Guess what? You can buy WW2 rifles from the government.
The "Civilian Marksmanship Program" is a private non-profit, but the government classifies it as a "government corporation hybrid." A Congressional document, leaked by Wikileaks, details how what was once a wholly, publicly owned and operated military wholesale program became this strange, incredibly rare "hybrid" company.
Here's how it works:
All the weapons, the M1 Carbines and M1 Garands (with that distinctive 'ping!' we've all heard in the movies), are owned by the Army, housed by the Army, guarded by the Army, and logistically transferred by the Army.
This "company," serves as the go between in order to distribute these rifles.
Now before you get your gun controlling underpants in a bunch: there is quite a rigorous screening process in order to obtain one of these bad boys. Also, the CMS only sells a certain amount per year, so they have a quota, and they stick to it, because all sales have to pay for operation fees.
If this isn't strange enough, these operation costs include marksmanship training of the American populace. They also have competitions and other forms of training.
And the kicker - the program was established way back in 1903 in order to "raise a nation of citizen soldiers."
The organization eventually developed 1,000 sister gun-clubs nationwide in order to qualify people to enter the program. Later on down the line, in the 80s and 90s, CMS came under fire for playing party to certain anti-government militias.
The accusations and less than desirable associations smacked of "military coup," regardless of the reality.
CMS leaders quickly dismissed these groups from all shooting ranges, but nonetheless, that bad taste remained. Which is why, in 1996, Congress enacted legislation to break CMS off from government control and make it this kind of private kind of public entity. This move ensured that CMS could simultaneously retain the ability to distribute warehoused government arms and train the populace, while distancing it enough to give government officials plausible deniability.
Stranger yet, if this company were to fold, all of its assets would remain in ownership of the Department of Defense.
They're still up and running though, so the fact remains: if you want an old WW2 weapon, the government is selling.
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