American Rifleman by Mark Keefe - Thursday, June 4, 2020
At one time, the National Rifle Association really didn’t like the M1 Garand. Shocking, right? This is certainly no longer the case, and I’ll give you a little proof. Back in 2008, we did an article called the “
Top 10 Infantry Rifles†of all time. This “Top 10†concept was popular then and now. My staff voted overwhelming for the M1 Garand as the “best infantry rifle of all time.â€
John Cantius Garand appeared on the cover of American Rifleman twice, once when his rifle was adopted and again after he retired and received M1 Rifle Serial No. 1,000,000.
I would call John C. Garand a great man, even though he never thought of himself as such. If it were not for him, the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan would have cost many more American lives. Simply put, the G.I.s and Marines armed with the “U.S Rifle, Caliber .30, M1†did nothing less than save the world from unspeakable evil.
Today, I happily report that the M1 Garand has been on the cover of The American Rifleman more than any other firearm in our entire history. It appeared on the cover when it was first introduced, then again during the war years, then again in rifle competitions. We showed it again with John Garand in his retirement, then again during our coverage of Springfield Armory, again as a go-to collector’s rifle and in multiple instances as a standout piece of history, such as Scott Duff’s
article on British Lend-Lease M1 Garands.
So, is it really true that, at one time, American Rifleman editors and the National Rifle Association harshly criticized and had little faith in “greatest battle implement ever devised?†Absolutely, and the story has roots in the development and early years of the rifle itself.
More:
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2020/6/4/us-army-ordnance-vs-nra-the-battle-over-the-m1-garand/
