#MilSurp

Adjustable gas plugs allow users to control how much gas from a fired cartridge is redirected back into the piston and operating rod, which in turn cycles the action and loads another cartridge. If all the gas is allowed the escape, the action won’t cycle; if too much gas is redirected, the action will cycle too quickly or too forcefully. Adjusting the gas flow to fit a specific cartridge ensures that the action cycles reliable with minimal wear and tear on the blot, op-rod, etc.

Iconic, legendary, battle-tested. Whatever word you use to describe the M1 Garand, there’s no denying the famous American service rifle makes an excellent—no, essential—addition to anyone’s firearms collection. So, if you don’t have that beautiful walnut and steel in your safe, let me be that little voice in your head, that angel on your shoulder, [...]

The Victory .38 was a wartime version of the original Smith and Wesson Model 10 first introduced in 1899. The gun was variously known as the S&W Military and Police or the S&W Hand Ejector. Total production exceeded six million copies. While civilian variants typically sported a deep blue finish and a variety of barrel lengths, the Victory model was bred purely for combat.

The .30 M-1 Carbine was used by the U.S. Military in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The carbine was supplied to allied forces and hung around long after Vietnam. I encountered the M-1 carbine in service with the Bolivian UMOPAR counter-drug police in the 1990s. These fun guns remain popular and effective for civilians today.

Mechanical systems like small arms evolve in response to myriad forces both industrial and martial. Somebody has an idea that seems to work, and that idea is tweaked, adjusted, and improved over time until it becomes something better, more reliable, and more efficient. The astute student of modern small arms, however, can generally tease out the origins of a mechanism with a little study.

The primary weapon of the infantryman is the rifle. Yes, at this time there were also submachine guns, pistols, anti-armor weapons, and machine guns. But these weapons were all intended to support the rifleman as he took or held ground. Interestingly enough, most of the armies in the Second World War were using either the same rifle their fathers carried in the First World War or a variant thereof.

In one particular area, the Italians really outdid themselves during World War II. Their Model 38 submachinegun was the finest pistol-caliber automatic weapon of the war.

On the night of June 5th, 1944, a force of 181 men commanded by Major John Howard lifted off from RAF Tarant Rushton aboard six Horsa gliders. Their force consisted of a reinforced company from the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry along with twenty sappers drawn from the Royal Engineers. Their objective was to seize the bridge over the Caen Canal and subsequently secure the eastern flank of the Allied landings at Sword beach. Theirs was arguably the most critical piece in the entire D-Day invasion.

Captain Barton fell breathlessly against the roots of a gnarled tree that seemed older than time itself. The flickering flames of what had only moments before been a $35 million AH64E gunship lit the surrounding jungle in desperate, hungry tones. He looked back at the wreckage now fully involved and choked at the thought of his co-pilot.