[dcwusmc]

Agreed. I liked the old 18" bayonet that they had in WWI and early WWII... the Springfield bayonet, I guess. I want one for my Garand at some point... The bayonet they gave me when I went in-country in '69 was about on a par with that mickey mouse mattel-toy excuse for a rifle they handed me. When I was at Parris Island I carried an M-14. When I got to Camp Gieger ('67) for infantry training, I got to carry the Garand. At New River, after school, I had a 14. Then I went to Staging Bn at Pendleton and had my first experience with the M-16 abortion. Mine would NOT cycle after firing. For each round I had to MANUALLY cock the thing and eject the spent brass. I told the armorer about it and his words were, "Live with it." Real cool piece!

[Destructor]

Thank you for your service to your country! I deeply regret the way that the veterans of the Vietnam War were treated upon returning home. So, I wanted to thank you right up front! I am honored to talk to you.

I own a Garand myself. A short barreled, Tanker model, 30-06 with the 8-round clip. I love the Garand and it's fun to shoot, but my service rifle was the M16A2, and M16A3. Colt did manage to make improvements to the subsequent models, so they weren't anything like that old "jammin' Jenny" that you remember. However, the M16A2s and A3s would jam up when introduced to sand, or extreme mud. The M16s still pale by comparison to the M1 Garand!