The Italian Garand: Beretta BM59
The Italian army adopted the Beretta BM59, basically an M1 Garand chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO capable of select fire. It was about as successful as all the other select fire battle rifles adopted around the world (not very). From Wikipedia:
After World War II, Italy adopted the US-designed M1 Garand rifle in .30-06 (7.62x63mm) and also manufactured it under license. This semi-automatic rifle proved itself well during WWII, but in the late 1950s it was considered outdated and obsolete. The Italian military wanted a new rifle chambered for the NATO-standard 7.62x51mm.
Beretta designed the BM59, which was essentially a rechambered M1 fitted with a removable 20-round magazine, folding bipod and flash suppressor/grenade launcher. The BM59 is capable of selective fire.
I came across this Class III, full auto, Beretta BM59 on Gunbroker (The auction has since close). Click to expand the photos:
Want to comment MICA’s of march 9th, in the war we lost with the USA (thanks God), the official Italian side gun was the Beretta Mod. 34 in .380 ACP and it was considered adequate because the purpose of a pistol in the military was (and is) self defense. After the war the Garand was adopted but the Beretta was mantained until the 80s when was replaced by the Beretta 92 in 9mm Nato. During the war some hangun in 9mm was produced by FNA for special troops but the round it fired was the Fiocchi M38 dimensionaly identical to the 9 Luger, but about 20% more powerful because it was intended to be fired by the MAB 38 Machinegun (MAB=Moschetto Automatico Beretta), the FNA interchangeable magazine held 21 rounds and did not have a spring because it’s functioning was similar to a noria (chain of buchets). In 1891, when it was adopted the Carcano was not worse than a lot of contemporary long arms (including the Krag Jorgensen adopted by the US which was inferior on every respect). The outbreack of war in 1939 (1940 for Italy) cancelled the production of the semiatomatic Armaguerra 39 end the caliber change for the Carcano to the more modern 7.35×52 (very similar to 7.62 Nato) with it’s spitzel bullet (with internal alluminum tip and lead nucleus).
As a point of interest, there was a Master gunsmith in Columbus, GA, many, many years ago who converted the M-1 Garand to accept BAR magazines. He also converted a great many M-1′s to .308WIN and rigged them up with NM accessories – won a lot of matches…I think he was called The Garand Man, something like that.
Spiff
Mr. Myers please send me the name of the gunshop…. I just missed the auction and I want to buy it! my email is jhughes20042000@yahoo.com thanks
good thing we told the italien govement ok the bald shithead is dead hear,s your new rifle in trade we willl take the carcano bolt action pos and your underpowerd useless copy of the lugar and hand you boy,s some colt 45,s so what happne,s now our milatary is carying 9 mm bearetta,s you know it,s perty sad when the us milatary can,t do it,s wepon,s in conus ie in the us of a and now thay want to scrap the m 16 for a h&k futuer wepon a two fer with a 20 mm under hide and seek round and a 5.65 on top bullpup give me a miny 14 and a colt 45 slabside,s work,s and ya can,t killl it
I carried one BM59 TA (folding stock, fixed tricompensator) during my military service back in 1973-74. If You look at the magazine You will see two machined slots at the upper front they have the purpose of better guiding the cartridges in the chamber, BM59 magazines are sturdy and reliable almost impossible to accidentally bend the magazine lips, also very easy to reload bot when in the rifle or with the stripper clip loader (id. M14s one) that functions better on the BM59 mags.
When in production its price to the IT Army was just 30 % more of that of a Garand in 7,62 Nato and many parts were still interchangeable; it was conceived to convert the vast inventory of M1 in Europe to a more modern battle rifle with a reasonable expense.
You should also consider that Beretta approach to Garand conversion to 7,62 N was less costly than producing a new rifle as the M14 (that in his first years was not so reliable) whose development alone had a cost in 50s US $ of more than 30 Millions, Beretta spent a tenth to organize production+development.
I bought one new in 1981, I have about 3000 rounds through it, military surplus and commercial. I’v had several 7.62 battle rifles, FN Fal’s HK91″s and a 7.62 Galil, they are all gone and the M62 remains.
I did have a problem on a freezing day at about 6000 feet in the snow, we decided to plink at some cans, and the M62 went full auto, it was a lot of fun at the time. I have heard from other owners who had the same expierance in the same conditions.
The followers in my mags are stamped steel and hard chromed, all in all I think its a near perfect rifle with NM. quality sights. After firing mine a few times my brother found one for himself.
I believe less than 2000 were imported by Berben, which was Beretta/Benelli before Beretta USA came along.
Jim
I have one.
Bought it from a guy at a Gun show nearly 20 years ago.
It is a low number Beretta Receiver in Standard config.
It also came with the sales literture and a wall poster for prospective buyers to show how few parts needed to be added to convert a Garand to a BM-59.
It seems obvious in retrospect that would have been by far the cheapest way to quickly outfit NATO.
The Magazines are a work of art. The follower is a machined aluminum billet.
I did not know Cooper had one, but that is enough of a endorsement for me.
Very good article here
http://gunsmagazine.com/bm59.html
The BM59 has very little in common with the M14, only the base where it comes form, the Garand.
The BM59 is in facts a modified Garand, this because its creation was in Beretta’s intent (and in the final practical choice) the simpliest and cheapest way to substitute old Italian Army Garands with a more modern weapon.
P.S. Also wrote about it on my blog and cited source here, of course.
http://godgunsandgrits.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-it-aint-m1a-socom-its-italian-garand.html
The gun shop where I work finally let me list on gunbroker the Italian Garand we have, a Beretta BM-62, the civilian version which is semi-auto only, not selective fire like the BM-59.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=154421802
TEXAS_DAVE: Yeah, every now and then some arms manufacturer gets the ‘great idea’ to use odd proprietary mags for some reason. I’m not sure what they think they are accomplishing by doing that?
SEE: Galil, Steyr AUG, early FAMAS, Mini-14, etc.
The BM-59 is about 90% M-14 except for the parts that would make them interchangable.
Why the Italians didn’t design the BM-59 to accept M-14 mags is beyond me.
Yeah, that funky ladder sight is very similar to the old M203 sight (the forward mounted sight, there was also a different type on the side of the receiver).
On this rifle, it’s obviously for the rifle grenade launcher-why the flash suppressor/muzzle brake is so long and has the grooves in it. It also looks like it has the flip up shoulder brace on the butt-plate, BAR style. So coupled with the bipod, this set-up seems geared for the automatic rifle role. I can’t tell if it has a heavier barrel than the regular version, though.
I always liked these, though I haven’t shot one, as I am a big M14 fan. I always wondered though, why in WW2 the U.S. didn’t do a Garand using BAR mags? Seems like it would have been a pretty big improvement on the weird 8 round spring clips.
Having fired both M-14 (before going to Nam in 67) and the BM 59 (After I retired from USMC in 77) I believe I like the BM 59 more. In fact, I carried the M 1 for 5 years in the Corps. Have you ever seen the results of firing the M 14 after the Compensator has been bent ? Not pretty. Just an old jarhead’s opinion.
i belive i’ve seen a italian version M1 with a BAR 20rd. mag. adapted to it…anyone know any more on this? have also looked at a 223 converted grand with i belive a ar mag. done by a local shop thanks.
Both the BM-59 and the M-14 are used today and for sometime in the future. By both the US military (M-14) and the Italian military (BM-59) Both are the best rifle ever made in my opion multishot good round it fires 7.62 NATO and are utterly relighable.
Seems like a M14 to me. Got a Garand and love it but the M14 is probably the most perfect refinement. I will own one some day.
I bought this really cool item for the Garand. I will also fit the M1A. It fits in the receiver and holds the bolt open, but let’s me use my chamber brushes while it’s stuck in the receiver. Pretty Cool item. I thought I would share.
Steve
http://www.m1buddy.com
We have one of these in the gun shop where I work but not full auto, just semi-auto. I post guns for the shop on gunbroker but they haven’t let me post the Beretta M1/M14 so far. Owner says they ain’t tired of looking at it yet. Priced at $2,500 and so far lots of lookers and feelers, but no buyers.
Village Pawn and Gun Shop, Wadesboro, NC 704-694-6266.
I was less thinking “Italian Garand” and more thinking “Italian M-14″
An interesting anecdote I forgot to add to my comment earlier…
You can occasionally come across Beretta receivers on parts guns. Beretta did in fact manufacture a number of M1 Garand rifles between the end of the war and the development of the BM-59. I recently came across one at a public auction in Gettysburg, PA, and watched the rifle soar to well over $1500.
I was hoping to get my hands on it just because it’s an oddity, but not for that price I wasn’t! I walked away from the auction with two other Garands for about that much combined.
padalec,
if you mean the funny front sight, it’s for the grenade launcher.
The rifle is sexy.
What’s purpose of such strange iron sights?
My friend has thought about building up a M1 Garand similar to that, but still chambered for the .30-06 round. I really like the idea, but I am attached to the .30-06 round as one of my calibers.
It’s pretty interesting to consider the BM-59 had detachable box magazines when John Garand himself scrapped development of the T20. Then ten years or so down the road Beretta does more or less the same thing, only with their own proprietary magazines.
I’ve seen some professionally converted Garands that use magazines (typically in .308) and they’re pretty interesting. Sometime in the future I’ll have to do a bit of research into how to do it and give it a shot.
you do not believe the rifle was still in use by the end of past decade.
I remember, when I was a complement first-lieutenant in Italy, preferring the stock-less BM59 (para version) for armed services and range exercises. very difficult to manage in full auto.
Col. Cooper had one of these. I thought it was some kinda M-14 prototype like a T-22 or something at the time. Only one I’ve ever seen in person.