Let’s see your memorabilia?!

[WFarm]

A few years ago I signed up for a shooting clinic conducted by Project Appleseed. The stated requirements were a rifle with open sites, as the objective was to hit a man-sized target at 500 yds with open sites.

Like an idiot, I chose my M1 Garand for the 2-day clinic. For those that may not know, the Garand is chambered in 30-06, which is recognized as the most powerful round most people can handle without developing a flinch when they pull the trigger.

BS. By the end of the first day after firing just under 200 rounds, I had not only developed a flinch but was silently begging for the day to end and wondering if I faked shooting if they would notice. (They did, lmao) The next morning my shoulder was bruised black and there was no way I could continue with the 2nd day.

I have complete respect for the men who carried this rifle into combat in WWII, Korea and even Vietnam.

 

[Mr Clean]

LOL... I was 10 when I found out what M1 thumb was. That was a pain I'll never forget. My dad was more worried about his weapon then me...lol. My dad finally got my thumb out and told me rub some dirt in it. Welcome to the club...

 

[WFarm]

LOL... I was 10 when I found out what M1 thumb was. That was a pain I'll never forget. My dad was more worried about his weapon then me...lol. My dad finally got my thumb out and told me rub some dirt in it. Welcome to the club...

When I got my Garand I took it to my parents so dad could see it as I knew he had at least trained with one many years prior. He was in his late 80’s at the time and looked it over and shouldered it, sighting down the barrel and said “ I used to live with this rifle, but when the hell did they get so heavy?”

 

[Blue Ox]

When I got my Garand I took it to my parents so dad could see it as I knew he had at least trained with one many years prior. He was in his late 80’s at the time and looked it over and shouldered it, sighting down the barrel and said “ I used to live with this rifle, but when the hell did they get so heavy?”

Unfortunately I'm learning that everything gains weight with age.

That being said, I'd always heard how heavy a Garand was. This from WWII veterans and gun enthusiasts while I was connected to an American Legion organization. So color me shocked when I actually picked one up. It was so well balanced and comfortable to shoot I was stunned. I just fell in love with it.

Yeah, some of the ergonomics of how it functions suck donkey nutz, the thumb thing being just one. But take it in the context of the time. Everyone else was using bolt actions. Most armories were still stuck with the Civil War mindset that soldiers will "just waste ammunition." (Could there be a more bureaucratic expression?) It persisted into the Vietnam era with the M16 as well. In its moment, the Garand was a sea change in infantry weapons.

There's a reason Patton called the M1 "The greatest battle implement ever devised."

 

[WFarm]

Well said @Blue Ox .

 

[chevdude]

You may call it memorabilia, but when you get older and it starts taking up valuable space in your garage, you will call it by another name.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

You may call it memorabilia, but when you get older and it starts taking up valuable space in your garage, you will call it by another name.

Space for what? Christmas decorations?

Clutter is clutter no matter what our preferences are. I'd rather it look cool and have a meaning or memories behind it instead of Chinese junk that doesn't serve me.

 

[Dejure]

In a pinch, I made my own (glass etch).

 

[idahovette]

Seems in my case I get older and all that "stuff" means MORE to me..........I'll keep mine, thanks

 

[Rustisbest]

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[chevdude]

I will say one thing though. Nothing but quality, useful stuff is in my garage.
No bicycles, no garden/yard stuff, there's the shed for that.
No storage of anything not auto/truck related.
I once asked the owner of a large, successful weld/fab shop how he keeps the place so clean and organized.
He said that he has put a dollar value on each and every square foot of his building.
If he see's anything on the floor or otherwise taking up space, that does not equate to the value of space that it is taking up, it goes to scrap or trash.
Made perfect sense to me.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

I will say one thing though. Nothing but quality, useful stuff is in my garage.
No bicycles, no garden/yard stuff, there's the shed for that.
No storage of anything not auto/truck related.
I once asked the owner of a large, successful weld/fab shop how he keeps the place so clean and organized.
He said that he has put a dollar value on each and every square foot of his building.
If he see's anything on the floor or otherwise taking up space, that does not equate to the value of space that it is taking up, it goes to scrap or trash.
Made perfect sense to me.

That makes sense for a business.

For the real passionate home builder, these are decorations and have meaning, if you have to find a reason to call this stuff junk or whatever you want to call it then that sounds like a you problem.

I've got engines, axles, transmissions, tcases and spare parts "cluttering" my floor. Wouldn't want it any other way. Wouldn't complain about some shelving but I'll get there lol

 

[chevdude]

If you have the space to store this stuff, that's great.
If it's cluttering up your workspace, that's not so great.

 

[Travlr]

If you have the space to store this stuff, that's great.
If it's cluttering up your workspace, that's not so great.

Yeah, first thing I do with any space I'm going to use is build shelving. I don't want anything cluttering up the spaces I need to walk comfortably.

Along the same lines... my tools have a place to be, and they are where I know they should be. I have a wheeled cart for working from and tools go there when they are not in my box. I don't want to be wasting time looking for a tool. My brother is the opposite. He can't find a tool and he goes out and buys an entire set... and they all get jumbled into whatever drawer has space. And then he can't find anything. He was in my shop and I told him if he needed a tool I could walk over and hand it to him without looking... and he smirked and went on to talk about other things. I though he'd forgotten about it and about ten minutes later he looked at me and said, "11/16ths combination wrench." I walked over to the box, opened the lid, and handed him the wrench. He was surprised... but I doubt he's done anything about it. The guy is a mechanical genius, but I bet he spends more time looking for tools than wrenching.

 

[chevdude]

Your brother should paint a big square box on the floor of his garage to throw his tools into.