M1 Rifle Cons ???

[Jersey Devil]

Aside from the ability for the standard M1 rifle to take just 8 rounds, what other cons does the design have?

One of the cons that comes to mind is the bent op rod. It sure would be nice if that op rod was straight! Dare I say it would be even more efficient, too?

Thoughts, opinions, ideas???

[RDS]

BM59 op rods are straight. BM59s work extremely well.

[m14brian]

Mounting a scope, it isn't as good as on an M14. Other than that and no detachable mag I can't think of anything.
m14brian

[Garanditis]

Agree with the limited scope option. Maybe I'll have to get one of those Springfield Armory Socom 16 M1As to give me a scoped M1 grandchild in my safe

[Moorem1s]

I absolutely love the wood stock, but I would say the wood stock is a con-accuracy wise. The swelling and compression come to mind. At Perry a couple years ago, it rained-poured during the Match. The effects of swelling wood was something you could see shot after shot! POI was greatly affected.

[Paperkiller]

Well...the absence of a bolt roller, and the direct gas impingement on the M1 Vs the M14 gas piston system- (The White gas expansion & cutoff system) are a couple of important ones.

[TJT]

No cons at all. It won a world war on three fronts (don't forget the Alutian's). What could be more PRO than that?
Jon

[Moorem1s]

There is no doubt it was the greatest tool for the greatest generation!

[RDS]

No cons at all. It won a world war on three fronts (don't forget the Alutian's). What could be more PRO than that?
Jon

Do not forget about Korea. It proved it's self again in Korea.

[lapriester]

The rifle could not possibly function with a straight op rod. The piston would be entering the gas cylinder at an angle and seize during live fire. Remove the action from the stock and look at it from the side. When you do it becomes quite obvious why the op rod is bent....twice. The BM59 has a "drop down" gas cylinder that enables the use of a straight rod and, being a short action rifle the rod is much shorter.

For a battle rifle in WWII the 8 round enbloc was the ideal loading device enabling the soldier to carry far more rounds into the field than he could possibly carry if the rifle was magazine fed. The 30-06 round is no lighweight and the solo soldier did not have an ammo bearer following him around like BAR rifleman had. When landing on a remote island, parachuting behind enemy lines at Normandy or where resupply was slow in coming or not coming at all that was a critical factor in the usefulness of the design. In an ammo box full of BAR magazines there are fewer actual rounds than you think but that box is damn heavy due to the added weight of the magazines. I suspect you'd suffer a 50% reduction in the number of rounds you could possibly carry if you had to somehow carry loaded, bulky magazines of 30-06 on your person into battle. THAT would have been a HUGE con if the M1 had been designed that way. They experimented with mag fed M1's and the design was dropped. More than likely because of the above.

Cons? How can you have cons on "the greatest battle implement ever devised". They must have done something right. The M1 was THE weapon that enabled the US to succeed in WWII, Korea and provided many allies the ability to defend their individual countries from aggression.

[JackC1425]

A ton of great points and it isn't really about right or wrong just the lens we choose to view the M1 through.. I am in the camp of the M1 being near "perfect" within the framework of what the rifle needed to operate and the ammo to feed it.. It is not an M4 so to compare the utility of the two is not fair.

Also, finally!!! More mention the fact that this rifle has worked and kicked butt in every environment known to man over several conflicts and we even see it today in parts of the world.. Yes, it's heavy blah blah blah.. BUT, millions of dudes of every stature managed to lug this guy around without complaint. Too, many of the so called "cons" of the M1 have been over the years reduced to cliche's and are mindless regurgitations of what arm chair experts have been saying over time. All things being equal just pick your scenario from fun at the range, history to "zombie's" ) I have already chose the M1 as MY rifle to meet my needs.. Great thread!!

[Phos Boss]

Agree with the limited scope option. Maybe I'll have to get one of those Springfield Armory Socom 16 M1As to give me a scoped M1 grandchild in my safe

I bought a Springfield M1A Scout Squad with the intention of putting a scope on it. After we got her zeroed in, I was hitting an 8 or 10 inch steel target at 250 yards with the irons and decided to save my money. Nice to have the option though.

As far as the Garand goes, the only con I can think of is there is only one in my gun locker.