The Gas Trap Garand,While the M1 Garand was adopted by the US military in 1936, there was still yet

The Gas Trap Garand,While the M1 Garand was adopted by the US military in 1936, there was still yet one more modification to be made before the Garand became “the greatest battle implement ever devised”.  A part of the original Garand design, early production M1’s used what was called the “gas trap” system.  This involved a muzzle extension which surrounded the muzzle to catch expanding gasses that left the barrel in an enlarged expansion chamber.  Those gases in turn would operate a piston which works the action.  As M1 Garands began to be issued and used, it was found that the gas trap system proved to be unreliable.  Thus the design was modified in the late 1930’s, which used a simple gas tube with a 90 degree hole machined near the muzzle.  By the time the modification had been accepted around 50,000 gas trap Garands had been produced and issued.  The vast majority of them were converted by 1940.  Today original gas gas trap Garands are a highly prized  item among antique firearm collectors.  Beware! There are a lot of fakes out there.The Gas Trap Garand pictured above has an estimated value of $14,000 - $22,500. -- source link

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