It never fails to bring a smile to my face when the topic of rifle weights comes up. It is with out a doubt the sportsman's equivalent of, "I caught a fish
T H I S - B I G !!"
It is a timeless classic that permeates all levels of the drill world, from the Service Drill Teams to High School; from now, till when I first started drilling in the late 70's, and before… "We drill with weapons that weigh
T H I S - M U C H !!"
Lord knows how many a cadet has come up to me to proudly proclaim that the weapons they drill with weigh 10½, 11, even 13 pounds!
What they do not know, is that I have one, and only one, weapon that is a measured 13 lbs 1 oz. (this is not folklore weight). Its name is Mr. Keough. Mr. Keough is used only for strength training and conditioning, and although Clarence and myself are world class drillers, we drill Mr. Keough with the grace and ease of a half witted baboon trying to peal a frozen banana.
So how much do these weapons actually weigh?
The painful truth is as follows:
Manufacturer weight specification for...
M1 Garand - 9 lbs 8 oz;
M14 - 9 lbs 3 oz
03-A3 - 8 lbs 11 oz.
Demilitarizing a weapon adds about 2 - 3 oz of weight, and even if the barrel was completely filled with lead, it would add no more than 6 - 8 oz.
Oh, I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth already!
Yes, I do know that there are conflicting weight specs of the weapons from different sources, but that is due mainly to whether the weight of the weapon is based on it being loaded or empty. The above weight specs are very close approximations of the weapons' empty weight.
The USAF DT is the undisputed heavyweight of XD. Their weapons, demil'd M1s with fixed bayonets and slings, are by FAR the heaviest of any used today. They tip the scales at 10¾ pounds; a far cry from 13!
General specifications for:
M1 Garand
Action: Gas semi-auto
Weight: 9 lbs 8 oz
Length: 43.6 in
Muzzle Velocity: 2,750fps
Max. range: 3,450 yds
Max. Effective range: 800-1,000 yds
Magazine: 8 round, En Bloc
M14
Action: Gas semi-auto, rotating Bolt
Weight: 9 lbs 3 oz
Length: 44.3 in
Muzzle Velocity: 2,800fps
Max. Effective range: 500 yds
Magazine: 20
Caliber 7.62x51mm NATO
M1903
Action: Bolt manual
Weight: 8 lbs 11 oz
Length: 43.2 in
Muzzle Velocity: 2,805fps
Max. range: 3,500 yds
Max. Effective range: 900-1,100 yds
Magazine: Internal 5 round capacity
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