Life can seem like a stream of doors that close as we age. A few open to us though because of the time we've put in on this earth.

That looks like pure sport shooting entertainment. Thanks for posting it. Would be fun to tailor some handloads for it and take it out for a spin.

Here's the plain ol' M1A that was acquired for high-power competition on the local level. I never progressed further than the Texas State High Power matches.

 

^ Sure it's not a M14?

 

Was surprised Wikipedia had a lot of info on this rifle. They even got a Navy photo of it being used as a line throwing rifle. Like I said when I saw is used as when in the Navy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M14_rifle

 

This page suggests the pic could indeed be an M1A, it really doesn't help that there are 3 different rifle designs out there all called M1 or some variation thereof, did the guys at the DOD have no imagination?:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Armory_M1A

 

I only remember it being an M14 when it was issued to me in 1968.

 

I was enjoying third grade in 1968. ;-). Thanks for serving.

 

Here's my old NRA Highpower rifle, an M1 Garand. Bought it from a fellow from Alaska who had it built by his unit armorer. This pic is from the mid 90s.

This is my second NRA Highpower rifle, an M1A built off a Polytech (China) receiver, which was a popular thing to do at the time as you could buy a whole Polytech M14 rifle for $360US at that time (late 90s).

Then you have the current one, and it is SWEETNESS defined. Real deal US Marine Corps built M1A. This rifle is so much better than me it whispers I'm not good enough every time I aim.


I'll have to dig up the NRA Match rifle and F-Class rifle pics, maybe a few 1000yd rifles too. I love this thread.

 

Looking for the other pics I came across this one....not much to see really but when I saw it memories flooded back to me about one of the coolest encounters I've had in my life. This picture is all about the sling. Anyone in a rifle competition knows the second most important piece of equipment is the rifle sling. It is the primary connection between the body and the rifle and all must be perfect to have perfect aim. Therefore the sling must be perfect as well. In the high end shooting sports, leather is king (although these days synthetics are making big inroads). To me there will be nothing other than leather for this type of use. The king of leather slings is a fellow named Les Tam. I was on vacation in Hawaii in 2005 and my wife went to the beach one lazy afternoon, but I wanted to do some exploring....and for some reason it popped in my head that Les lives in Hawaii. Well I looked him up in the phone book (yes they still had those back then) and there he was listed. I called his number, told him I was on vacation, that I had seen many of his slings on the firing line, and was interested if he would sell me one while I was in town(it was a big ask because he had a loooong wait list). He said sure, come on over, and gave me his address(a small house on the side of the mountain...awesome view). I then spent the most wonderful afternoon talking with this guru of leather. He asked me what I wanted in a sling and then measured and made it right in front of me...the most beautiful rifle sling I've ever seen. Les knows more about leather than an encyclopedia...the history of leather use, leather types, grades, quality, colors, dyeing, thickness, densities...heck even what type of animals produce the best leather in which freakin climate.....all of this just rolling off his tongue like it had been waiting there to escape. Oh my what a day. He is nearing 80 now and his wait list is now two years...for a rifle sling! I am so glad I was able to meet this sweet fellow..my only regret is I forgot a camera to capture the moment. He made me the one sling that day but I asked him for three others and he said he would send them to me, and to send him a check when I got them. Wow. Had them two weeks later.

Just had to share this story. Sometimes pure serendipity provides an awesome experience.

 

Maybe the most telling of which rifle is pictured is what caliber: a 30-06 or a 308?

 

Being from the UK to me the only M1A is the first McLaren Group 7 sports racer!

 

Not sure what you mean, If the Wiki page it to be believed, the M14 and M1A are both NATO 7.62mm i.e. .308. The M1A is basically a civilian version of the M14 with some minor differences. The Garand is of course 30-06 calibre.

 

Fair enough. My only first hand knowledge was of the M1 Garand was a bolt-action .30-06 and a M-14 .308.
Now I'm aware of a M1A

 

The M1A is not a military designation, its the name of a civilian model produced by Springfield Inc since the early 1970s. Its based on the M14 and uses M14 mil surplus parts, except the receiver which is designed to be semi auto operation only.They are made in 308 NATO. Note that some of the other companies that make M1A style rifles chamber in 308 Winchester caliber. They are virtually identical cartridges, but differ somewhat in case tolerances and chamber pressures. A 308 NATO chamber will fire 308 Winchester, but not necessarily the other way around. If you think that's confusing, it is. I just use 308 Win ammo and I'm fine. It's more accurate ammo anyway. Some of these other civilian companies used the M14 designation on their models, which drive our US Govt into fits because "M14" is the official name for the full auto military rifle. Lots of wrangling (and some confiscation early on) drove some out of business but now it is resolved that it can be used again on a civilian rifle.

Some other fun facts:
M1 Garand was a semi auto WWII Battle rifle, in 30-06 Springfield caliber. It was made by several wartime gov't contractors. It uses a clip rather than a magazine to load ammunition through the top of the receiver. A bit clumsy but hey its semi-auto when everyone else had bolt actions.
M1 Carbine is a shorter, lighter, handier semi-auto WWII rifle for artillery crews and officers primarily. It was also made by wartime gov't contractors.It is in 30 Carbine caliber, about 1/3 the power of the 30-06, but higher capacity using 15 or 30rd magazines loading from the bottom of receiver. I have one made by Rock-Ola, the jukebox company. Everybody chipped in during the war.
M14 was an evolution of the M1 Garand to add detachable mags and a more precise gas driven operation. Also made by several gov't contractors. It was in 308 NATO caliber (basically a shortened 30-06 that took advantage of modern propellenats in the 1950s to produce nearly the same velocity). It was a short lived design issued in very late 50s to early 60s, rapidly replaced by the M16 in early to mid 60s. The M14 was "full auto select" meaning you could choose full auto, but in the real world it was impractical to use this. Anyone who went through basic training with a M14 learned to not use this feature.

 

Thanx for the additional info.

My Dad brought home his .30 Cal Carbine and it was manufactured by IBM. As you stated: Everyone chipped in!

I was issued a M-14 in basic and only fired full auto once at the range. Once I arrived in Viet Nam I was issued a M-16. These first versions were a problem in the jungle because of their open flash suppressors. Needless to say they were modified with the closed suppressors we have today.

 

My Dad was in the Navy 1944-1946. While at Pearl Harbor in summer of 1945 my dad and a group of sailor buds were playing touch football dockside beside the PCE on which he was stationed. A Marine wandered up and and offered the group an M1 Carbine with ammunition for 20 bucks, supposedly a battlefield pickup from some island. My dad bought it. His commanding office allowed him to bring it aboard the small ship and keep it in the ship's armory. At sea, they would take it out and shoot at seagulls and sharks.

When my dad mustered out, he mailed the Carbine home in his sea bag.

My dad's still living and still has the Carbine after 72 years. The contractor who produced the rifle was Quality Hardware.

Summer of 1945


Taken a few years back


Its butt yet retains some gray naval paint acquired while topside during a painting detail.

 

One of my favorites

 

Man, what a great story...and its for real(which is the best kind)

I've been collecting vintage firearms for 30years, and one thing I know...every vintage gun has a story (whether true or not).

The only gun in all those years that I've been able to verify a cool story was a recent purchase of a Desert Eagle 44 mag.

At the local gun show last year...the seller claimed he was selling for a friend(of course, I thought..a good story always starts that way) and that it was owned by a Customs agent in Miami. A hulk a man about 6' 5" 260lbs. I asked why such a big gun? He went on to say he never had to fire it in the line of duty, but when inspecting shipping containers sometimes the shipments are live creatures, and some of those live creatures are human. He learned quickly that the most recognizable handgun in the world is a Desert Eagle(probably the most used Hollywood gun), and that just opening his jacket and showing it in the holster was enough to keep any unwanted activity at bay. I thought sure, sure great story...one of the best i've heard.It was a great price so I bought it anyway. When I went back to the next gun show a few months later the same guy was there selling guns so I starting joking with him about the story he told me and he said to me "you think I was lying'? why don't you ask him yourself". A few steps away was a hulking man about 6'5" 260lbs...this was the guy he sold the gun for at the prior show. This fellow told me all about the customs service and some very cool stories about what they find in those containers. Miami is the #1 port for human smuggling so he carried that gun for 25 yrs until he retired a couple years ago. Told me all about how he had customized it and why (for example you'll see in pic...he was left handed and had to built up the hand grip at top edge so his hand wouldn't accidentally hit the slide stop...)

Cool gun, and cool story..best part was it was true.

 

That is one of the few Desert Eagles I've ever seen with heavy holster wear from carry use.



I'll dredge up another "gun with a story." This long-winded narrative was prepared for a firearms forum and the subject is vintage holsters, however the .22 pistol is the real "star" of the show to me.







It pays to hitch to the House of Heiser

The inaugural holster I'm placing here is the one that nurtured a budding interest in old leather. It has to be the first one because it holds the most sentimental value to me. It's a Heiser holster, with floral carved motifs and white latigo-laced trim made for the Colt Woodsman. My old gun club friend, Cres Lawson sold me his Woodsman, purchased new in 1928. This pistol was one of two shipped to Ad Toepperwein's hardware store and gun shop in downtown San Antonio, subsequently resold directly to William Crites of Crites gun shop just around the corner and down the block from Toepperwein's. Ad Toeperwein and William Crites were friendly competitors and visited each other's shops on slow days. The Lawsons, Cres and his father, knew both men. Cres worked for Mr. Crites summers and when he was home from college from about 1926 to 1932. He said it was only gun Mr. Crites sold him for full retail, not giving him a normally generous discount on his gun purchases and he'd always wondered why.

Cres wanted a good quality .22 pistol to complement the Colt New Service Model 1909 .45 Colt his father purchased for him from the San Antonio Arsenal in 1920. The family had a large ranch deep in Mexico and spent a couple of months down there each winter hunting deer, collecting the rents and crop payments from the Mexican tenants. A young man could have a time with a .22 pistol while roaming the ranch.

Mr. Crites didn't have a Woodsman in stock but told Cres he'd order one. By and by it arrived and Cress was excited to see it. Mr. Crites told Cres that he''d have to charge him full retail price on this particular purchase. Cres had been used to the generous discount that Mr. Crites had always provided but didn't quibble and respectfully paid the $32 price for the pistol. He though it a bit strange but said no more about it. He dedicated himself to shooting only ammunition featuring noncorrosive priming (recall that Clean-Bore priming had only come out the year before) in the gun and cleaning it with Winchester Crystal Cleaner. He purchased a Brill holster and a Boyt leather, fleece-lined, zippered pistol case for his new .22 pistol. He and the pistol went on to have many adventures in Mexico and on their ranch in Kerrvile.

Fast forward to 1994 when he offered to sell his treasured Colt to me. It was in excellent used condition. I offered him $600 for the pistol and he said: "No, I only paid $32 for it brand new. You can have it for $200." I said: "Now that isn't fair to you. It's an outstanding example of a Woodsman and you've kept it so well that you should receive a fair price. He replied: "You're the only other person I've ever seen that was as fastidious about his gun maintenance as I am and I want you to have it." We haggled ... in reverse. He'd name a price and I'd raise it. After some negotiating the deal was finally done. We were to go through this same pattern of "reverse bargaining" several more times on his fine firearms.

I queried him in detail about the history of the Woodsman, the purchase and some of the tales he'd told, writing them down. Some 66 years later he was still puzzled why Mr. Crites had made him purchase the pistol for full list price.



A year or two later I got around to ordering a factory letter from Colt. The day it arrived I excitedly took the envelope to Cres's house so we could together open it and share its contents. The letter cleared up the matter of the retail price for Cres when I read it aloud to him. He chuckled satisfyingly. The letter said the Woodsman was shipped to the Topperwein Hardware Company, San Antonio, Texas in June of 1928. Cres explained.

"Back then Ad Topperwein of Winchester exhibition shooting fame ran a gun shop around the corner from Mr. Crites' establishment in downtown San Antonio. They were friendly competitors and frequented each other's shops almost daily when Topperwein wasn't out of town with his shows. A back alley connected the two shops. Many times on slow days we three would sit around talking business, politics, guns and hunting. It is obvious that Mr. Crites only went around the corner to Topperweins to get me that Woodsman. Topperwein must have charged him full price so he charged me."

Cres got a big kick out of finding out why the Woodsman was so costly.



Cres originally purchased a Brill holster to fit the Woodsman, purchased from A.W. Brill's shop in Austin, Texas. Both Cres and his father had traded there on occasion plus Cres was in Austin from 1927 to 1932 attending the University of Texas. The Brill, a holster which Cres waxed enthusiastic about, was later left in Mexico on one of the Lawson family visits to their ranch west of Cuidad Victoria. There the holster got away from him. So, he ordered this Heiser sometime later on.



The Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery Company almost lasted a hundred years, from 1858 to 1955, turning out very well-respected leather goods of all kinds. Hermann H. Heiser was born in Saxony the year of Texas' hard won independence from Mexico. He immigrated to America and by 1858 had opened a saddlery and harness business. He apparently made quality leather goods and he had a good head for business as well for the company prospered. He brought his sons into the business and when he died in 1904, they continued operating it for many years afterward. A better history than I can offer is provided in this link: Hermann H. Heiser Saddlery Company History and Maker Marks - www.vintagegunleather.com California

No man ever lived long enough to wear out a Heiser Holster

Cres always spoke of the Heiser holster line as being the premium line of gun leather back in the day. He did reserve a special place of top honor for the comparatively scarce Brill holsters. Perhaps this was because he traded in their shop and he and his dad knew the Brills personally. The Heiser holsters I've examined are very good holsters, made of high quality leather, near as thick as saddle skirting. No scrimpy thin wallet leather here. They are well-formed and ruggedly stitched. Though the newest Heiser is now over 60 years old now, the leather is generally found to be supple, is not found to be rotten, and the holsters remain serviceable. Any holster leather can break down when used and abused but Heiser holsters are generally found to be remaining in better condition than many more modern makers from the 1950s forward that one may see in collections of used holsters offered for sale.

Cres' Heiser holster has seen a good bit of use. I don't know its exact age but am guessing late 1930s/early 1940s. Heiser changed their maker's mark in the early 1920s and this holster features the later mark. Heiser snaps were of brass, amply large and decorated with the Heiser logo, all art deco in style, up until the late 1920s or early 1930s. It's possible to have a Heiser holster with the later style maker's mark but having the large brass Heiser-adorned snaps so there was overlap of these features for a few years in the 1920s. Later, the snaps became smaller, were of stamped steel construction, dark brown enamel painted and more simply marked "Heiser." Even later, the Heiser marking on the snaps was deleted which is the style seen here. Last style of snaps appear to be bright metal.

Heiser gun leather - Life is too short to take chances!



Cres never scrimped on what he termed "cheap-jon guns" or on accessories. The Colt Woodsman came to me in a vintage Boyt fleece-lined leather zippered pistol case. I don't know its age but am guessing it to be from the 1930 to 1950 time period. The Woodsman always lived in this case when Cres had it, the pistol carefully preserved in a coat of RIG so that's the way the Woodsman lives in my safe.













Old pamphlet advertising the Toepperwein's (spelled Topperwein in the text) Winchester shooting exhibition.