Canfield's Corner

In addition to being one of the most famous U.S. military small arms of all time, the venerable M1 Garand rifle is also the subject of much misinformation, "urban legends" and sheer fantasy.  I have written many times before about the absurdity of the claim that the "ping" sound of the ejected M1 clip was some sort of deadly defect because it altered the enemy that the rifle was empty and the hapless soldier could be killed with impunity before he could reload.  I'm not going to recite the reasons why this is implausible again as it has been cited...

One question most of us gun collectors have undoubtedly pondered is “What’s the best way to sell one or more of my guns?”  The first thought for many is “I never plan to sell any of my guns.”  Just a few years ago, that would have been my immediate response to that question as well.  I was much more focused on finding new additions to my collection than to worry about selling anything.  When I acquired a new specimen, I would sometimes remark to my lovely wife how much the gun is worth. Her response was invariably, “It’s not worth...

One question that seems to pop up frequently on internet sites and other venues is some variant of “Which is Better, the M1 Garand Rifle or the M1 Carbine.”  There are differences of opinion, sometimes quite vociferous, as to which is the better weapon. On one hand, some berate the Carbine as being less accurate, less powerful and lacking the range of the M1 Garand.  All of these points are, of course, true.  On the other hand, some complain that the M1 Rifle is too heavy, too cumbersome and has the horrid en bloc clip feeding mechanism.  The M1 Rifle...

Among the more interesting and in some ways enigmatic American small arms of WWII are the M1941 Johnson Rifle along with its "stablemate," the M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun/Automatic Rifle.  The Johnson rifle is very popular with today's collectors and prices for original specimens in decent condition are steadily rising.  Most collectors and military arms enthusiasts are aware of the Johnson weapons but there is a LOT of misinformation bandied about in a number of books, articles, internet postings, etc. Also, there are a couple of museums I'm aware of that have incorrect information regarding the Johnson weapons in their collection.  Here...

It may come as no surprise that one of the most popular U.S. martial arms collecting themes is military shotguns, especially the so-called "trench guns."  Although the term "trench gun" was never an official designation, it is widely used today to denote those short-barrel military shotguns fitted with a handguard/bayonet adapter assembly and sling swivels.   Such guns first appeared during World War I and variations continued up through today.  They are impressive-looking as well as being quite interesting and historically significant weapons.  Compared to other contemporary weapons such as M1 rifles and carbines, M1903 and M1917 rifles, etc., trench guns...