Vietnam Vets and the Guns They Loved

[MidWestDisappearance]

Hey all,

So i am working on another story and I am setting it in the mid 1970s. what i was wondering, if there are any vietnam vets, or those that were around during that era, what would have been a common list of firearms for a person to have at home.

Are the images of a man with a Garand and a 1911 accurate or was it more along the lines of a 1903 and a smith combat.

Thanks in advance,

MWD

 

[tyeo098]

At home?
Colt Ar-15 Sporter. Dads .45 as well.
In the jungle? M16A1... and a Colt .45 to boot.

 

[Kleanbore]

The M-16 replaced the M-14 in 1966 or 1967; the M-14 had replaced the Garand for combat issue starting in 1956 or 1957. An AR-15 is as close as you are going to get to an M-16.

The 1911 is appropriate.

 

[MidWestDisappearance]

I guess what i mean is, what was a common set of arms for someone of the period to have at home, as in what they owned.

i know that it is going to be dependent on what the person did, but more like- what was the proverbial glock for carry and ar/ak for a fun gun of the period. were cmp rifles popular? were ar-15s popular at the time, or more of the rare thing due to the newness of the m16?

Sorry about the phrasing of the question, just wanting something as accurate to the time period as is reasonably possible.

MWD

 

[Sky]

At home most had a manly 12g shotgun, scoped bolt action 30.06 and some type of pistol if my memory serves me correct. Small sampling of me and a few friends I used to bust caps with. Usually a .22 in rifle or pistol was thrown in there someplace?

 

[rcmodel]

Myself?

About then, I had a Winchester 94 30-30, a 03 Springfield 30-06 sporter I built, a 98 Mauser 22-250 I built, a M1A1 Carbine I got from the DCM in 1964, and Ruger & Browning .22's.

Handguns included a Colt 1911 National Match & S&W Model 41 I shot in competition with 5th. Army AMU.
As well as a S&W Chiefs Special, a Model 19 .357, and a few others I forget right now.

Shotguns were a Browning A5 12 ga and an Ithaca 20 ga double.

It was my experience that most combat vets didn't run right out and buy the same guns they carried in service. Because with the exception of the 1911, they couldn't.
And most of them hated the worn out 1911's we were issued then with a passion.
M14's and M16's were not sold to the public anyway.

They wanted something more "sporting" when they could afford it for deer & bird hunting.

And not all military vets ever owned or touched a gun again after they got out of the service.

Just because you were in the military or in combat didn't make you a gun-nut the rest of your life.

Lots of vets I know hated them, or at least chose not to own one.

rc

 

[Reloadron]

Went through Boot Camp (USMC) in 69 and got to Nam in 72. During boot we were still training with the M14, when I got to Nam it was the M16A1 and I also carried a M1911A1.

Today I own a M1A, a few 1911 pistols as I always loved 1911 even before Nam and a few AR 15 variations. I likely own them more as a matter of liking them than memories of what I dragged around Nam.

Uh Oh...

I guess what i mean is, what was a common set of arms for someone of the period to have at home, as in what they owned.

Memory testing at work. I owned a Ruger .44 carbine, a few 30-06 bolt guns, a M1 Carbine or two (love those little rifles) and a few shotguns, I remember a 16 gauge double I had back then. Heck, I don't remember whet else I had then.

Ron

 

[clamman]

That's funny, we too were issued the M-14. (also USMC) In 1974! A week later they gave us M16A1. At home, I always kept a 12 Gauge by the bed. Now it's the same thing except I added a M1911 to the mix. I keep a XD'S on me most of the time. Wife keeps a 38 wheel gun and a mean temper to go along with it.

(also) Ron lol. Semper Fi

 

[lemaymiami]

My issue weapon in 1968 for basic at Sand Hill, Ft. Benning was an M14. Less than two years later that was changed to an M16 (which was one heck of alot easier to qualify with...) but I was still stateside. You probably wouldn't believe the series of weapons I was issued for my senior trip in 1971 (attached to the 101Abn).

When I got back stateside and out of the Army I gave the few weapons I had to my Dad.... and did without. When I went into police work at the end of 1973 I was issued an S & W model 10 heavy barrel (and I still have it almost forty years later....).

 

[Dr.Rob]

Back in the 70's most of the guns in my house were 22's.

There was an 870 though. (With a 30 inch barrel!)

 

[Coop45]

A 12 gauge 870 Wingmaster, High Standard Supermatic Citation 22, and a Remington ADL in 25.06. I didn't buy an AR until the 1990's, but sold it.......no rock and roll setting.

 

[WALKERs210]

Up to 1965 I wanted one of everything, then things took a different turn from even wanting anything that could cause harm. It was around 1975 that I finally had a firearm in my house and then it was a simple 12ga single shot followed with a Marlin 30-30. Only reason was to try my hand at deer hunting again. I did buy a Heritage 22 revolver while stationed in Fla for target shooting best I remember I paid a whopping $49.00 for it new in the box.

 

[MutinousDoug]

Before I was drafted in 1969 Dad had two shotguns (both pre WWII) and an M1 carbine he got from the DCM in 1961 or so. I don't think he had been issued his S&W Model 39 until after then and Mom had made him turn in his 1941 issue 1911-A1 when us kids were still toddlers.
When I got back from RVN in 1971, Dad offered to buy me a model 27 but I didn't have much use for one at the time and frankly, I'd had an M-16A1 pretty much attached to the end of my arm for the last 11 months so I passed. I think I picked up my 1st gun, a 6" model 19 in 1978 or so after a cougar walked up to my deer blind that archery season.
Seems like back then good used revolvers were much more common and cheaper than automatics.

 

[pseudonymity]

I was a kid during that time, but most people I remember had a shotgun, typically 12 or 16 gauge. There were many more SxS seen then with full length barrels (28-30"), pumps were popular and fewer semi autos.

"Good" centerfire rifles seemed to be Winchester '94s or Rem 700s. Seems like every gun show had buckets of Enfields and some Mausers as well.

Revolvers were much more popular then, autoloaders tended either to be small caliber like .25 or .32, 9mm and larger were pretty much full size frames. 1911s were common as well. Seems like .38 spl S&W revolvers were everywhere, many were used police guns.

For rimfire the 10/22 was really catching on, even though it was relatively expensive at the time.

One thing that was really common that is not now is catalog brand long guns. Before GCA '68, Sears, Wards and others sold house brand guns manufactured by others - plenty of High Standard, Mossberg, Noble, etc sold under JC Higgins, Westerfield and other names.

 

[MidWestDisappearance]

Thank you to everyone, the answers are truly are helpful, keep em comin, and the personal recollections of Vietnam are great.

Thanks again,

MWD

 

[Ala Dan]

During the 'Nam days, we were issued M-14's at Fort Bennings
Harmony Church; during the fall-winter months from November
thru January. It was mighty cold at times; in as I call it, "The
Georgia Pines"; but that old M-14 never missed a beat~! It
weighted 'bout 9 lbs, chambered in 7.62 NATO; and "kicked
like a mule". After arriving in the 'Nam some of the guys got
issued the M16A1 I heard; but I wasn't part of that group. You
see, being a medic [91A10, and "green behind the ears at the
time]; my orders were to stay here (Fort Gordon, GA) and treat
cases arriving back in the states.

So, in order too even get to play with the new weapon; I had to go out
and purchase my own AR-15's. Today, I still own the 1st one that I bought;
a 16" Colt Target Match HB, with a telescoping stock, and a NIB Rock River
"Operator I" that has never been fired.

To answer your question, when in the service I never owned anything other
than a NIB single-shot Winchester 67-A [Boy's Rifle]; that dad paid $18.50
for at a local hardware store. This is an honest story folks, hope you enjoyed
reading it~!

 

[jeepnik]

Common? I don't think you can say that people of an earlier era would have any sort of set group of firearms. Firearms are like women, every man has his preferences.

Personally, I own everything from (handgun wise) 1860 Armys to Glocks. Rifles, Hawkin to AR-15.

 

[siglite]

The vietnam vets I know well are a bit of a contrast. One kept an AR in the house for decades. And to my knowledge, that and a revolver of some sort were all he had in the house. Later he replaced the revolver with a glock.

Another one has a bit of everything. He'll jokingly call the ARs mouseguns, while shooting 3 minute groups off a sling at 400yds with one. It seems his preference is just about anything that starts with .3 in rifles. I think he's a 1911 guy with handguns, though. But I'm not sure.

 

[Jeff White]

If it was commercially available then someone had it at home. People were drafted or enlisted from all walks of life all over the country. Guys talked about Browning Hi Powers, Colt Pythons and S&W Combat Masterpieces in the barracks in 74 when I enlisted.

Everyone talked about shotguns. I don't remember anyone talking about M14s or M16s (AR15s) at home, a lot of guys talked about WWII vintage rifles they or their father owned and things like Winchester 94s.

 

[SEE IT LIKE A NATIVE]

Most folks I knew in that era had some kind of shotgun ,a .22 rifle or 2 , maybe a deer rifle , if they had a handgun it was likely a .38or .38/.357 . Scope sighted rifles were uncommon in South Florida then , lots of .30-.30s , and Ruger .44 carbines , m-1 .30 cal carbines , and Savage lever guns in all calibers . A lot people had side by side shotguns . Kevin

 

[AlexanderA]

I believe the OP's question has to do with the kinds of guns civilians would have had at home, in the immediate post-Vietnam War era (mid-70's). Mostly shotguns and scoped hunting rifles, I would think. I got my first AR-15 in 1968, but I was something of a "gun nut" even then. You didn't see that many of them around. The DCM was selling Garands, but you had to show evidence that you were shooting in high power competition in order to get one.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My first tour in Viet Nam, I was an adviser. My issue weapon was the M2 Carbine (the select-fire version.) It got wrapped around a tree and I borrowed an M1 Garand from the ARVN. I also carried a privately-owned Colt M357.

My second tour I was a company commander and got my battalion commander to get me two M14 sniper rifles (pre-M21). I had one school-trained sniper in the company, so he got one and I took the other.

 

[f4t9r]

a 870 shot gun, 22 rifle and of coarse a Colt 1911

 

[Nushif]

Looking at the trend of civilians usually advocating the previous weapons we had wouldn't the Vietnam armchair commandos have said we all need M1s and revolvers?
Just like now they want us to get ... M1(ish) thingies and 1911s?

Also, you have to keep in mind "military weapons" weren't exactly the latest rage in the mainstream of gun culture. Scoped hunting rifles and shotguns, alongside some long barreled revolvers would be my best guess.

 

[hso]

I am setting it in the mid 1970s

Since I graduated high school in 1975 I can tell you what we had.

Winchester Model '97 shotgun.

S&W .38 Lemon-squeezer

An uncle who hunted had a Marlin lever action and a scoped Winchester Model 70.

Your suggestions are a bit more fantasy than reality since very very few people would have had either such extraordinary firearms as the Garand or the S&W Model 15. A Garand would have been very very rare at the time because DCM (CMP's predecessor) allowed one Garand in a lifetime, but an M1 Carbine could be bought in hardware stores and out of ads in American Rifleman along with '03s or P17s or SMLE Enfields.