A beautiful, powerful rifle, based on the classic M1 .30-06 "Garand." In its standard form, it has wooden furnishings, peep hole sights, a 22" barrel, a .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm) bore, and 20-round magazines.
It uses a
gas-diversion system, with a rotating bolt, which has
two locking lugs. While it featured a fully-automatic function, this was generally not used, due to the muzzle deviation produced by the recoil, which lent to user inaccuracies. In its semi-automatic fire mode, however, it is a very accurate
weapon, even without an accurized barrel.
Modern variants include the M21, M25, and M14 DMR (Designated Marksmans' Rifle), all of which are still in use by the United States'
Army and
Marine Corps. All of the above are strictly semi-automatic, outfitted with scopes, accurized barrels, match-grade sights, improved triggers, and generally include synthetic furnishings. Some even have picatinny and fore
grip rails. There are also civilian versions, called the M1A, by the privately-owned Springfield Armory, which has no connections to the
government-run firearms maker, which was shutdown in 1968, by the DoD.