M1 Garand

The M1 Garand is a semi-automatic, gas-operated service rifle that was used by the United States during World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Information
The M1 Garand,(Pronounced "Ger-and" when talking about the rifle, and pronounced,"Gair-und" when talking about John Garand himself) was designed by Canada-born John Cantius Garand to replace the Springfield M1903 rifles as the standard service rifle for the United States. It officially replaced the Springfield in 1936. It is considered one the best rifles in any armed forces during the twentieth century and is perhaps the most iconic rifle of WW2, and General Patton called it "The Greatest Battle Implement Ever Devised". It is still used today by the U.S. Marine Corps and NJROTC classes as a drill weapon, and is manufactured in parts of India, and Italy under license with the Beretta Company. The M1 is semi-automatic, it is a gas-operated, clip-fed shoulder weapon, and could be fired as fast as the shooter could pull the trigger.

The M1 Garand was used by all branches of the United States Military in front-line service until 1957, when it was replaced with the M14 rifle. However, the M1 was used by reserve and National Guard units well into the 1970's. A Sniper variant of the Garand was used by U.S Forces in Korea and Vietnam, Known as the "M1D"

The M1 Garand is clip-fed from the top of the receiver with an 8-round clip that once the last round had been fired would automatically eject out of the rifle and makes a distinctive "pinging" sound due to the tin-metal the clips were made of. This is perhaps the most distinguishable part of the weapon and is instantly recognizable. The M1 rifle is the standard service rifle of the United States Military.

The M1 was very useful for engaging enemy forces at medium to long range, it's large .30 caliber rounds are more than enough to drop a man in one single body hit. It has a clip of eight .30-06 rifle cartridges. The clip, the "en-bloc" clip has a unique style design in which four rounds are staggered between two rows making a total of eight rounds. The M1 is a common and distinctive weapon in the Call of Duty games.

With the exception of Call of Duty: World at War, the in-game version of the M1 can not be reloaded in mid clip; the weapon can only be reloaded when empty. In reality the M1 rifle can be easily manually reloaded mid-clip by pulling back the bolt until it locks in place, then pressing the "clip release latch" (on the lower-left side of the receiver), ejecting the clip from the rifle, clearing it of all ammo, allowing the shooter load in a fresh clip (this is the method of reloading employed in World at War)Partially fired clips could also be loaded if the shooter is running low on ammunition, however the loading of a partial clip could be tricky in the heat of battle due to the partially fired clip having a few rounds gone, therefore having the remaining ammo sitting loosely in the clip instead of tightly together as it would if the clip had all eight rounds, and can get scattered if not loaded carefully. An inserted clip wasn't easily topped-off with single rounds while the clip was in the rifle, unlike in previous rifles of the era. It was possible to open the weapon and top it off, but by no means was it practical in combat, It was much quicker and more practical to just manually eject the clip, and insert a new one, this method is what made mid-clip reloading with the M1, much faster than any other rifle of the period. In fact, the field manuals recommended simply firing the rifle until empty, rather than reloading it mid-clip, However soldiers in the field often disregarded the manuals, and went about fighting with the M1 the way they saw fit, that often meant mid-clip reloading to ensure the soldier enters combat with a full clip. mid-clip reloading was also heavily favored over firing till empty because it saves ammo for partial loading later, it doesnt give away your position (as it would if you fire off rounds just to load a new clip), and it avoids the dreaded "ping" sound. In World at War, you can feel free to reload your M1 at anytime.

The developers have made the M1 Garand of the earlier Call of Duty games un-reloadable, the unfortunate myth that originally started among gamers with Medal of Honor: Allied Assault about the real-life M1 being "un-reloadable" mid-clip, has absolutely no historical accuracy or value whatsoever, this was done by video game developers purely and simply to balance out the weapons in the game.

Call of Duty 1 and United Offensive
In Call of Duty 1, the Garand is a solid rifle that can take out an enemy is 1-2 hits, depending on where you hit the enemy. A headshot will kill an enemy in one shot, so try to get one if you can. Unlike bolt-action rifles, the Garand can be used with some success in close quarters. It usually doesn't stand up to a submachine gun, but it can be deadly if you catch an enemy off-guard. The recoil is manageable if you use it in close quarters, so don't worry about having to control it.

If you're using it as a sharpshooting weapon, remember to compensate for recoil! The Garand is very accurate, but recoil can throw you off.

Be careful; the weapon in the game cannot be reloaded mid-clip. You must finish off the current clip before you can insert new rounds. If you feel you are entering a dangerous area and have low ammo, fire off the remaining rounds so you can reload, it may give away your position. Make sure you don't fire it in an area where enemies can hear you, or you might blow your cover!

Call of Duty 2
The Garand is exactly the same as it is in CoD1, right down to the historical inaccuracy of being unable to reload without finishing off the clip. Remember; headshots are one-hit kills!

Call of Duty: World at War
The M1 Garand is unlocked at level 17. It is high power and accuracy make it a well-rounded rifle although there is significant recoil. However, its high recoil increases its chances of a headshot. In World at War you can now reload the M1 Garand at any time, without having to empty the clip. The M1 Garand can be equipped with a sniper scope and can be used as a semi-auto sniper rifle.