Thursday, June 9, 2011

History From The Springfield Armory...!


Very few manufacturers have the history with firearms as does the Springfield armory!

Some of the most dependable and well established guns here in the United States came from the Springfield Armory. All kinds of weapons, most all with an excellent reputation for reliability, got their start at the armory!

The Springfield was any of several rifles that were standard infantry weapons of the U.S. Army most of the time from 1873 to 1936, all taking their name from the Springfield Armory, established at Springfield, Mass., by the U.S. Congress in 1794. The armory had produced smooth bore muskets from its earliest days, and between 1858 and 1865 it turned out more than 840,000 .58-calibre rifled muskets. In 1866, it began adapting the muzzle-loading rifles to breech-loading, single-shot rifles by making a “trapdoor” for the breech with latch, firing pin, and extractor for the cartridge case.

From 1873 to 1892 the armory turned out breech-loading, single-shot Springfield .45-70s (.45 calibre with 70 grains of black powder). Between 1892 and 1903 the U.S. Army used a Norwegian-designed Krag-Jørgensen bolt-action repeating rifle, but in the meantime the Springfield gunsmiths were studying the German Mauser, a five-shot bolt-action repeating rifle. The United States adapted the Mauser into the Model 1903 Springfield, a rifle that, after some modifications to accommodate Model 1906 ammunition, entered history as the Springfield .30-06, one of the most reliable and accurate military firearms in history. The Springfield served as the principal U.S. infantry weapon until 1936, when it was replaced by the Garand (M1) rifle of World War II—also designed at the Springfield Armory. When the Springfield .30-06 was retired, it was widely modified into a sporting rifle that is still prized for its accuracy.

Many formidable and dependable weapons came from the armory until it's closing in 1968, when with a controversial personal and political decision, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara closed the Springfield Armory. This marked the end of a very productive history!

Let's get some fresh coffee and sit outside on the patio this morning, OK?

10 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

Thankfully, they never had the dubious distinction of designing the infamous M16.

Ben in Texas said...

Yep, Daddy had one of the 30.06, bought it military surplus and came packed in cosmolean? (Grease) My job was to get it clean. He had asporting stock and bolt put on and he and I both killed our share of Deer with it.. Dammed neighbor snookered him out of it when he got old.

Anonymous said...

Cool beans, I own one of their commercial M1s made in the early 90's, it a .308 Winchester. Love that beast, but my its heavy - tongue gets a sunburn every time I take it out into the monte. Guess I'm getting old.

JoJo said...

Very interesting story. shot the 30.06 once a very, very long time ago.Yup it set me on my butt but good. Maybe thats why I have all this trouble now a days with my shoulder. Boy I was a dumb kid, but I sure had fun. Coffee sounds great with friends. Pass the pot please.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Yep, the 30.06 was, is, and will be a standard amoung rifles. I have one, doesn't everyone? Oh yes, I forgot, the cowboys have 30.30 carbines. . .

Anonymous said...

Bob_From_Athens

Typical government bureaucratic thinking, "IF IT WORKS, GET RID OF IT, FIND SOMETHING MORE EXPENSIVE”

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
That was one that the government probably had control over, thus the bad reputation!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Ben...
I think that a lot of households used to contain at least one 30-06 at one time or another!

I think that was probably one of the most used rifles for hunting I can remember!

Thanks, buddy, for coming by today!

HermitJim said...

Hey Anon 6:23...
The .308 was another weapon that I remember from my childhood!

The one of mine I remember using the most was my .22! Shot a lot of ammo through that one!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey JoJo...
You probably just needed a better teacher!

Shooting is indeed a lot of fun! As long as it's done safely!

Thanks, sweetie, for coming by today!


Hey DD...
that's probably the gun of choice in a lot of homes! At least, in a lot of homes I know of!

I appreciate you coming by today!


Hey Bob...
That's seems to be how the government works sometimes! Once they get involved, things cost more and don't work as well!

Crazy, just crazy!

Thanks, my friend, for coming by today!

Bob Mc said...

For some reason I've never owned a 30-06. I have both a .308 and a 30/30. I believe the claim is there have been more deer killed with a 30/30 than any other cartridge.

HermitJim said...

Hey Bob...
Sounds to me like you pretty much have things covered!

Both guns that you mention are very popular and have good reputations from what I can tell!

At least we have a choice, right?

Thanks for dropping in today!