The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

Kaylee · March 23, 2002, 03:03 AM

So I look over at the AR in the corner, and remember the kinda "what the heck ya doin' with a gul-derned space gun" look ya get sometimes with such things on a rifle line. And it makes me wonder..

When exactly did having something akin to the standard infantry arm of the day become a BAD thing, even among some shooters? I mean heck, Civil War vets were allowed to take their muskets home as I recall, and WWI vets and thier sporterized Mausers and Springfields did much to popularize bolt actions for hunting once they got home, or so I'm told.

What was it like, say 1950 or so? Could I walk into a store and buy a civilian knock off of the M1 Carbine yet? Was the DCM up and running, and could I have acquired an M1 Garand somehow, as a civilian? And if I did somehow.. how would it have been perceived? (well.. leaving out the whole pre-women's lib thing for a sec. humor me, eh?)

I suppose I'm trying to find out when things changed.. was it when they got all black pistol gripped with long magazines? When semi or full auto rate of fire began to take precedence, hence being less applicable to hunting or target shooting?

-K

PS.. I do remember in my high school history class, when we finally got up to modern history, seeing a photo of a protester carrying an AR with a flower down the barrel. I presume then that the semi-only AR was released to civilan sales sometime soon after its military adoption? When, and how was it received?

March 23, 2002, 03:03 AM	#1
Kaylee Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2000 Location: The Last Homely House Posts: 1,677	Question for the old timers... So I look over at the AR in the corner, and remember the kinda "what the heck ya doin' with a gul-derned space gun" look ya get sometimes with such things on a rifle line. And it makes me wonder.. When exactly did having something akin to the standard infantry arm of the day become a BAD thing, even among some shooters? I mean heck, Civil War vets were allowed to take their muskets home as I recall, and WWI vets and thier sporterized Mausers and Springfields did much to popularize bolt actions for hunting once they got home, or so I'm told. What was it like, say 1950 or so? Could I walk into a store and buy a civilian knock off of the M1 Carbine yet? Was the DCM up and running, and could I have acquired an M1 Garand somehow, as a civilian? And if I did somehow.. how would it have been perceived? (well.. leaving out the whole pre-women's lib thing for a sec. humor me, eh?) I suppose I'm trying to find out when things changed.. was it when they got all black pistol gripped with long magazines? When semi or full auto rate of fire began to take precedence, hence being less applicable to hunting or target shooting? -K PS.. I do remember in my high school history class, when we finally got up to modern history, seeing a photo of a protester carrying an AR with a flower down the barrel. I presume then that the semi-only AR was released to civilan sales sometime soon after its military adoption? When, and how was it received?