Posted on 08/24/2015 12:31:17 PM PDT by smokingfrog
The War Department Appropriations Bill of 1903 established many things, but the one that begins our story today is its founding of the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice. Teddy Roosevelt was in office at the time and his enthusiasm for the shooting sports, and this bill, also gave rise to the National Rifle and Pistol Trophy Matches. Needless to say that the government wanted its citizens proficient in firearms use, perhaps spurred on by the recently ended Spanish-American War (1899) and the numerous other conflicts in which America involved itself in the Caribbean, Pacific islands, and Central America (a.k.a. "The Banana Wars").
By 1905, Teddy has signed off on "Public Law 149,"which permitted the sale of surplus military rifles, ammo, and equipment, at cost, to qualified rifle clubs. This was followed by the National Defense Act in 1916. The NDA, an update of the Militia Act of 1903, expanded the National Guard and Army, basically prepared the United States for eventual war, and authorized the War Department to distribute guns and ammunition to the qualified rifle clubs. It also opened military ranges to civilians and even gave funds to keep all those ranges open. Many of the responsibilities for these arms and ranges were under the umbrella of the "Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (later the CMP), which was in turn administered by the Army.
Back in 1959, the Director of Marksmanship for the CMP was Colonel John K. Lee Jr, a man who very likely would have been made aware that a young upstart senator from Massachusetts had been selected to receive an M1 Garand. That senator was John F. Kennedy.
(Excerpt) Read more at prweb.com ...
JFK was a life member in the NRA.
JFK would be outed from the REpublican party today for being to extreme right. How far we’ve fallen. Unnngh.
You’re right.
And he was shot to death by a member of the ACLU.
I've had that on my FR profile page for years.
AHC had a story last nite about a moonshiner who killed a revenuer and, while in jail, concocted the feed mechanism which was used in the M-1 Carbine (not the Garand). The warden got him sprung from jail (immediately before WWII).
Amazing how far the Democrats have slid from JFK.
That was in 1959. In 2015 that same M1 will get you a mandatory five-years in a Massachusetts penitentiary.
I’d be guessing that estimated price of 50k-100k is low
**I’d be guessing that estimated price of 50k-100k is low**
JFK’s golf clubs went for over $17,000 and that was back in the 1990s!
That was David “Carbine” Williams who invented a floating chamber/short stroke piston which was incorporated into the design of the M-1 carbine.
How do we know it is real? Salt water rust spots and a bluing scrapped up by a Japanese destroyer?
Williams’ floating chamber was also used in the Colt Conversion Unit, it replaced the slide/barrel, etc., of the M1911A1 pistol and when installed, the user could fire .22LR cartridges with the approximate recoil effect of the .45ACP cartridge. I bought one new in 1975 through the gun shop I worked at for the princely sum of $69 + tax...
Colt Ace floating chamber .22 kits have gone out of sight like everything Colt (see American Rifleman on Colt `snake’ revolvers). FWIW I bought a Remington WWII M1911A1 in 1975 for $125.
I recently bought for a reasonable price a Colt Ace II .22 conversion kit; haven’t fired it yet. Much simpler design with an alloy slide & one piece barrel. Comes with a mainspring housing & spring but I can’t tell the difference with the original.
As for Garands, I bought a new receiver in 1998 & one of those all but receiver kits. Put it all together & it shoots fine.
Yeah, but I could never give you that much for it.I'd have to get it cleaned up and sighted in plus put a frame around it and then I don't know how long it would sit around the shop before it sold. How about $50.00 ?
Carbine Williams.
“Elaine, I must have that rifle”.
Oh, I know, those original Colt .45/.22 conversion units are over $400 used at the gun shows here, when you luck into seeing one. Everything’s priced WAY out of sight. If I had every gun and such I owned and sold it at today’s prices, I’d have a pile of cash to die for. But I got to enjoy owning and shooting all that iron, so it’s cool. Can’t buy memories, sure wish we’d had Youtube for showing off our shooting skills and such when were younger... :)
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