Anyone own and operate WWII weapons today? Share thoughts and experiences.

Can you please post a picture of the rifle with the 25 round mag? What are you waiting for man? There is not gonna be a whole lot of difference between a rifle that fired 50 rounds and 100. Except maybe bragging rites. Go for it man, it'll feel good.
I did a lot of plinking with my Grandfather's Colt, I don't regret a single round. It was a WWI dated gun reissued in WWII with plastic grips. I wish I would have shot it more before I gave it to my Uncle, (eldest son). He doesn't even shoot it. He'd have a cow if he saw how many rounds I put through it. That's what these guns were made for. After you wear them out then hang em' on a wall.
I shot the hell out of my AC Walther P-38. It was in pristine condition when I got it and after a lot of rounds you couldn't tell the difference. It shared home defense duties with my Grandad's Colt.
My Remington 10-R got a lot of use too. I put more wear on it than I should have, but I do not regret it. I used it on skunks, quail, snakes, and doves. I even shot 3" magnums out of it before I knew better. It ate em' up like a soup sandwich.
These guns were meant to be used. That's how I feel.
Have a good one guys, Josh....

 

Yup, enjoy the range, had the opportunity to fire on several occasions an MP-40 and an MG-42.....beaucoup d'argent mes amis, that ammo ain't cheap.

Like the .45. The Barrett and Beowulf for modern weps are quite humbling.

The k98 and M-1 are equally enjoyable.

 

As a teenager, I would go coon hunting with our neighbor. He was captured at the Bulge and came back with a souvenir Luger. I found it to be a pretty lousy weapon when compared with the M1911A1 match pistol I shot with in Korea. The M1911A1 is usually not very accurate in standard military condition. Reliable as heck, but some would miss a barn at 50 yards. However, I found the match pistol a pleasure to shoot. It belonged to our #2 NCO, a staff sgt who was once on the Army pistol team. I also owned a modified SEABEE carbine for a short while, during my time in Vietnam. It had map pins for sights and had a belt holster to carry it. No big accuracy, but for laying a field of fire in the brush, it was handy to have around.

 

Hey Seadog, What's a modified SeaBee Carbine? I read an article in Soldier of Fortune once about a guy in Vietnam that had modified his carbine by shortening the barrel just in front of the stock. He reattached the sights and crowned the barrle with a ball bearing and some jewler's compound. It had a paratrooper stock. It was an M-2 also. The guy said that when ammo started to get too hard to find for it he burried it in an ammo can after he covered it with grease. It was a neat little weapon. I've been trying to find a copy of that article for a while. He said at the end of the article that he could still find the gun if he went back over there. Wouldn't that be neat? I bet it's still in great shape.

 

The story I was told, there was a shorter than normal barrel on the models issued to the Seabees. It was a M3 that had the stock removed past the grip. I had a triple 30 rd banana clip.

Everyone would carry more than one weapon on patrol. It was common for point men to carry M79s with cannister rounds. Every one of us could shoot expert on the M16, M60 and M79. Our biggest problem was with the M60s due to the amount of use they got. The part that stops the bolt when the trigger is released, had a tendency to wear to the point that the weapon would run on. The solution was either to ride it out, or twist the belt to force the feed to jam. We used to practice so much with all the weapons that we could John Wayne the M60 and accurately hit targets between 100-200 yards.

 

According to Ian Hogg, the M3 carbine was an M2 (selective fire with full wooden stock) with mountings on the receiver to take various models of infra-red night-sighting devices. There were no conventional sights. Only about 2,100 of these semi-prototypes were made.

JT

 

I have had the privilege of owning and/or shooting a number of military weapons including the M-1 Garand in both.30-'06 and .308 (the Navy version), Colt .45 ACP, Walther P-38, Mauser M94 6.5 MM carbine, Johnson .30-'06 rifle, Thompson .45 submachine gun, BAR, and of course, the M-1 Carbine.

I still have several of these weapons and handload the .30-'06, .308, 6.5 MM, .45 ACP, 9 MM and, and M-1 Carbine. Of all of them, I think the M-1 Carbine is the most useful and one of my favorites. My carbine I inherited from my father, who bought it from a friend shortly after WW II. It was made by National Postal Meter and is thus rather rare, but I continue to shoot it anyway. My favorite load for it is 10.2 grns of Bluedot behind a 110 grn JHP. My dad took numerous deer with this carbine and at least two black bear. I have taken two deer, a bobcat, several coyotes, and about a dozen javelina (a type of wild pig). The gun also dispatched a large shark on a fishing trip. Now, the gun does duty as my house defense weapon and often rides in the rack of my pickup when I go off road.

I have heard the stories about lack of stopping power, but that is mostly myth. Most of these complaints were traced by Army investigators to the Korean War when the carbine was used in extremely cold weather that adversely affected the powder in the cartridges. It was also found that North Korean soldiers, wearing several layers of heavy padded clothing, were somewhat resistant to being killed by single rounds from any weapons except heavy machine guns. It was also found that soldiers who complained about the lack of the carbine's stopping power often failed to even hit the target. This is akin to the complaints of lack of accuracy in the Colt 1911A1; the lack of accuracy can usually be traced to lousy shooting!

 

I have a Colt. 45 Series 70 national match gold cup .45 I carried as my sidearm During my last tour in iraq.... I dislike the 9mm round as a side arm not enough Knock down power in my opinion... Untill My brother told me this weapon was a collectors item LOL.. then it went into the Gunsafe where it sits

 

I own 1-Garand, 2-M1 carbines, and 1-Colt 1911A1 and they are all a lot of fun to shoot. I think the carbine is a hoot to shoot and is my favorite. One of my carbines is in a repro paratrooper stock which is fun to shoot. I prefer the regular stock because I think the paratrooper feels shorter, but my buddy loves the folder and is really good with it. Its great to take these pieces of history to the range.

 

I believe punt guns were originally used by market hunters. It has never been considered "sporting" by most waterfowl hunters to shoot birds that are essentially "sitting ducks". I have actually only seen one punt gun, a six foot monster 4 gauge that could only be used when mounted on a small boat. I don't believe they are still legal anywhere in the US.