American Rifleman M1941 Article

[TSMGguy]

The Model Of 1941 Johnson Rifle In Marine Service | An Official Journal Of The NRA (americanrifleman.org)

Have one, in original almost new condition. It works very well. It's probably a mistake to try to compare the M1941 to the M1 Garand since the only characteristics the guns share are their semi-automatic nature and the use of the Caliber .30 M2 cartridge.

The example that I own has proven to be both accurate and reliable. The ability to load the M1941's magazine with five-round stripper clips or single rounds is a real advantage. Whie the rifle has a last round bolt hold-open feature, it's far easier to load the magazine with the bolt forward. For this reason, M1941 equipped Marines often removed and discarded the hold-open mechanism.

Since the gun is recoil operated, cleaning is a breeze. You just remove the barrel in a ten second operation and clean the bore and chamber. The rest is a wipe down since unlike gas operated rifles, there's no powder residue left in the action after firing. While the rifle can be disassembled, there is really no valid reason to do so. Disassembly leaves you with small parts which could be easily lost in a field situation. Assembly is not intuitive.

 

The sling and scabbard in the pics are repros.

Edited July 11, 2022 by TSMGguy

[TSMGguy]

Remembering the M1941 Johnson Rifle - TheGunMag - The Official Gun Magazine of the Second Amendment FoundationTheGunMag – The Official Gun Magazine of the Second Amendment Foundation

[johnsonlmg41]

Nice articles. Not too many Johnson fans bigger than me, but boy there's some propaganda in that second article! That Betty is sure a good lookin' gal, no dispute there! I can't grasp the concept of hearing the "ping" in the middle of a battle, nor being close enough that you could hear it? Clearly as the shooter it's right in your ear, but 30 yards away I can't imagine it. Never seen anyone utube that concept from down range?

 

The recoil issue is huge between the two guns since I'm generally a fair weather t-shirt shooter and the Garand after 20 rounds is "not comfortable". May as well be shooting a K98 or jungle carbine at that point. My scoped sporter has a spare barrel bag with 3 additional calibers and you just swap them out. Supposedly at 100 yards they are ballistically similar enough no sighting is required. One is .270 and the other two I forgot? I have yet to try that theory out, but the concept is cool.

[TSMGguy]

It's always fun to speculate about what the M1941 rifle might have been had it been adopted as a standard US service rifle and been subject to extensive Ordnance Department product development and refinement. The concept was undeniably valid.