Which WWII Rifle?...

[sonofeugene]

I don't know why I didn't think of this before but just a few minutes ago while posting in the latest "What Did You Shoot" thread about shooting my father's 1934 Beretta, I got to thinking I've got all the guns he ever owned and that's pretty cool, but then I thought wouldn't it be cool as well to own the same rifle he stormed the beaches of the south of France with.

So my question is: What was standard issue to army infantry back in 1944 and what are the best places to look for one?

[gotshotgun?]

M1 Garand

But then he could have used a number of other rifles too...

[mr2ndamendment]

A front-line rifle company mostly had dudes with M1 Garands, and for that, the only place to go is the CMP.

Some dudes would get the M1 Carbine (mortarmen, drivers, auxilery, and non-grunt guys). Some front-line guys would choose to carry the M1 Carbine, like paratroopers using the M1A1 just because it was smaller and lighter to jump with compared to the M1 Garand.

Dudes in the rear with the gear were issued a mix of M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, and M1903s, usually the World War II A3 version. I've even seen some newsreel footage of rear-echelon f**ks with M1917s. Snipers were generally issued scoped M1 Garands (M1C/D variants) and M1903A4s. The Marines, in the beginning of the Pacific campaign, were all issued M1903s -old school World War I variants, at least till the Garands showed up and even then the M1903 in one form or another was prevalent in Marine Corps hands till the end.

So in conclusion, at least with rifles, our guys had a conglomerate of M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, M1903s, and a very small amount of M1917s. The most notable and iconic American rifleman's weapon was the M1 Garand, so I'd go for that and I'd do it through the CMP.

[Caseless]

Buy from CMP if you can wait. http://odcmp.com/sales.htm

[sonofeugene]

Is CMP the only source? And how representative would it be of what my father carried? Also, can you pick and choose?

Thanks to all for your responses. Also, I have an old photo of my father in training camp with his rifle so maybe I can identify it. Likely an M1 Garrand, though.

[dskit]

You need a Garand, a carbine and 1903A3 and a 1911A1.

[nate76239]

Fulton Armory has them, they cost more than CMP and I think they are reproductions not surplus but I'm not sure.

http://www.fulton-armory.com/M1-Garand-Rifles.aspx

[sfbay]

wow, those fulton arms ones look pretty awesome

[mosinnagantm9130]

The CMP is the only place I'd buy a sight-unseen M1 from.

[mstlaurent]

Is CMP the only source? And how representative would it be of what my father carried? Also, can you pick and choose?

You can buy Garands on the open market, but they will be more expensive, and you need to know what you are looking at. There is a lot of junk out there: replicas, rewelded receivers, ex-drill rifles, counterfeit stock markings, etc. The CMP is your best bet. However, almost all of the rifles coming out of the CMP these days are post-war production. If you want a rifle that actually saw action in WWII, you will probably have to pick it off of the CMP's auction site (where the prices are astronomical) or take your chances on the open market.

When I bought my rifles from the CMP, about ten years ago, you could put a sticky note on your order form with a few simple requests and they would fulfill them if possible. For instance, when I ordered my Garand I put on a sticky note asking for a WWII serial with lockbar sights, and I got a six-digit SA with lockbars. However, I don't know if they are still honoring that or not.

Thanks to all for your responses. Also, I have an old photo of my father in training camp with his rifle so maybe I can identify it. Likely an M1 Garrand, though.

Depends on when he went through Basic. Early in the war all of the Garand production was going straight to the front, so the training units were still using 1903s for their drill rifles with only a few Garands for weapons training. I believe that later in the war more Garands were used in the training units, but they still used a lot of the 1903s.

[mosinnagantm9130]

When I bought my rifles from the CMP, about ten years ago, you could put a sticky note on your order form with a few simple requests and they would fulfill them if possible. For instance, when I ordered my Garand I put on a sticky note asking for a WWII serial with lockbar sights, and I got a six-digit SA with lockbars. However, I don't know if they are still honoring that or not.

They will try to honor requests still, but they don't go looking through every rifle in the warehouse to find the one you asked for. If they happen to see one before they choose one for you, they'll grab as close as what you asked for as possible.

[Cactus_Tim]

Scan and post the photo. We'd like to see it.

[sonofeugene]

Will do. Thanks all!

[sonofeugene]

Well, it's not as good a photo as I thought. He's aiming his rifle directly at the camera lens. However, I feel pretty sure there's no bolt handle in the photo so that likely rules out a 1903. And there's little if any wood above the barrel so I think that rules out the carbine. Perhaps that clamp under the barrel is a clue. I'll have find the original photo and make a higher res scan of it.

[isplice]

It isn't a Garand. No gas cylinder.