You’re Gonna Need These Military Accessories!
Episode 2 – The journey continues…
Having been given a WWII German bayonet, and having fortuitously purchased a WWII M1 Garand, naturally, I needed to find some ammunition. I was ready to graduate from firing a little .308 pistol at the range, to blasting away with the mighty Garand.
Military Accessories Can Include Multiple Variations
Again, with help from Google, I learned of the CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program), and their store in Anniston, Alabama, a two-hour drive away. There, I could pick up ammo cans full of 30.06 cartridges.
Upon arriving at the very plain building, I had to fill out a form and pay a $30 fee to become a member. In the store were racks of M1 Garands for sale. These were mostly made during the 1950s. At the counter, I asked for two 200-round ammo cans of 30.06. At that time, in 2013, they cost $98 per can.
While I was waiting for my ammo, I noticed a cardboard box full of bayonets, with scabbards, that fit the Garand. Those were priced at $75, so I was excited to also get one of those during this trip.
Now I was really satisfied with myself. “I’ve got the bayonet.” What I hadn’t learned yet was that this was just one of several variations. I didn’t have the bayonet. I had a bayonet. That can be the difficult part of collecting military accessories.
I didn’t know that this version is known as a cut-down. The long indentation that runs down the center of the blade is the fuller, also known as the blood groove. This blade originally was 16” long, and later ground down to the length of the 10” M1 bayonet. Here, the fuller fades out as it approaches the point of the blade. On an original 10” M1 bayonet, the point end of the fuller looks as clearly defined as it does on the grip end.
Little did I know that this was just the beginning of my confusion, and not just of M1 bayonet types (of which there are many more than shown here), but later on, belt types, canteen types, first aid pouches and plenty more.
FACTOID | The WWI and WWII bayonet variations, made for M1 and 1903 rifles, include the 16” M-1905, the 10” M-1905 E1, the 16” M-1942, the 10” M-1905 E1 made from a 16” M-1942, and the 10” M1. Some have wood grips, some black plastic grips, and some with reddish plastic grips. Some M1’s have dates, and some don’t. Some bayonets have symmetrical points, some rounded points and some a more traditional knife-like point.
A person could devote a lot of time and money just collecting every variation of these bayonets. Back then, all I knew was, “I’ve got the bayonet!”
Driving home with my score, I still wasn’t contemplating collecting. At that point, I wasn’t even thinking of collecting as a thing.
All I knew was that I had an M1 and plenty of ammo. I needed to get to the range.
Once at the range, I felt a little over my head with this big heavy gun. I jammed the 8-round block clip into the action, put on my protective glasses and aimed at the target in the indoor range.
When I pulled the trigger, I was startled at both the kick, which rammed the stock into my shoulder, and the cannon-like boom that filled the room. Truly, indoors the sound seems way out of proportion to the size of the weapon. Part of that is because you don’t just hear it through the ear protection. It also vibrates through your insides. After about forty minutes of shooting, I was dripping with sweat, which rolled into my eyes. Time to go home.
Back at home, it occurred to me that all these rounds need to be organized into clips, and the clips organized in a belt.
Looking into that necessity brought me one step closer to becoming a collector.
I was still only thinking about the utility of these military accessories, not collectibility. But just as the rifle begged for accessories, I was to find, so did the belt. Read on…
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