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Recently I went to Springfield Armory National Historical Site. I recommend it to anyone interested in history, firearms, or both.
This is the very unimpressive front of the museum. It belies what lies within. Once inside, there is an amazing array of firearms on display. I was running on a few hours of sleep, having come in on a redeye from LAX just a few hours before.
A bust of John Cantius Garand (1888-1974), presented by the GCA about twenty-five years ago (in 1994). Of course, this was one of the main reasons I went there-- consider my CG handle-- but there is so much more there.
The curators have assembled quite a collection.
This graph reminded me of an article I read a long time ago ("The .45-70 at Two Miles" in Rifle Magazine, late 1970's).
An array of experimental trapdoor .45-70 modifications. We tend to take our modern guns for granted, forgetting the hundreds of years of toil and experimentation that led up to them.
For example, Springfield Armory NHS covers the journey from non-interchangeable hand-made parts to totally interchangeable machine-made parts.
Early firearms were completely hand-made. The gunsmith was a supremely-skilled master of many trades.
Machining is something we often take for granted. But it has come a long way since Eli Whitney.
If you have ever held a stripped M1 Garand receiver in your hand, and understand where it came from, and what it took to make, you will marvel.
Likewise the 1911.
Even the hammer and trigger guard on the WWII M1 was a work of art, in a manner of speaking.
This is the very unimpressive front of the museum. It belies what lies within. Once inside, there is an amazing array of firearms on display. I was running on a few hours of sleep, having come in on a redeye from LAX just a few hours before.
A bust of John Cantius Garand (1888-1974), presented by the GCA about twenty-five years ago (in 1994). Of course, this was one of the main reasons I went there-- consider my CG handle-- but there is so much more there.
The curators have assembled quite a collection.
This graph reminded me of an article I read a long time ago ("The .45-70 at Two Miles" in Rifle Magazine, late 1970's).
An array of experimental trapdoor .45-70 modifications. We tend to take our modern guns for granted, forgetting the hundreds of years of toil and experimentation that led up to them.
For example, Springfield Armory NHS covers the journey from non-interchangeable hand-made parts to totally interchangeable machine-made parts.
Early firearms were completely hand-made. The gunsmith was a supremely-skilled master of many trades.
Machining is something we often take for granted. But it has come a long way since Eli Whitney.
If you have ever held a stripped M1 Garand receiver in your hand, and understand where it came from, and what it took to make, you will marvel.
Likewise the 1911.
Even the hammer and trigger guard on the WWII M1 was a work of art, in a manner of speaking.
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