They took with them three US rifle, caliber .30, M-1. Bro the eldest got his from the CMP seven or eight years ago. Bro #4 snagged a couple of CMP Garands just this week, and Bro #3 came along to shoot.
The new ones seem to have had their metal parts refinished; they're a much darker color than the familiar greenish parkerizing of Bro #1's copy (bottom most). The finish on the wood furniture is subtly different also.
Add some of the Greek surplus .30-06 ball CMP is selling these days, and you've got yourself some shootin'
Range Report:
The only real surprise of the day was a malfunction. Yes, we know, Garands are supposed to be in the magical club of Guns That Always Work No Matter What, along with Glocks. Despite this contradiction of The Gun Nut Articles of Faith, one of the new-this-week Garands failed to feed once in about 6 or 8 clips of shooting. It has since repeated this blasphemous behavior, and so will be going back to the CMP for fixery.
We've been doing a lot of .22 and AR shooting lately. Nothing wrong with .22's: in fact, I'd say that shooting a lot of .22 LR is the foundation of improving marksmanship. Nothing wrong with ARs, either: they're relatively inexpensive, amazingly adaptable, and can be quite accurate. But there are some of the visceral pleasures of shooting that .22s and ARs just don't quite satisfy. The heft of walnut and forged steel, the solid kick that says "aren't you glad you aren't downrange?", and above all the lovely booming sound that lets you know you just shot a subtantial bullet at substantial velocity from a Rifle of Substance. Whatever it is that you don't get from shooting .22s and ARs, the M-1 Garand supplies it in abundance.
I don't know when the CMP Garands are going to dry up, but I suspect it will be soon. Don't be caught without one. Go here, meet the requirements, and get your $1000 rifle for $545 while you still can.
A quick word about DNR Winamac. - WOW!. What a great facility. 50, 100, and 200 yard ranges, each protected from the others by berms. No memberships, no range fee. Covered shooting stations. Competent and safe, but non-instrusive range supervision. Nice sidewalks between the shooting stations and the target stands, for those muddy days. Only one caution note: take the bug spray. There are some honkin' big mosquitoes out there. Why can't we get one like this in the middle of the state?
The Greek ammo seems to work just fine. The CMP says it's non-corrosive. It is certainly Berdan primed and doesn't appear to have those annoying primer pocket crimps, so it definitely goes in the "save for reloading" bag. Accuracy seemed quite acceptable: Bro the Eldest was shooting half-dollar sized groups at 100 yards without too much trouble. Bro the Eldest, being a connoisseur of ammo aromatics, finds the nose of this vintage quite appealing.
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