New Garand book mentions Johnson

[Ed Johnson 0]

As some of you may already know, Bruce Canfield recently authored a new, very extensive book, on the Garand Rifle. It was published by Stuart Mowbray, and is by far the most extensive work on that subject, which also includes material from the "Pugsley" files via Winchester. Bruce also devotes an entire chapter to the controversy involving the Johnson Rifle versus the Garand, much of it from Bruce's and our own "Johnson Rifles and Machine Guns" first published also by Mowbray in 2002.

I feel the chapter reads well in describing what went on and also gives a well balanced perspective from both sides of the argument on which rifle was "better." They were both different weapons, with different key features. Granted, most authorities appreciated the advantages of the Johnson 10 shot rotary magazine. But there were other differences and, yes, of course there were political factors that weighed in on the decisions.

When Bruce Canfield initially wrote an article on the Johnson Rifle in the July 1999 issue of American Rifleman, I immediately replied favorably to the editor, who then printed my letter in the September 1999 issue of AR. In that letter, I wrote about some differences with the two rifles:

"If you examine Dad's model of 1941 Rifle with the M1 Garand, shoot both extensively.... and physically handle both, the following is obvious. Because of the extensive wood which surrounds the barrel, the Garand was easier to handle in the field or with a bayonet, even after firing a few rounds to heat up the barrel. But...extensive sustained fire would heat up the Garand considerably, with no way to dissipate the heat. The Johnson was designed to dissipate the heat after sustained fire and had the advantage of quickly interchangeable barrels. However, this made it less useful in hand to hand combat...and.. the added weight of the bayonet (had the danger of) interfering with the performance of the recoil-operated rotary bolt system. So...you have two different rifles with advantages and disadvantages."

And out of the above interchange, Bruce and I ended up collaborating with historian Robert Lamoreaux and publisher Stuart Mowbray with input from collectors including Peter DeRose, Joseph Scott, Walt Liss and especially Website Manager Jim Pullen, along with many others, to produce the 2002 Johnson book, with a 2nd printing in 2006..

In any case, enjoy the new Garand book, especially if you are a collector.               Ed J