Co-Directors Steve and Arty Bartlett
Arty Bartlett
Our focus in this article is on our military from the WWII/Korean era and the rifles they used. We have personal accounts of shooting the old M1 Garand and the .30 Carbine in 2025. A big Hat-tip’ to Phil Batton and Ted Blaine who shared this with our club.
On the last day of our club’s season, April 2025, we had a Special Military display of some rather impressive WWII Rifle Shooting on the Ben Avery Range with WWII/Korean Rifles at 100 yards! It was very impressive indeed! Two of our club members gave us a taste of what it must have been like ‘back in the day’ to shoot them.
If you take a moment to calculate what 100 yards looks like and how heavy these rifles were to carry you will be even more impressed. Holy Moly! At that distance everything looks really small but they’re using big rifles and big ammo from a big distance to the actual target. And no scopes. Try doing what they did and you will understand these guns are like small cannons!
A recount of these rifles and infantry by Phil Batton:
M1 Garand: The M1 Garand was the U.S. Army’s primary infantry rifle in both World War II and the Korean War. It is a semi-automatic, gas operated rifle, firing the 30.06 cartridge (pronounced “Thirty Aught Six”). It is loaded with an eight round clip. The M1 Garand weighed about 10 pounds. The Army’s basic combat unit was the four man squad. The squad leader carried the M1. The second soldier (known as the BAR man) carried the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), it was fully automatic. The BAR also fired the 30.06 cartridge and used a 20 round box magazine. The BAR weighed about 20 pounds. The third soldier was the Assistant BAR man. He carried the M1 and was loaded down with spare magazines for the BAR. The fourth soldier carried the M1 cartridges in WWII & Korea: As mentioned, both the M1 and the BAR fired the 30.06 cartridge. The Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol and the Thompson Sub Machine gun fired the .45 ACP cartridge. That simplified ammunition supplies. The one difference was the .30 Carbine, a semi-automatic rifle, usually carried by officers, such as a Company Commander. An infantry company usually consisted of 12 or more squads.
Memories from Ted Blaine: My dad carried an M1 in France/Germany in 1945. (Hat-tip and a ‘Thank You’ to his dad). Also noted that the M1 has no sighting scope, just fixed “iron sights.” This means you better have great eyesight to hit your targets from that long distance!
A BIG ‘Thank YOU’ to all you veterans who have served these proud United States of America. You are not forgotten!
Club information can be found on the PC HOA website.