My uncle went in at Normandy in the second wave. He made it to the Rhine river and got sidelined by frost bite. He told me that that M-1 was his talisman, his baby and loading was easy after the first hundred times. Never "top off", just eject and load a full one. The weight was good when you needed to hit something in your way. His experience has stayed with me all these years. RIP Uncle Otto. (and ya, they gave him shit about his name)

The GIs I talked to would pop out the partial clip and put it in their jacket pocket. When they had a few minutes they would crossload partial clips and put the full ones back in their pouches. If there was anything that vaguely looked like a target they just mag dumped and reloaded. It was pretty rare that they were conserving ammo.

I have had this conversation with a Korean War vet that I know. He has dispelled many of the myths that I've heard. I asked him about "Garand Thumb" and he just started laughing.

Remove the partial clip, put in a full one, and when you get the chance take your partial clips and consolidate them into full clips.

Propper top off - eject and load full clip. Question for those asking like the officer mentioned, where does the infantryman get loose rounds ? Ammo was issued in clips. If he has any singles it's from partially shot clips which could have been refilled when time permits.

Like most things; muscle memory from practice is great. While I never shot the Garland in the combat, I shot at least 250 rounds per day, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks preparing for Marine Corps Divisional Matches while waiting for the armorer to get M-14s into match condition. On several occasions while on the firing line we'd have to clear, or top off rounds. We also had to reload during strings of rapid fire. The first couple days it was a learning curve but by the end of the week those if us with Grands were almost as fast as the guys that already had the M-14.

Another thing to consider, topping off or reloading isn’t as dire as it might seem. These guys fought as a squad, you can reload under cover of your buddies.

So, what would be the biggest problem of just ejecting the partially full clip, but pocketing it, and then stuffing in a full clip prior to the next assault? That way, the partial clip could be topped up later when the soldier had time.

My dad was a forward observer in the Philippines 42-45 this is what he carried. Gone now, but I appreciate vids like this that tell me more about the weapons used.

Interesting. I did not carry an M1 in combat, but I went through Basic and AIT with an M1 (Fort Carson, 1961). My recollection is that they never tried to teach us how to "add a round" or load single rounds. It was a great rifle. Auto loading, but you could put rounds on target repeatedly at 1000 - 1500 feet. My Dad did active duty combat in WWII (Pacific) and Korea. As he and one of my rifle range instructors once said "It'll reach out and get it." And as an instructor said "You hit a man anywhere, with it, he goes down and stays down." Chuck Pekor

I was in the last basic training company in FT Leonard Wood MO in 1963 to train on the M1. We were never taught to partial load a clip. We were told to fire off the clip and load a new one. Where were you going to get the loose rounds from? M1 food came in ammo cans packed with 8 fully loaded clips in a bunch of cloth bandoleers. It still does if you can find any military surplus anymore. You never reloaded M1 clips in the field back then like you do modern magazines with strip clips. It is slow and tedious to do, as I found out when I bought my Garand several years ago. Mags run $15 or more each, but if you ever bought mil surplus M1 food, you have a ton of free clips left over to fill.

The situation where a soldier has time to think about topping up his rifle, but also no time to reload his rifle, seems like an edge case. Above all the us army drilled to conserve ammo, so dumping rounds to reload would be highly discouraged. Training was to remove the partial clip and replace with a fresh one, stow the partial for consolidation later. This gave you 8 rounds vs 7. Clips vs box mags is a done debate, but the Johnson system is slower than the Garand in normal use. It requires 2 stripper clips for normal loading. The Garand was faster in every other scenario. This kind of manipulation was absolutely well known at the time, and isn’t difficult to teach. Heck actor Damian Lewis did it in Band of Brothers without too much trouble. These guys lived with their rifles but didn’t know how to remove ammo from the gun? Seems unlikely.

I joined the US Army Infantry in 1959. When we were recruits we spent hours and hours practicing loading the M-1 Rifle. They had the 8 round clips modified with a block of wood to replace the cartridges so that they would stay in the rifle. We were dived into teams of two, riflemen and coach. The shooter closed the bolt of his M-1 over an empty 8 round clip. We started in the prone position but as our training progressed we did it kneeling and standing. We would take a well aimed dry fire shot, they had targets set up, the Sergeants would patrol to be sure we were actually taking aim. ( I can't be certain in 2024 but I think the Sergeants had some kind of mirror thing they could put on our sight to see out sight picture when we fired?) When we clicked off the shot the coach, also laying prone facing us would slam our operating handle back ejecting the empty clip. Ping! Then we would take the modified clip with the block of wood and insert it in the Rifle and resume dry firing a couple of rounds with our coach slamming the operating rod back each time to cock the Rifle. We'd open the bolt and eject the modified clip and start the drill over. When the Sergeants got tired we would change places with our coach and he would be the Rifleman. We did this for hours during our first 8 weeks of training. This was formal training so it must be in some Army manual some where. We were later trained by the Sergeants, all WWII and Korean War Veterans to just dump the partial clip and insert a fresh 8 round one if necessary. We were taught to hold the clip release down as we pulled the charging handle to the to the rear with the M-1 tilted to the right so the clip and ammo would just fall out. Recover the used clip and the rounds if possible. That in most instances in combat to fire until the clip ejected. By the time we had 8 weeks in the Army we could load an M-1 in seconds, in the dark with our eye closed, up side down, under water in a blizzard, eh? When with real bullets they had several 9 round drills that we started with one round in the chamber and had to load a full clip in timed exercisers and to qualify as a Rifleman. Yes, too long but some may be interested, eh? General Patton was correct it was the best (semi-auto) battle rifle ever. With three tours under my belt in Viet Nam I think it is a shame we did not keep the M-1 Rifle for that little adventure.

I think we need to remember that we have the benefit of hindsight, from a very different age. The big advantage that the M1 introduced to combat at the time, was the ability for a single rifleman to provide effective suppression fire, and its success at this one thing was the biggest influence in the move to semi-auto and select fire rifles for all infantry after that. Compared to bolt actions with stripper clips, or semi-auto with one-at-a-time reloading like the Johnson, the M1 with its enbloc was clearly superior for sustained fire. I do think an M1 with a detachable magazine would have been even better, if the magazine and its detach system were done well. But, this wasn't how it turned out. They had the rifles they had.

It's interesting that older design guns with tubuler magazines like lever and pump actions are much easier to top off and they stay in battery while doing so. Thanks for sharing.

Like any high school kid I was obsessed with WW2 and read a lot of WW2 memoirs. I do recall one book where a GI mentioned a joke about how they would use the first shot to drop an enemy, and empty the next 7 shots into that person on the ground. Dumping the ammo by firing isn't too far fetched with that in mind I guess.

Interesting video Chris. I think I'll make my own presentation positing my own theorem on the same subject. My M1 Garand short about single-loading, unloading, and partially loading the M1 got an incredible amount of views and with it, a lot of comments asking questions abnout the M1 with many asking questions specifically about top-off reloading.

I have used my M1 in three gun competitions. No problem reloading, but I only reloaded from empty. The WW2 manual suggested laying it across your left knee if standing.

One common M1 myth you never mentioned was the one where the audible "ping" of the empty clip being ejected would get GIs killed, as it would betray your unloaded state to the enemy. Every vet I talked to said there was so much noise going on during a battle that nobody was going to be able to make out the sound of the ejecting clip, and even if they did they could count on your buddy next to you still having a loaded rifle to shoot them with.

Basic Training 1957 Ft Bliss TX Drill Instructor "convinced" you to reload with a fresh clip in 5 seconds or less. Old Korean War vet, who said bullets flying over your head improved your dexterity.

With the Garands we used in italian army ( mine was Springfield armoury but if memory doesn't trick me was Beretta modified for the 7,62 N.A.T.O. ammunition...) it was simple: grab the magazine with right hand, open the chamber with right hand palm keeping it open and push the magazine down with Your right hand thumb. Ka-chunk!

Great stuff Mover. Perfect balance of letting the guests talk and keeping things moving.

Your last video did leave me with some questions. I looked around and found the answers to those questions, but you answered them here too. Thx for listening and for updating us.

The "out of battery slam fire" is mixing two separate and district failures that are inherent the M1s design. They are not the same thing and the result of each is quite different!

I liked this video. I had qualified with the M-1, M-14 And M-16 during my time in the national Guard (M-1) and the US. Army (M-14 and M16) With a Tour in Vietnam with the M-16. The one thing I have to tell you Is, I don't know how other Vet's Feel, But when you refer to these Weapons as "Guns" It strikes a nerve. I guess what I learned in Basic training is Burnt into my Brain. Thanks for a Interesting Video.

6:37 - Is the manual unload and reload really that slow? I wouldn't discount this method. Flip the rifle over, let the clip fall to the ground, throw the other one in and go - or some variation there-of. In a warzone, in the readying for attack scenario, a soldier won't be playing around trying to preserve the half-spent clip when a full clip could mean living or dying.

*Everytime Chris says "clip" Me: "IT'S NOT A C----....oh wait, yeah, he's good" 🤓

As a Kraut from Germany, i find this really interresting!

I like this type of content😅 Thanks for your work!!🔥

Chris, My mother's brother, Edward Leonard, was in the invasion of North Africa, served in Armored Reconnaissance which meant armored cars - not tanks. Landed at Anzio beachhead and went "up the bloody boot". Liberated Rome and then landed on the southern coast of France, advancing north. I asked him about the M-1 and he floored me when he said he preferred the 1903 Springfield for accuracy or the .30 caliber machine gun, which was probably vehicle mounted. As usual, they were sent behind enemy lines and the only thing they had for navigation was Michelin road maps and the occasional French civilian to get intelligence about German positions and numbers. They were ordered to take a small town named Montrevel southeast of Lyon and hold it to block the retreat of German forces going back to Germany. Their unit consisted of 100 GIs who had picked up 150 German prisoners along the way. When they got to Montrevel, they put the prisoners in a cellar for safe keeping and took up defensive positions for the expected arrival of retreating Germans. The lead element of the retreating force was 6,000 men with Tiger or Leopard tanks, followed by the main force of 30,000 men. The US recon force engaged in a fierce battle in which they expended all of their ammunition with no means of re-supply. When all ammunition was gone, the German commander ordered the Americans to come out. They came out and when the German commander saw this he said: "No, I want ALL of your men to come out!" The reply was: "Sorry, this all the men we have." The German commander was floored by the fact that such a small force had put up such a furious fight. The Germans buried their dead from the battle and the commander said: "Don't worry, we are not the SS. We are the regular German army." The Americans were taken into the retreating column of Germans to be interned at a POW camp at Frankfurt-on-the-Oder on the eastern border of Germany. My uncle was doing farm work at the camp because of the opportunity to pick up food such as potatoes or oats from the horses feeding troth. And he was even entrusted with wire cutters to repair agricultural fencing. After 9 months, the Russians advanced to the camp and captured it, but kept the Americans behind the wire. Having wire cutters, my uncle and a few others decided to cut their way out while the Russians were sleeping. They then infiltrated their way back through German-held territory until they met advancing American recon columns who merely pointed the way back to the American main forces. A few years ago, my uncle, Edward Leonard, was invited to the French Consulate in New York City to receive the French Legion of Honor (Chevalier) along with a number of others in a somewhat delayed recognition of their struggle.

I would think an M Garand is still a pretty good thing to have when your enemy only has a bolt action rifle.

Excellent video, happy to see Shots Fired in Anger referenced.

I'm not a Combat Vet, but these are questions that sometimes run through my mind. What do we know about Soldiers Carrying M-1 Garands during WWII? Going by the multitude of pics that have been published, I can tell that most soldiers armed with an M-1 Garand held their enbloc clips on the standard M-1923 cartridge belt worn at the time, which held only 10 enbloc clips. Some soldiers would hook a few clips on their slings, but when you see that on pics, it's usually 3-4 clips being carried like that. Adding more would make the Garand even heavier than it already is. Airborne Soldiers would add riggers pouches on the strap that connected the two halves of their M-1923 cartridge belts, that connecting strap could hold two rigger pouches and each rigger pouch could hold 5 enbloc clips. This would increase the amount of enbloc clips being carried to 20. The US Army also had M-1 Ammunition Carrying bags, these could carry many enbloc clips, but you rarely see those on pics. Probably because they weren't issued to every single soldier. I imagine these were issued 2-3 per squad. An M-1 Ammunition Bag is able to hold about 30 clips if you pack them in carefully. This makes the bag very heavy though, but if 2-3 soldiers were carrying them per squad, that can add an additional 90 clips per squad. I imagine that Soldiers with cargo pockets on their paints, also carried enbloc clips in those pockets. Off course there's a limit to how many enbloc clips you could carry in cargo pockets. Carry too much, and you can't walk, let alone run, and your pants may end up around your ankles. So, with all this in mind. Was it practical for WWII Soldiers to also carry loose rounds to top off their Garands. To me, this seems like just more trouble than it's worth. I could be wrong off course.

"Occam's Razor" would suggest that your average G.I. simply ejected the partial clip, stuck it in his pocket with the rounds jumbled up, and inserted a new clip before proceeding. Later on, he'd probably reload the few loose clips and rounds in his pockets with whatever ammo he could find.

As usual, an excellent technical explanation, with additional insight on what it might have been like to reload in a fire-fight.

While it was apparently not commonly used, 'topping off' would be a good way to conserve ammo if resupply was running a bit behind. When I saw the topic, I was hoping to see something of a 'Mad Minute', emptying and reloading an M1 as fast as possible. I've seen it stated that an experienced M1 rifleman can keep up with a mag-fed rifle.

I have only had the pleasure and privilege of handling and firing a Garand one time ever. The weapon belonged to a Korean war veteran and he knew it like the back of his hand, that weapon was an extension of him. I asked him all of the usual questions regarding "Garand Thumb" and topping the weapon off mid ammo cycle and especially the infamous PING when the ammo clip was ejected. He scoffed and laughed at the Garand Thumb and PING questions and said that very few infantrymen would ever top off after less than 4 to 5 shots because it just took too long in a combat situation. I was curious to try and in a very relaxed and controlled environment at a outdoor shooting range, I had a very hard time topping the weapon off. Other than that, the weapon was absolutely wonderful in every way, i knew it was a 30-06, but the kick it had was quite noticeable, as was the weight.

What people fail to realize is that the soldier/marine on a battlefield is never alone, Hollywood have you believe otherwise. The Rifleman is part of a Fire-Team, with in a Squad, with in a Platoon. The Platoon is the smallest tactical maneuver unit on a battlefield. So, at the very least you're with 4 others, within the platoon of 30-plus depending on organic unit make-up.

Great video. Thanks

Great video. I didn't know this about topping off the M1. Thanks

A good discussion of the various techniques. I am one of the lucky ones with an M-1. I am also lucky that I have not been in combat... with ANY gun. My M-1 is now a range rifle. We shoot at a less stressful pace!

Very interesting…well done…thanks!!

Thanks

It was the first rifle I was issued and have had a CMP rifle for over 30 years. The M-14 was next and replaced by the original M-16. Nice video.

The Garand is a masterpiece. The en-bloc clips are so much quicker to change than a box magazine. Up here in Kanadistan 🇨🇦 we can only have 5 rounds in a semi-auto rifle…with the M1 being an exception. At least for now, until they ban everything. 🤦🏻‍♂️ great video.

Love this series

you made an M1 video without recording the sound of shooting the last round. It's like a signature piece of audio for the M1!

Well done. Thanks

Chris, a great video as always. Keep up the great work. Talking about the options for what to do when the Garand is down to the last few rounds, I don't think you mentioned pulling your sidearm. 1911 fans (like myself, I'll admit it) love to point out that more Medal of Honor recipients earned their medals with 1911s in hand than with any other pistol. All those local gun store lore stories about Private Kilroy bravely jumping into the enemy trench with pistol in hand just after the grenade went off-- maybe some of those stories happened because Kilroy had two rounds left in his long and heavy rifle and he didn't have time to top it off, and it's honestly unwieldy in a close quarters situation anyway. So Kilroy pulled Old Slabsides from its USGI flap holster and went to work out of sheer necessity of the moment, and later on everyone else went "Holy cow he took that trench with a PISTOL? We should put in for a medal on that..." It's honestly something I've never considered before but suddenly it makes a lot of sense....

Enjoyed the video. M-1 was heavy. Everything is when you are carrying all day. M-1 was hard to top off. By modern standards yes but other rifles of the day had their top off issues, too. WWII ended 70+ years ago. Modern weapons are an improvement in many ways.

Joined the National Guard in 1967. Was surprised that we still had M-1's. Had he M-14 in basic training. Were issued M-16's back in the unit.

We had a class in my Army Basic Training Summer 1962, on topping off the M1 Garand. The Infantry unit I was put in in Oct 1962 still used the M1. Never saw anyone top off the clips in the rifle. M14 were issued about a month after my arrival but got to use the M1 again in the National Guard in 1966 to 68. Great riot control weapons.

Yeah, I kind of flinched a little when you loaded that 8th round directly into the chamber. I'm glad you stuck that warning in your video.

My friend's dad was a US Army Scout from Normandy into Germany. He was issued an M1 Carbine and also carried a captured German sniper rifle. He had lots of observations about German and US front line troops. He said the German troops followed the manual of arms exactly, fire 5 rounds and reload. US troops were unpredictable and had the luxury of an almost endless supply of 30-06 in enblach clips. Sometimes in a lull they would top off, sometimes eject the clip and replace it. The US troops adapted to the situation. Peter claims that when one could ascertain a single German shooting, one could count 5, stand and shoot the German while he reloaded. The German's could not do the same unless they heard the M1 ping. The M1 was superior to the 98k, more rounds in the magazine and faster operation. By time the Germans starting the STG they had severe amo shortages making full fire less likely. Our M1 toting troops did not encounter the STG much as it was mostly sent east. The bigger problem for the US Army were German Machine Guns. Peter said the scout jeeps were equipped with M2 .50 but these were too heavy for regular infantry.

When i was doing my military service in Denmark in 1981_1982 we all had the Garand, or M/50 as it was called in Denmark. Later in the mid 80's i had the HK G3 in the Danish homeguard. But the Garand was the most stable of the two. The G3 though had a 20 rounds magasiner and auto. But in snow and mud the Garand was Superior

Excellent Video. You know Your Weapons.

It’s quite an interesting design how the clip becomes a guide for the rounds as the elevator keeps raising them up and the lips of the clips become feed lips for that top round. An interesting side note is that rear end of the operating rod spring is pushing on the elevator and provides the working force for both. By having the action open it increases the preload on the spring and increase the upward pressure on the rounds into the feel lip. It also ensures proper force to eject the clip after the last round. This is in contrast to the M1A/M14 having the operating spring fixed end going into the front of the magazine well and having an internal guide rod.

What you can do to not lose the round when topping off the garand or bolt action is to put your support hand fingers over the bolt as you pull it back to catch the round before it ejects

What I've heard is that GI's did know they could reload the Garand in middle clip, and they prefered just firing the rest of the rounds until hear the ping

Read the block about slam fire. You don't let the bolt slam shut. Let it forward, use the heel of the hand to move it fully into battery. In basic training, we got the command, "Lock, one round load." Further, due to the internal design, the firing pin cannot go fully forward until the bolt is fully into battery.

“… and not get *BIT?”* (My first instance of contact with these things had me almost get my index finger *CHEWED* by one of them. At the time (early to mid 1980s) I not only didn’t know about these things liking to bite the hand the hand which feeds them - but I had *NO* idea that I was dealing with M1s. There were several of them, all racked up with the actions locked back. I put my index finger down in the open “chasm” - and only something I do not understand prevented me from getting *BIT* when the bolt slammed home. I got my finger out *that* fast.)

I can't see topping off a M1 as anything other than an act of desperation. I have never seen concerns of topping off a M14 or M16.

Some information for you on the Springfield '03, saw you loading with individual rounds, in case if you didn't know, they were loaded with a "stripper clip" of 5 rounds, once the rounds were seated into the box magazine, the bolt was closed pushing the stripper clip out of the way, in competition shooting, some shooters would manually remove it on the first clip of 5, then the second would be ejected by the bolt to save fractions of seconds in rapid fire at 200 & 300 yards. I did enjoy uor video and thank you.

My grandfathers brothers had a few things to say about their experiences in WWII. I do not remember a single complaint about the Garand.

great video. I love learning more about the M1 Garand. one note- Grammar check may have missed it @2:35 your note on the bottom says (WHICH WOULD VERY, VERY BAD) I think it was supposed to be (WHICH WOULD BE VERY, VERY BAD) - I hate to be that guy (I really do- my big sister still corrects my grammar and I'm 40) but I had to say something. Love your videos Chris, one of the best no-nonsense channels out there.

Fascinating!!!!

What a neat gun to have that many quality ways of loading it. Nice!

No matter the flaws, still want one for the “ ping“ factor someday. It’s just a very cool historical rifle.

Tip to keep from hurting your thumb during loading hold down on the operating rod under the upper handguard. This will keep the bolt from going foreword.

Now referred to as the "GET OFF MY LAWN!" gun!😆

My family member who served on WW 2 stated in combat if he felt he needed a full clip in the Garand would just quickly pop off the remain rounds and then put in a new clip. Fortunately he was never short of ammo so it was not an issue.

My uncle had said that the Japanese & Chinese were trained to listen for the very distinctive sound when the clip was ejected because that meant that the Marines had to reload their rifles.

My Dad was in the NJ National Guard from '64-'84. They still carried the Garand. Even though he was in the artillery, it was his primary arm until he became a commissioned officer. Then, he was issued the M1 carbine. I don't know if they ever switched over to the M16 while he was still there.

As a former Marine, it was a snap to load. Never got M1 thumb.

Thank you for making this correction. I almost commented on the last video due to its incomplete information on reloading methods.

@6:18. If you listen close when he fires the last round you'll hear a "plink" sound. That is the empty clip being ejected. In WWII, the Germans and Japanese picked up on that and learned to listen for it. When they heard it, that meant the American was reloading. Good time to attack. The Americans caught on to this and came up with a trick. They would keep an empty clip and tap it on something during a battle. The enemy would hear that 'plink', jump out to attack, and....let's just say they got a nasty suprise.

Re: "A lot of M1 fans have been quick to bust the old myth that "you can't top off a Garand." It's not technically true, but for the GI in combat, would it have been a feasible option?" Depends on the situation and the G.I. Like anything else, the more the soldier worked with the M-1 and its en-bloc loading system, the easier and smoother it would get. Modern users may find it difficult, but the soldiers of that time who used the M-1 as their rifle for months or even years on end, got so proficient with them that they could run as quickly as modern users swap magazines in and out of an AR15. Years ago, I happened to see a competition shooting match, two-gun if memory serves, maybe three-gun. There were several older gentlemen taking part, and one of them was running an M-1 rifle as his long gun. He gave onlookers a real treat watching him run that thing like a sports car. Although the loading system on the Garand isn't considered state-of-the-art these days, his times were quite competitive and he scored well. It is not myth but fact that G.I.s. had to work with partially-filled clips or with individual rounds. This most-often occurred when troops were lacking resupply and had to police up spare 30-06 rounds dropped or abandoned in the field, or from other sources such as the wounded or the dead. Unless it was linked .30-cal. machine-gun ammo, '06 usually came prepacked in bandoleers containing loaded 8-round en-bloc clips. But if the soldier was forced to use delinked MG ammo or loose 30-06 of any kind, he was manipulating it by hand. If he lacked enough shots to fill the clip, he'd insert a partly-filled one if that was all he had. Accounts from men who used the M-1 rifle often note that the men were taught to do tactical or combat reloads. If there was a lull in the action, the rifleman was taught to eject or otherwise remove a partly-used clip and insert a fresh 8-round one in its place, and to pocket the loose rounds for use later.

Band Of Brothers episode "Crossroads" shows Damien Lewis aka Cpt.Winters unload then reload 1 round in back into a M1 before handing it back to Soldier Libgot.

Bought my 1942 Garand and had my great uncle, Korea vet, to teach me all of his skills.

Due to the modern shooting practice of keeping your hand on the grip, the Garand is actually friendlier to a lefty.

Best rifle in WW2 and Korea. Our targets were busy trying to reload their bolt action rifle with five rounds while eight 30 caliber rounds soiling their uniforms.

Id personally recomend best way to figure the secrets of the M1 is to particpate in a reenactment (a good one not a farb fest) From many years of experience with the M1 of which i talked to countless wwii combat vets and listen to what they did and tried it in the field for reenacting what they said made sense. I found reloading could be quickly done vs the "top off" as discribed. If I had to "top off" the m1, I could pop the clip out using the clip release and put a fresh one in. Taking the spent clip and loose ammo i could put it quickly in say a pocket. For re loading you could put clips on the pack suspenders or combat suspenders and pull a clip off and reload very quickly. Plus bandleers you could remove clips quickly and reload. As i discribed above is how the vets i meet would do a fast reload I personally never meet a vet that "topped off" a grand as was discribed here. Also depending when the vets where in combat, towards the end of the war more vets used the m1 ammo belt less, using a pistol belt, and used bandleers instead. Going out in full kit and doing a good tatical battle will give you the best insight on this.

listening through this guy talk I'm just nodding my head going "true.. true.. true.."

Garands built to share BAR magazines seems, with hindsight, so much more practical.

I used the M-1 in the Army National Guard reserves in 1963, before I went to Basic Training in 1964, when we changed to the M-14! I did, partially catch my thumb once, which blackened my thumbnail! I never understood why all WWII servicemen did not carry the much lighter & easier to load M-1 Carbine, carried by officers?

That flannel shirt and the rifle, confused me, I was thinking that I was watching another channel, you know, the "thumb" 🤣

Korean vet who taught me almost everything I know about guns said the myth that an m1 can’t be topped off is horsesh*t. They would grab a clip in their right hand between thumb and index finger. Hook the op rod with the bottom of their hand. Open the action and with their supporting hand hit the latch. The old clip would come out and they would just rotate their right hand and drop the rounds into the rifle. Whole process only takes 3 maybe 4 seconds. It’s not an ar but certainly faster than most people presume.

I don't remember my 3 uncles, all in combat in WW 2 ever complaining about their M1 rifles in any way.

With the in block clip it's better just to empty it and put in a new one. They didn't want anybody bringing any ammo home put it all in the enemy .

I spoke to a Wwii vet at my VFW years back. He was in d day at Omaha and other battles. Being a garand fan and owner we chatted about it. He said would pull the remaining clip and put in a fresh one and place the half clip and loose shells in his pocket until later if the need arose. He said it didn't come up often and he never really tried a top off because it seemed too fidgety. Ive only used mine in range and plinking conditions and never needed to do a top off, but if I did I would probably just swap clips if available. Ps don't think he ever mentioned a time of ammo or clip shortage so I don't know what he would have done if he had to top off and only had loose rounds.

Watching you hold that rifle with hand on top of grip, thinking, "Don't drop it, don't drop it, don't drop it."

Have two, never been Garand Thumbed because I know how to use it. “Topping it off” is a no go.

Right, my cousin was in the 'Bulge', he said this was the only time he ever topped off or had to save ammo', a fixed position thing, never in combat, you jam a full one in every time, there is no time for any fooling around. I was never taught any 'top off' procedure in Korean times. Lives mean a lot more than any partial ammo' clip, dump it.

Re: garrand. Wouldn't it be better and faster to just eject the partially used clip into your hand and then replace with a fully loaded clip? You can deposit the used clip into another pocket and refill it when time allowed.

I’m 81, haven’t messed with am M1 since the 60s. Guess what, last week I started wondering if a M1 could be topped off. Than along came your video…thanks.

Why is the clip ( inblock clip shown! Not loaded in the accepted way !!?? ) last round on the left!

Good video as always! There is a great invention called the "Garand Thumb" available online which I installed in my Garand, less than 10 min. Not a permanent modification you can change back anytime, although I don't know why anyone would. Video of it is on KZfaq.

We are used to the "how fast can you do XYZ drill" mentality of modern shooting. Depending on your situation, I don't see why popping the partial mag out and putting a new one in is an issue. Not everything is a time sensitive issue. Doesn't quite matter if it takes 10 seconds to reload it and stow a partial mag if you've got 27 dudes around you backing you up.

My father and uncle were in Korean War. My father said they did not conserve ammo. If they ran out of the stuff they got more from dead GI’s or the Private who brought supplies. That was how it was. Dad loved the Garand he had and a few times he fired it until the stock burned off. Than he would pick another one up off the battlefield. He said that Battlefields are littered with all manner of firearms, ammo, equipment, people, animals of all types, carts, destroyed tanks from both sides, you name it, it was there… well… except the 😅kitchen sink.

Seems to me the full clip reload after going dry is the quickest-6 seconds to push another clip in....pretty fast. On par with bolt gun strippers If you ask me.