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My First AR-15 (Part 2/3)
When my future wife and I started collecting martial arms, we followed a predictable progression. First a M1 Garand. Then a M1 Carbine. As finances allowed, and opportunity knocked, a M1911, a Krag, a Trapdoor, and so on. We loved the history they represented, but we were shooters as well. We shot in Grandpap’s cow pasture, but kept scores and tried to maintain correct fundamentals of rifle marksmanship as best as any self-taught people could in the era before the internet. I always was deeply interested in the Vietnam War, after all, that was the war Dad was in. Owning a M16 seemed “a bridge too far”, simply too expensive. …
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My First M1 Garand (Part 1/3)
“Let’s begin the meeting. Hello, my name is Michael, and I’m addicted to collecting U.S. Martial Arms.” Let me tell you how it began, what I call “The fatal moment of my life”. I was a student at Pitt in 1996 and to break the monotony of our studies a friend and I attended the big gun show in Greensburg, PA. I was raised in a hunting family, and was no stranger to firearms, but viewed them more as tools rather than something you would want to own for its own sake. A 16 oz. Plumb claw hammer is a nice hammer, but its job is to pound nails, not…
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My AR-15 Journey: The 1994 Assault Weapon Ban & the Global War on Terror (Part 2/3)
As I mentioned in Part 1, the Colt AR-15 SP1 rifle was by far more prevalent than the SP1 carbine. But it seemed that as each year passed the carbine version was becoming more and more popular. Initially the popularity of the Colt AR-15 SP1 rifle was driven by Vietnam War veterans and those of us who grew up watching that war on the six 0’clock news wanted to own a rifle like was used in Vietnam. The same thing had happened after World War II and the Korean War with the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine, and later many veterans of the 1991 Gulf War wanted and AR-15A2. The…
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My Latest AR-15 (Part 3/3)
In earlier installments in this series, I told you about my first M1 Garand and first AR-15. Now I would like to tell you about my newest AR-15. My first AR was an SP-1. She was as close as I could get to the M16 my Father held at Tan An bunker number 4 during a V.C. rocket attack. A sleek, elegant and handy rifle, she’s a beauty, a joy to shoot. Her new sister is nothing like her. She’s not fat, but she’s definitely thick. With a heavy stainless free floated barrel, 1:8 twist, Wylde chamber, half minute sights, detachable carry handle, and insanely long stock. She is, of…
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My AR-15 Journey: The Effects of the Global War on Terror and End of the Assault Weapon Ban (Part 3/3)
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban in September 2004 changed the civilian AR-15 as much as the military M16 was changed to the M4 by these wars. The benefits of the military M4 were lighter, shorter and more adaptable than the rifle. Returning veterans and civilians who watched the wars on the news wanted to own a civilian version of the M4 carbine. The end to the Assault Weapons Ban made it possible. The AR-15 market reacted to that demand and many companies were soon making an M4 carbine version for the fast growing civilian market. The 16.5” barrel of the civilian…
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My First AR-15
“Write the book you’d want to read!” That was the impetus for the original AR-15 Complete Owner’s Guide. To be honest, right through the ‘90’s I was disinterested in the AR-15 rifle. I very much preferred the Ruger Mini-14. During much of that time, the AR-15 market consisted of either pricey Colts or affordable small, dare I say, “no-name,” manufacturers. At least, that’s how I saw it. Then, after a time, the “ABC” brands became the “name” manufacturers: Armalite, Bushmaster, and Colt. The Armalite of that day was not the Armalite that had developed the AR-15. The Armalite company had ceased to exist many years prior. The owner of Eagle…
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Seeing Double: Duplicate Serial Number – Springfield Armory and Winchester M1 Rifles
Most long time M1 rifle collectors know that duplicate World War II serial number Springfield and Winchester rifles exist. This was revealed in the July 1960 issue of American Rifleman magazine by a brief article that included a photograph of an SA and WRA rifle both with serial number 2445470. In 1987 I conducted a survey of serial numbers contributed by the Garand Collectors Association (GCA) membership, it revealed that several blocks of assigned serial numbers that were duplicated. This information was presented in my book “The M1 Garand: World War II” in Chapter 4, Production, Deliveries, and Serial Numbers. Newer collectors may not have been aware of this duplication,…
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The “Gas Trap” Garand
Newer M1 Garand rifle collectors may not be aware that the U.S. Rifle, Cal. .30 M1 with which we are all familiar featured a very different type of gas system when it was adopted in 1936. The collector term standardized by the Garand Collectors Association (GCA) in 1993 for the first type of gas system was Gas Trap that utilized a false muzzle to deflect or “trap” the gas into the gas cylinder. The early barrel was threaded at the muzzle and the gas cylinder screwed onto it. The gas plug slipped down into the front of the cylinder and was held in place by a screw. The barrel had…
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BOOK REVIEW: A Collectors Guide to the Colt AR-15 SP1 Sporter Rifle
I have long been a fan of the Colt AR-15 SP1 Sporter Rifle. When I bought my Colt SP1 in 1982 you had two choices in the purchase of the AR-15, a Colt SP1 Sporter rifle or a Colt SP1 Sporter Carbine. That was it as there were no other makers. I chose the rifle. The price was $500. I shot my SP1 a lot back in the day and used that rifle to compete in early IPSC 3-gun matches. It remains one of my favorite rifles; it is accurate, light weight, and easy to shoot. One of my gun regrets is that I didn’t buy a Colt SP1 Sporter…
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My Favorite World War I U.S. Small Arms – 1917 Rifle (Part 3/3)
This blog post is the last of three about my favorite World War I U.S small arms. When America entered World War I in April 1917 it was ill prepared in arms and equipment with which to fight in a world war. As it took many months for US troops to train and travel to Europe and to enter combat, weapons manufactured in 1918 have been the focus of my collecting. Surprising to some, the M1903 rifle was not the predominant rifle carried by U.S. troops in World War I. That rifle actually was the United States Rifle Model of 1917, often erroneously referred to as the M1917 Enfield or…
