Not an M14 — The BM59After World War II Italy adopted the M1 Garand as its primary military ri
Not an M14 — The BM59After World War II Italy adopted the M1 Garand as its primary military rifle. At first they used American M1’s and later produced their own. By the late 1950’s Italy decided to update their military small arms. They modified the M1 Garand to accept a 20 round box magazine and chambered it for the common 7.62 NATO cartridge. A flash supressor and a bipod was also added. Similar in function to the M1 Garand, many of these rifles were built from M1’s rifles and parts that were in stock at the time. The BM 59 was manufactured by Beretta and a few other companies. It was adopted by the Italian military in 1959. It is very similar similar in appearance and function to the American M14 model of rifles, which was also adopted in 1959. It makes me wonder who came up with the idea first? -- source link
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