“In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised.” LGEN George S. Patton, Jr.
The U.S. rifle caliber .30, M1 is an air-cooled, gas-operated, clip-fed, semiautomatic shoulder weapon. This means that the air cools the barrel; the power to cock the rifle and chamber the succeeding round comes from the expanding gas of the round fired previously; it is loaded by inserting a metal clip (containing a maximum of eight rounds) into the receiver; and the rifle fires one round each time the trigger is pulled.
Maximum effective range is the greatest distance at which a weapon my be expected to fire accurately to inflict casualties or damage. Maximum effective rate of fire 16 to 24 rounds per minute. Although there is no prescribed maximum rate of fire, a trained rifleman can fire 16 to 24 aimed rounds per minute.