you well.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Want reliability? My dad carried, and used, an M1 Garand for over two and a half years in the South Pacific (Borneo, Luzon, Leyte, Occupational Japan.) He initially had been issued an M1 Carbine, but had no faith in it (he was a big man, 6'4" farm boy) and quickly picked up a Garand. He never once mentioned any failures, which I'm sure would have come up, as I got every war story there was out of him. Even our Gulf and 'stan boys don't live in the field (spell that monsoon) for two and half years. He DID take care of his rifle, and he DID say the finish was gone when he turned it in......................of course, that was just one guy, with one rifle. I'm sure someone will have to discredit that somehow.............

I'm not saying that the M-1 was not a fine weapon for the purpose of shooting Japs, 70 years ago. That was 70 years ago.

 

[TechBrute]

I'll give it to him, he did manage to wait two whole days after he started the thread to tell the story about his dad.

 

[eastbank]

if you are in the bush humping it, a m-16 makes alot of sense light,full auto if you need it,30 round magazines and light ammo(more rounds per pound), as a country boy i already knew about keeping a firearm clean and running, and when it came to helping to keeping me alive it was prority ONE, before eating ,drinking or taking a cig-piss break. i was around alot of jeeps who were never around firearms untill uncle sam got them and they had to play catch up and if they didn,t, they may have not made it. in other theaters of conflict other firearms may be better,but where i was the m-16 was just fine. eastbank.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

So shooting crazed, "Die for the Emperor" suicide soldiers 70 years ago is somehow different that shooting crazed, "Die for Allah" suicide soldiers today? You'll have to explain that one.

 

[Ithaca37]

Hmmm........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0-3OQsnR-w

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

So shooting crazed, "Die for the Emperor" suicide soldiers 70 years ago is somehow different that shooting crazed, "Die for Allah" suicide soldiers today? You'll have to explain that one.

there's better ways to do it now.

 

[Ignition Override]

It makes no difference to me whether or not the Garand is supposed to be more reliable in the stated conditions.
Looking forward to my first Garand in early August.

 

[HorseSoldier]

True, but if used as designed (and that is what it was designed for), it does a pretty decent job.

Training issue. In the school house I came up in, you closed the dust cover if/when ever you had the chance to, as part of the programmed muscle memory you built on the range. Because you do forget things under stress.

So shooting crazed, "Die for the Emperor" suicide soldiers 70 years ago is somehow different that shooting crazed, "Die for Allah" suicide soldiers today? You'll have to explain that one.

We're trained better, and better equipped these days. That seems to translate to hitting the bad guys more these days.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I'd love to go back in time with a bunch of M16s and M4s (and the training and logistics to support them) and see how the guys in both the Pacific and Europe chose.

 

[Art Eatman]

Three pages of pointless speculation is more than enough...