​The modern M1: america's AK

The M1 is to America what the AK is to the former USSR and other Communist Bloc nations. Released in 1936, the M1 Garand precedes the AK design by 13 years. Dubbed "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General Patton, it has lost none of it's utilitarian charm even after serving in three American wars and aiding in the battles of numerous other nations. The two principal modern iterations are manufactured by Springfield Armory as the M1A and by Ruger as the Mini 14. Reliability wise the M1 and it's modern heirs are on a par with the AK47 and a tad superior accuracy wise. The M1 is the soldier's rifle whereas the AK is the guerrilla's. The M1 is for honorable men fighting against a great evil in defense of democracy, the AK is for every disgruntled rebel with a bugbear scrapping for an inch of personal turf on which to plant his fallacious flag. AK proponents will hate me for that opinion but having travelled the world's trouble zones, that's what I've observed. As a red-blooded American I am compelled to love American ingenuity, flavors and design...like Harley Davidson, the 1911, Chevrolet, Apple and Hershey's and not just because they're American, but to my tastes they are in fact better than their foreign counterparts. Why else have we been so emulated? And why the hell have American gun owners adopted the AK with such alacrity and fervor? Why have we embraced the Commie carbine over our very own war-winning battle-ax? Personally I think it's a sign of our aggrieved times, a symbol of our ubiquitous beef against modernity, but practically speaking why grab an imported stamped steel refab from dodgy Slavic origins when you can own an American thoroughbred, born and raised by fine American engineers, honed and perfected over the better part of eight decades and available for only a few dollars more than the budget AK. If we step up our demand, cost will come down but we first have to fall out of love with the highly overrated AK and rediscover an avidity for American-made greatness. Ed.