M1 Carbine
I have always had a healthy respect for the M-1 Garand. I just never saw the need to own one. Many years ago, one of my sons convinced me otherwise, so we bought one. Now I know firsthand why they can be so addictive. This article is not a history or technical analysis of the finest battle rifle of WWII (if anyone disagrees with that, take it up with General Patton). There are many other articles and books out there that do that better than I could. It is about the effect that gun had on us – and why it was just the first of several.
My younger son was more interested in firearms than his older brother and attended many gunshows with me through the years. From early on, he wanted a collection of WWII weapons. We bought a number of handguns and a few bolt action rifles from the era before he decided that we had to have a Garand. He was right, of course. However, Garands have never been cheap. I looked around the gunsafe and decided that I could trade a Thompson Contender with two barrels and a 4x-Leupold pistol scope. I was no longer interested in it and hadn’t shot it in years. We took it to the next gunshow.