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 to limited extent, Vietnam.

Real Life Information
The M1 Garand was designed by Canadian-born John Cantius Garand to replace the Springfield M1903 rifle as the standard service rifle for the United States and was the first semi-automatic rifle adopted by any armed force. It officially replaced the Springfield as the main U.S. service rifle 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. General George S. 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 by the Beretta Company. The M1 is a gas-operated semi-automatic rifle, fed from an internal box magazine, and can be fired as fast as the shooter can 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, which is essentially a selective-fire Garand with a 20-round detachable box magazine and chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO. However, the M1 Garand was used by reserve and National Guard units well into the 1970s. Two sniper variants of the Garand were used by U.S. forces in Korea and Vietnam, the M1C and M1D.

The M1 Garand is loaded through the top of the receiver with an 8-round en-bloc clip that, once the last round has been fired, automatically ejects out of the rifle and makes a distinctive "pinging" sound due to the tin the clips were made of, a quality which German and Japanese forces during World War II exploited by aggressively attacking American soldiers upon hearing the "ping" sound (Japanese would often respond with banzai charges). This is perhaps the most distinguishable part of the weapon and is instantly recognizable. The M1 Garand rifle was the standard service rifle of the United States military.

The M1 Garand was very useful for engaging enemy forces at medium to long range. Its large .30-06 (thirty-aught-six, or .30-1906) rounds were capable of penetrating three men in one shot. The M1 is a common and distinctive weapon in the Call of Duty series.

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 Garand is easily manually reloaded. Partially fired clips could also be loaded if the shooter was 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. 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, the M1 Garand is a solid rifle that can take out an enemy in 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 M1 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, controlling it is not a problem.

If you're using it as a sharpshooting weapon, remember to compensate for recoil as the M1 Garand is very accurate, but recoil can throw you off.

Be careful, as the weapon in the game cannot be reloaded mid-clip. Unfortunately, the game forces you to fire off all eight shots before it allows you to reload, you are restricted from manually ejecting a partially spent clip in the game, and it unfortunately hinders the realism and authenticity of the weapon. If you feel you are entering a dangerous area and have low ammo, fire off the remaining rounds so you can reload, though it may give away your position. Make sure you don't fire it in an area where enemies can hear you, or you may as well blow your cover.

Call of Duty 2
In Call of Duty 2, the M1 Garand is exactly the same as it is in Call of Duty, right down to the historical inaccuracy of being unable to reload without finishing off the clip.

Call of Duty: World at War
The M1 Garand is unlocked at level 17. The weapon has significant recoil in comparison to other weapons, but sometimes this makes headshots easier. In Call of Duty: World at War, the M1 Garand can now be reloaded at any time, without having to empty the clip. Statistically speaking, the M1 Garand is much worse than other rifles due to its restricted rate of fire, high recoil, relatively low ammo capacity, slow reload and only slightly higher damage. Also, three direct hits with the weapon will guarantee a kill, allowing for the use of a perk besides Stopping Power. This only applies to the M1 Garand without a scope. It is suggested that you avoid short range fights or switch to another weapon as this weapon is ideal for medium to long range.

The M1 Garand can be equipped with a sniper scope and can be used as a semi-automatic sniper rifle. When equipped with the Sniper Scope(Marksman IV), the damage is raised to 70 (same as all other guns with sniper scopes), but it has lower damage multipliers than the other snipers. As a bonus, the M1 Garand scoped moves idly the same amount as the PTRS-41 (4 degrees), while all other scoped bolt actions idle at 6 degrees, making the M1 Garand more accurate due to the lower sway. The M1 scoped has another bonus, which is that its sway drops to 3 degrees when crouched or prone, making it the most accurate sniper in the game. One flaw of the M1 scoped is that it is the only sniper whose recoil does not reset before the next shot. All other snipers reset perfectly before the next shot. However, for most players, the low visual recoil and high rate of fire more than make up for this. The M1 Garand scoped does the exact same damage as the M21 from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare because they have the same base damage and multipliers. It is a one-shot-one-kill with Stopping Power to the head, neck, and chest (the same as bolt actions without Stopping Power). Without Stopping Power a headshot is required for a one shot kill.

An interesting fact is that the M1 Garand is the only weapon in Call of Duty: World at War that takes longer to reload when it still has rounds in its clip than when it is empty. Although some players believe that for this reason it should not be reloaded mid-clip if a decent number of shots remain, a player can never really know when extra bullets might come in handy, so it is generally advisable to reload when not in combat.

This rifle is one of the most overlooked guns in the game because of the reasons stated above, but it is easily the best scoped rifle in the hands of a skilled sniper due to its higher accuracy, rate of fire, ammo capacity, and a ridiculous amount of starting ammo.

If you plan on using the M1 Garand as a Sniper Rifle with the Sniper Scope, note that you DO NOT get a Ghillie suit like the bolt-action rifles.

This weapon is stock-standard for the USMC along with the Thompson submachine gun.

Trivia

 * In all previous Call of Duty manuals, it says that the M1 can't be reloaded effectively mid clip. Because the developers are just now learning that reloading a real life M1 Garand can be quick, practical, and easy to do, especially in the hands of trained soldiers, they've made the wise decision to allow players to unload the rifle at any time. This has not only made the weapon more realistic, but it has given the M1 Garand a counter to the obvious disadvantages it has when compared to the other rifles in its class.
 * Tapping the trigger as fast as possible will result in the gun shooting considerably slower than other rifles in Call of Duty: World at War.
 * The M1 Garand in World at War is actually greatly affected by the Second Tier perk Double Tap, but it is difficult to take advantage of due to it being semi-automatic and having a decent amount of recoil.
 * In the game, it can be reloaded while in the middle of a clip. Seeing the reloading process, it is technically correct. The soldier is ejecting the previous clip and inserting a new one. However, the ammo counter will not take off the rounds from the clip you ejected, meaning that you would have more than 8 rounds in the rifle.
 * It was formerly thought that Flash Hider does not appear on the rifle, but it is easily seen by setting sensitivity to 10 and spinning.
 * Like the Mini-Uzi of COD 4, the garand has a personal marking on the gun, a major scratch right below the clip latch.
 * It was the first gun to eject the clip automatically, instead of hitting the release button or manually pulling it out, which made it very easy to use.
 * The sniper scope for this gun is attached to its side rather than on its top. This also happens to the Arisaka. This is due to the en-bloc clip being ejected vertically out of the weapon, and not out of the underside.
 * There is a mix-up in the Barracks in which it says you unlock the sniper scope after getting only 100 kills instead of the 150 needed.
 * The sniper scope used on the m1 garand is a m73b1 weaver telescopic sight



Tips

 * The M1's reload time when it is empty is much shorter than mid-clip, so if you're a good enough marksman you don't need to reload mid-clip.
 * When sniping someone with this weapon and they begin to take cover, shoot 2-3 shots with a pause in between for about a second or two to make the enemy hiding think you have a bolt action. When they pop out of hiding, shoot your rounds somewhat fast to kill them off-guard. This won't work against people who are skilled and know what weapon you are shooting by its sound.