Garand Thumb Blog

  • Standard Products M1 Carbine Revisited: The Abandoned Ohio Factory That Armed World War II

    The Standard Products M1 Carbine was built in Port Clinton, Ohio, inside a factory that later spent decades rusting behind Bassett’s Market. Standard Products produced approximately 247,160 M1 Carbines during World War II. The receiver marking was abbreviated STD. PRO., and the company’s only assigned serial-number block ran from approximately 1,982,520 to 2,352,519. That gives…

  • Aero Precision Is Back! but AR-15 Builders Shouldn’t Pretend Nothing Happened

    Aero Precision is officially back under new ownership. Ballistic Advantage, Stag Arms and VG6 are coming with it. Manufacturing is restarting, supply chains are being rebuilt and the new owners say they intend to clear the company’s substantial backlog. That is good news for anyone planning an AR-15 build, looking for an Aero Precision M4E1…

  • Bonnie and Clyde’s Whippet Gun Revisited: The Famous Shotgun Wasn’t What I Thought

    More than a decade ago, I wrote about shooting a friend’s legal-length Remington Model 11 Whippet clone. That old article became one of the most popular pages on this site. People continue finding it while searching for the Whippet shotgun, Whippit gun, Bonnie and Clyde’s shotgun and the cut-down Remington Model 11 shown in the…

  • The Glock 19X Is the Best Glock

    The Glock 19X is the best Glock. The Glock 17 is the traditional full-size choice. The Glock 19 is the compact pistol everyone recommends. The Glock 19X takes the best part of each: a Glock 19-length slide sitting on a full-size frame with a 17-round magazine. That combination makes more sense after shooting it than…

  • Can an M1 Carbine Give You Garand Thumb: or Pinky?

    Can an M1 Carbine give you Garand thumb? Not authentic Garand thumb. The M1 Carbine uses a detachable magazine, so its normal loading procedure never requires putting your thumb inside the action. If you somehow catch your smallest finger in the M1 Carbine bolt, you have earned the lighter and considerably less prestigious injury known…

  • Ruger Red Label III Review: Is It Worth $3,299?

    The Ruger Red Label is back from the dead again. The new Ruger Red Label III is an American-made, 20-gauge over-under shotgun available with 28- or 30-inch barrels and a substantial $3,299 suggested retail price. That price completely changes the question. The original Red Label became popular as a durable American alternative to expensive European…

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