Ohio Firearms

05/16/2026

Palma rifle build with a vintage USMC rifle team McMillan smear stock 🎯

04/30/2026

Some fresh rattle can for the High Power guns

04/14/2026

USMC M1903 #412764, documented to a mounted element of the 4th Marine Regiment during occupation duty in the Dominican Republic, November 17th, 1921.

This rifle is one of the more interesting USMC M1903s we have come across, particularly the Eagle, Globe and Anchor that is threaded into the stock cross bolt. The receiver remains blued, and has been drilled and tapped for a Lyman 48 rear sight. The barrel is a Springfield Armory 4-29, a typical era for USMC contract rebuild barrels. The Marine Corps specific .36 front sight indicates service until at least 1935, and the buttplate is stippled.

While the document this rifle is found on is fairly routine, an inventory of all sorts of items, the Marine who signed off on it does have a noteworthy service history. 1st Lieutenant George Rowan enlisted prior to WWI and would serve with 84th Company, 6th Marine Regiment in France. He would return to the United States with a commission, and retire after WWII as a colonel.

To learn more about USMC M1903 rebuilds of all eras, check out www.USMCweaponry.com!

03/28/2026

Have some down time over the weekend? Check out some of the new sections on www.USMCweaponry.com!

an online encyclopedia

03/28/2026

USMC M1 Carbine #34315, brought back from the island of Iwo Jima by B-29 Navigator Captain "Mal" Fleming shortly after the battle's end.

On the return from a bombing mission to mainland Japan, Captain Fleming's B-29 was forced to make an emergency landing on Iwo Jima due to a lost engine. Late in the battle, pockets of Japanese resistance had begun targeting the airfield, with the crew of Captain Fleming's B-29 being ordered to guard their aircraft in shifts. One noteworthy event, and likely the one mentioned in Captain Fleming's narrative is the attack on the 21st Fighter Group on March 26th, 1945, where several hundred Japanese defenders launched a banzai charge that was defeated by Marine pioneers, Navy Seabees and Army Air Force.

During his week on the island, Captain Fleming would befriend various officers, including a Marine charged with sealing off caves with demolition as some Japanese defenders still remained inside. This led to the opportunity to collect souvenirs, and while Japanese weapons - particularly swords were the most desired, Captain Fleming would grab this M1 Carbine which was found in a large cave complex with a mix of Japanese and captured Marine weapons. This particular encounter would end with Captain Fleming and the Marines receiving fire from a Japanese holdout, who would refuse to surrender and instead be sealed in the cave permanently by demolitions.

Captain Fleming would bring M1 Carbine #34315 and other souvenirs back home after the war, the stench of death and the incredible toll of the Battle of Iwo Jima forever etched into his memory.

03/24/2026

The M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun was arguably Marine Captain Melvin Maynard Johnson's finest design. The JLMG was primarily issued to the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment but would also serve with the Marine Raiders and First Special Service Force in Europe.

The Paramarines, Raiders and Black Devils who carried the JLMG were quick to praise it's dramatic weight savings over the standard issue BAR. A loaded JLMG weighed around 13 pounds, while a BAR weighed around 22. Both weapons had 20 round detachable magazines, but the side loading feature of the JLMG, while awkward in appearance, was much more favorable for quick magazine changes by an A-Gunner. This design also allowed for a magazine to be "topped off" by 5 round stripper clips after smaller engagements.

Considering the elite level Marines and soldiers who were issued the weapon, the JLMG was one of the first significantly issued "special weapons" of its time, not dissimilar to the weapons used by SOCOM today.

03/20/2026

Rock Island Arsenal M1903 #247786

This early M1903 is possibly documented to the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Machine Gun Squadron in 1923. An M1903 with this serial number is included in an Eighth Corps document stating it had a bad bore and ordering the rifle turned in to ordnance for a barrel replacement.

This rifle has a 1917 Rock Island Arsenal production receiver that has had its barrel replaced with an "A" stamped Springfield Armory 4-18 dated one - which fits the documentation and increases the odds that it is indeed the rifle mentioned. However, as with all M1903s in the duplicate serial number range, there is no way to be 100% certain outside documentation explicitly saying so.

As it stands, this is a very nice WWI-era M1903 that may have a past with the famed 1st Cavalry Division.

03/14/2026

Saginaw M1 Carbine #3330711

This remarkable M1 Carbine is documented as a combat loss to "Gunfire Support Craft - U.S. Naval Forces in Europe."

Gunfire Support Craft (GSC) were primarily built on "reverse Lend-Lease" landing craft from the British. Up-armored and loaded with guns and rockets, GSC were to proceed seaborne infantry and bombard coastal defenses from close range. Through coordination with their Shore Parties, GSC would knock out machine gun nests, strong points and targets of opportunity to help create avenues off the beach. Some GSC craft, like the LCT(HE) would intentionally beach themselves to provide Shore Party and Beach Battalion directed howitzer fire, while LCG(L) gunboats a few hundred yards offshore would engage targets with 4.7 inch guns.

Prior to Operation Neptune, the D-Day landings in Normandy, the sailors assigned to the GSC element were given special training in small arms. GSC sailors were assigned M1 Carbines, Thompsons, 1903A3s and 1911s primarily for defensive purposes. The combat they would face would be intense. Some craft would be sunk just off the shore, others destroyed on the beach. One craft, LC(F)-31, struck 800 yards off Utah would lose 54 of 72 sailors aboard. The dead would wash ashore for days. The considerable losses would not interfere with the mission, and the GSC crewmen would continue effectively engaging German positions until D+1.

Following D-Day, GSC would take part in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France on August 15th, 1944. This landing would be largely unopposed, and only one GSC sailor would be wounded in action with no ships lost. The command would be disbanded two weeks later as the need for amphibious operations in Europe had come and gone. It was at this time that a thorough survey of equipment would take place, as most GSC craft would be ordered stateside or sent to commands in the Pacific.

This M1 Carbine is one of several hundred weapons documented by GSC staff officers as having been lost to enemy action. The fact that the unit's only combat losses came on D-Day ties this incredible weapon to combat at Omaha or Utah Beach. It survives today, intact in its original condition, suggesting it was brought home after the war. A timepiece to a battle known as the Day of Days.

03/07/2026

USMC Inland M1 Carbine #517700, brought home from Iwo Jima by F1c Donovan Wagner, a sailor on the USS Lander. The Lander was tasked with transporting the elements of the 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division back to Hawaii as the battle came to a close. The 25th Marine Regiment saw heavy combat during the battle.

As detailed in a notarized letter and on video, F1c Wagner would purchase this M1 Carbine on the trip back to Hawaii from a shipmate who bought it off one of the Marines. F1c Wagner and another shipmate would be able to mail their Carbines home when ported in San Francisco at the end of the war.

After the war, Mr Wagner was photographed with his prized M1 Carbine, which he would keep until he was very old. As mentioned in his letter and in interviews, he always wondered about the Marine who carried it, as the left side of the Carbine shows damage from shrapnel - a testament to the savage fighting the USMC faced on Iwo Jima.

02/17/2026

82nd Airborne WWII kit