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South Korea proposes to sell US collectors M-1s, government objects
Story here. The reporter has the dates of issue wrong, and the prices are something we can only dream about, but the government position is pure nonsense.
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That unit price isn't something from a fairy tale. Back in the 1990's before Clinton shut off the supply, that was exactly the wholesale price ex-Korean M-1 rifles and M-1 carbines were selling for! I even bought an M-1 carbine at the time, and stupidly sold it off some time later, but the price I paid was $139.
Back in those days you could buy new Chinese SKS rifles for under $100 too. Sigh.
My two cents; the NRA,SAF, etc., as well as the larger RKBA community should mount a full court press to allow these historic rifles to be returned to their country of origin. Secondly, and I know that this is a stretch, I'd like to see the NRA amend their bylaws and have $1.00 from the annual dues from all of its members be directed to the CMP to promote marksmanship and get good, defensive firearms into the hands of conscientious, law-abiding citizens.
I suspect these were lend-lease and still legally belong to the US government, i.e. We the People. They pop up in Canada regularly. Sometime back one dealer up there that I know offered a family 4 pack for $500.00. Sometimes imports can be made, sometimes not.
Anonymous - the M1 was used in both the French Indo-China War and the subsequent Indo-China War / War in Vietnam. French Forces deployed to Indo-China with predominately French small arms (MAS 36, MAT-49, MAB
pistol) but had a number of US foreign aid arms (US WWII arms - M1, M1 carbine, M1 and M23 SMG, M1911A1, etc.). Typically the French Forces used US WWII machine guns. Mobile Group 100, which had been the French Battalion in the 2nd (US) Infantry Division in the Korean War, had all US equipment when it deployed from Korea to French Indo-China.
After the French withdrew in 1954, the subsequent Army of the Republic of Viet-Nam (ARVN) was armed with US small arms, including the M1. Yes, many US advisors felt the M1 was too large for the South Vietnamese troops and the M1 carbine is very prevalent in images of the war, but the M1 was also used extensively until the US began to field M16s to the ARVN and other South Vietnamese military and paramilitary forces.
This link takes you to a picture of ARVN soldiers shooting M1s -
http://img215.imageshack.us/i/arvn6ul2.jpg/
Here are ARVN Rangers with M1s -
http://media.photobucket.com/image/M1%20rifle%20ARVN/linedoggie/ARVN20Ranger201961.jpg
The ARVN also used M1918A2 BARs, M1919 .30 MGs, M1911A1 and the ubiquitous M1 carbines.
US Army Special Forces officer 1st LT (later COL) Nick Rowe had an M1
when he was captured in October 1963 -
http://www.taskforceomegainc.org/r077.html
The M1 was also found in US Army National Guard arms rooms through the early 1970s - many National Guard units went from the M1 to the M16 and never same the M14 (which was never completely fielded). The Ohio National Guardsmen at Kent State used M1s.
It's not clear whether these are Military Assistance guns. If so - the guns belong to the US, not Korea. Korea wouldn't be able to sell them any more than could your neighbor who borrowed your torque wrench.
Posts on the CMP forum indicate that this issue is about 5 years old.
Be careful about jumping to conclusions based on a Korean newspaper article. The rifles in question were apparently MAP loaners to ROK - and under the terms of that program they're supposed to be returned to DoD for "disposal" when the recipient is done with them (under current law, DoD is supposed to transfer them at no cost to CMP for sale to fund CMP's U.S. marksmanship and shooting sports mission). The Koreans, however, would rather make a few easy million$ selling them to commercial importers at U.S. taxpayers' expense.
The dispute involving these particular rifles has been floating around since the GWB Administration, as noted on the CMP forum. Apparently it's heated up again because the Koreans have a specific purchaser lined up, and they're putting out FUD to try to entice some pro-RKBA Congresscritters to intervene on their behalf.
You got that right about the issue dates, big surprise to people that the Garand was around a decade before its first appearance at Camp Perry. And the M1 was never used in Vietnam. That was the M1 carbine in which we sent the South Vietnamese Army thousands.
As for the prices, hay, what ever they want to sell them for and make some money. The fact that a CMP Garand service Grade rifle sells for $600.00 shouldn't be used to stop them. By the way a rack grade rifle with no stock goes for $500.00 (no rear sights).
As for the Obama response, its no different then the 2009 event when they stopped the sale of spent cases and ordered them crushed before being sent to a recycler. They still want to end firearm ownership and as a result they will make it as tough on anyone as possible. Which includes not working with the Korean government to let the CMP buy the guns and then resell them through the CMP store. If they did that the CMP armorers could inspect and check each gun for proper condition, scrap the ones that are dangerous (saving the parts to repair the just inoperable) and then make the guns available for the still growing vintage rifle shoots started by Bill Clinton.