Shooting USA: History's Guns: The Grease Gun

[@williamstevenson4228]

I enjoy the history of Guns. I carried a M3 SMG , but it had a finger hole in the bolt. It was used to charge the weapon and still had the safety tab in the dust cover.

[@garylewis4838]

I was stationed at Ft hood, 597th maintenance company, 169th maintenance battalion, 13th COSCOM. This was in 1990. We had M3 grease guns in our arms room. We supported the apache training brigade and this is what they were issued as firearms as part of their kit at that time.

[@southronjr1570]

A good friend of my dads who was on his N-SSA (North-South Skirmish Assoc) team back in the 80's came over one day for some practice and range time seeing as we had built a 100 yard range behind our house. My dad had several registered full autos to include a 1928A1 Thompson, a Mac 10 in .45, and a M2 carbine. His friend brought over his recently acquired gun, an M3 Grease gun. They broke out all the full auto after practicing for the matches and his friend took dad's Thompson and proceeded to cut a sappling pine that had begun growing for a few years in front of the backstop cutting it down about every inch or so from the hip at 25 yards. He then took his M3 and backed up to 50 yards and did the same thing from the shoulder cutting the tree down the rest of the way. It was the best shooting I had ever seen in my life. His friend was a retired navy seal who had served 3 tours in Vietnam and still loved shooting after getting back.

[@leewaffe3]

I fired one at Battlefield Las Vegas, just outside Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas NV, and was a lot of fun to shoot. SMGs are really fun to shoot overall but the M3 is something special. The simplicity is what makes it so remarkable that can only compare to the simplicity and production rates of the PPS-43.

[@jamesp739]

Even the wire stock was an interesting bit of kit. The legs serve as cleaning rods to attach a bore brush and slotted to accept a patch. There were flats on the legs so the stock could be used as a wrench to unscrew the barrel from the reciever. There was even a tab to serve as a magazine loading tool on the stock. The pistol grip incorporated a small oil vial. On the M3A1, the cocking lever was eliminated. The gun was cocked by opening the dust cover, and drawing the bolt to the rear by sticking your finger in a hole drilled in the bolt. The bolt had two holes drilled in it, one for cocking, the other to engage the safety tab on the dust cover. With the bolt forward and the dust cover closed, the bolt was locked into the forward position to prevent accidental set back of the bolt. A pretty ingenius design for the times.

[@maureencora1]

I Always Liked the M3 Grease Gun in WW2 War Movies Like the "Dirty Dozen" & Steve McQueen "Hell is for Heroes".

[@Bayan1905]

My Brother in law got one of those that were in the first Gulf War. He was an Abrams tank loader and he was issued one when he got overseas. He said that the barrel was pretty much worn out in his and most of the bullets keyholed after about 25 yards but he said the gun worked no matter what you did to it.

[@garycornelisse9228]

No it never " replaced",the Thompson. At best, it was used instead of the Thompson, particularly in Europe. The Marines used the Thompson in the Pacific right up to the end of the war. I was in a tank crew in the 1960s, and we all qualified on the M3 as it was one of the weapons assigned to each tank. The M3 was very easy to become very good with, and of all the guns I have shot in my life, the M3 is far and away the most fun to shoot. Particularly, if you were shooting tracer ammo. Damn that was fun. And it was relatively easy to fire single shots, and you had to do that to be qualified.

[@danielschultz7304]

Very true never replaced..was just a cheaper alternative. Yeah not as flashy but did get the job done. Some inspiration was derived from the German MP40.. would loved to mess around with one

[@ricksaint2000]

I qualified with it in 1975 for a tank crewmen.

[@garycornelisse9228]

@danielschultz7304 Back in the middle 1960s, I worked in a gun shop in New Jersey, and one Saturday, an older lady came into the shop carrying two (2) MP40s. Her husband, who had recently passed away, brought these guns home from WW2. She asked if we wanted to buy them. Our shop was directly across the street from the local police station, so we directed her across the street. The guys were happy to get them.

[@danielschultz7304]

@@garycornelisse9228 love ww2 weapons

[@garycornelisse9228]

For sure.

[@petesheppard1709]

The M3A1 was even simpler. The cocking handle was replaced with a simple hole in the bolt, so it could be cocked by simply pulling the bolt back with a finger.

[@mikec5513]

Nice to see how the safety worked up close. My father used a grease gun in Korea. He said the safety was undependable. He told a story of laying down under some trees with his squad when suddenly the weapon fired several rounds. He didn't even know it was his weapon that had fired until his sergeant smelled each weapon. He swore he didn't even touch it. He got rid of it as soon as he could. Thanks for the video.

[@bobkohl6779]

Had one, loved it and it lovex my IPSC ammo wheb Thompsons didn't. M3 was accurate

[@WingWalker1]

Best product GM ever made.

[@richstone2627]

Good video on a great American firearm. Thank you

[@rexhinlo3398]

The Philippine Marines still use them. They have several suppressed Grease Guns.

[@craigthescott5074]

You’re way off on the value of the M3. Transferable WW2 guns go between $30K and $40K. You probably can get a pre dealer sample for $18K.

[@Mike-zw7fq]

Im enjoying the new content. Best Wishes from Montana! M.H.

[@Roy-uu4dg]

Was issued one . Was a field artillery mechanic. 1985_1990. 1st 2/5 field artillery.

[@ghilreese3413]

Thanks.

[@SuperColonel91]

They had Thompsons in the Korean War

[@mikemcginley6309]

It could fire single shots if you tapped the trigger. It was a great bit of kit.

[@messerist]

We were still issued them in the mid-90s

[@clownpenis6984]

I concur; 1995-1996 during the Bosnia deployment engineers still had them on board their CEVs.

[@greasyweezel9540]

Im looking at a picture oi my dad holding one during ww2

[@JoelMMcKinney]

4:47 ❤❤❤ RAD! 🎉🎉🎉

[@Night-Jester]

Cheap to make! Cheap to shoot! Expensive to own! Nowadays :)

[@Caje-zf8md]

Although the M3 was designed as a "fully automatic only" weapon, the shooter can, with some practice, fire single shots by slowly squeezing the trigger. The slow rate of fire (450) allowed the shooter to do this.

[@craigthescott5074]

I think you mean quickly squeezing the trigger. If you did it slow it would fire more than 1 round.

[@Caje-zf8md]

@@craigthescott5074 No. When I shot my friend's M3, the technique was to slowly squeeze the trigger up until the sear released the bolt to fire one shot then quickly release it. Something they teach you in any firearms course is never quickly jerk the trigger thereby throwing your shot off target. He was able to put his bullet strikes into the "Q" of a cardboard target.

[@craigthescott5074]

@@Caje-zf8md I actually own a M3 and it doesn’t work that way.

[@katana258]

had one in nam total junk single stack mags with weak springs ..

[@fredfuchs8904]

you should make longer videos👍

[@peaceraybob]

Do you think he is aware of the M2?

[@craigthescott5074]

I’ve owned both the M3 is 10 times more controllable than a M2 in full auto. M2 had longer range and was more accurate in semi.

[@kentr2424]

"Nothing quite like the M3 Grease Gun"??? I beg to differ......the STEN gun, along with the MP38/40, inspired the M3 sub gun....

[@craigthescott5074]

The Sten gun was totally junk compared to the Grease gun. The MP 40 is a great gun though, but they were both 9mm. M3 is Gods caliber 45 ACP.

[@jcnikoley]

“Could knock an enemy soldier backwards”. That’s not how guns work.

[@classicgunstoday1972]

It’s called Legend and Myth (not in the modern cynical way we view those words as being “stupid” or “unreal”)…and it’s based on truth that mere words and math can’t convey. The round and gun have a strong reputation among men in the field and terms like “knocking a man back” and “stopping power” convey that appreciation.

[@rbm6184]

@jcnikoley True. The only time I have ever seen a bullet knock a deer backward was with a bone strike in the hip. Large bullets can dismember but mostly bullets just punch holes and that is all they do. The .45ACP or .45Auto is a large round and is devastating on a target especially with hollow points or lead but like other rounds it just punches holes, large holes but just holes. Now what that large slow moving bullet will do to objects and bodies when it punches holes is pretty devastating.

[@rbm6184]

@@classicgunstoday1972 Go read Greg Ellifritz real world shooting data and be surprised by the myth of stopping power. Pistols are poor at stopping threats and all the standard calibers stop threats at almost the same rate including the magnum calibers. On the order of I think about 30 or 40%. A man recently survived being shot by 15 .45ACP rounds. Like any bullet, shot placement is everything. Not the size of the round. Only long guns with long barrels generate much higher velocity and muzzle energy and stop threats better.

[@classicgunstoday1972]

@@rbm6184 you are missing the point entirely. Mathematics, physics, theory, ballistic gel, books, experts are not real world battlefield experiences in real time by real men against flesh, bone, organ tissue etc. They can never duplicate battlefield results. It’s beneficial, we can learn from it and even have fun discussing it. I too have heard of guys getting hit multiple times with .45 and walking away. But we tend to get lost in those details putting everything under a microscope to a fault. (And this is not unique to firearm discussion. It’s more a cultural effect of modernity of thinking truth and understanding can only be expressed in literal terms. That’s why we use the word “myth” in a negative way now. But that’s another discussion.). We have lost our appreciation for myth, legend and allegory and what they teach. “The .45 ACP is the ultimate manstopper. That big heavy bullet will knock a man back!” is a myth. That does not mean scientifically accurate or 100% magic bullet but conveying a positive experience that men in the field have reported from WW1 to Vietnam.

[@rbm6184]

@@classicgunstoday1972 Horse hockey.

[@Steve-t2o8w]

American Sten gun cheaper production slower rate of fire made by G.M .

[@joeguzman3558]

First comment, yeah, I'm number one. First time in my life my mom used to tell me I looked like a number 2 .lol

[@johnqpublic2718]

Used to?

[@rbm6184]

Knock a person backward....... no. Bullets just punch holes even big ones but large bullets can dismember. Being cheaper it might have been used instead of the Thompson in the Army later in WW2 but as for performance it did not replace it.