Shooting the M3A1 Grease Gun
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2024
- The M3 (and its followup improved M3A1 model) was the United States' answer to the high cost and manufacturing complexity of the Thompson submachine gun. The M3 "Grease Gun" (because really, that is what it looks like) was a very inexpensive weapon with a stamped and welded receiver and only a few milled parts. It also had the slowest rate of fire of any World War 2 submachine gun at about 450 rounds/minute. Its weight, compactness, and controllability made it almost universally preferred over the Thompson, at least by soldiers who had to carry and fight with either of them.
The Grease Gun is reputedly extremely controllable because of its low rate of fire, but this is my first time to actually try shooting one. Will it live up to that reputation?
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Camera facing Ian: mild spring day. Camera over Ian’s shoulder: Siberian winter
Matt Hayward welcome to Maine! Just a few days ago it was in the 50s and the snow was melting. Yesterday we got 18" of snow.
That would be a warm and nice spring day in Siberia. You wanna talk about winter? Ian would have been a solid ice statue about half way into the video ;)
Camera facing Ian: looking at timber backstop and up in sky. Camera over Ian's shoulder, looking at snow on ground. Your point is? Only a Brit would whinge about something like that.
That’s Maine for ya
America for you
there just is something awesome about low rpm smg's like this. I love the thump-thump-thump sound. It sounds powerful.
SgtStinger
It's also save bullets.
Low thump of 230 grains lol
That it does!
Like a mk19.
Sorta like a m2 but not as loud and not $3 per round.
>sold for $34,500
that's the biggest markup I've ever seen lol
Bloody hell. Meanwhile an AK costs $15 in Africa.
Black Kitty yeah but are you willing to go to Africa to buy an AK
@@PorWik perhaps if the price is right
@Stanley Jedrzejczyk Every time I think of the Hughes Amendment I get pretty mad. By the time I've saved up enough money for the guns I really want, they could double in price. I should probably save up for an Ingram or Reising as fast as possible, seeing as they run around $6k.
It's a class 3 weapon it doesn't matter what else the price is going to be really steep.
Kid in the 1940's. "Cool! no more silly home made pipe guns for me. I get a real Military weapon if I join the Army!" Then the Army gives him this...
These guns been killin the enemy up until the gulf war man
Its crazy how good we were at tinkering back then but now since China makes everything and we have tv internet etc people don’t learn as much
@@gekyumeonfroy3102 Not as much as the Thompson and other submachineguns.
@@robertsutton3001 We also all used to live on farms with machinery that required much more regular maintenance, a need to improvise with what was at hand, and child laborers. Now a days you can design and 3-D print out a working gun, hell they 3-D print houses now. The future is electronic warfare. Cyberspace is the new war space. New tech brings new ways of tinkering.
@@robertsutton3001 What so then all the advances in science, arts,etc. isn’t learning?
I have always found something charming about guns like the Grease gun, Sten and PPS. Pure utilitarian design.
"charming" is kind of an odd adjective to apply to a firearm, but i was thinking the exact same thing . . . also, 'relaxing' came to mind. (tho not while in combat)!
Amen
@@hildebrand142 not an odd word. I also find these charming, and many others think the same, too
You just offended all mp 40 fanboys.
@@elvtars8813 I'm a fan of the MP40, I'm not offended cause the guns he picked are respectable choices
"See that cover?
Open it... and now you killin'.
Close it up... now you ain't".
Best job I ever had
This is an American tank we speak American.
Tell him it's a tool o' war
" A river there chief"
Short burst that way you harvest more meat per bullet
I spent 33 years as a tanker, and these were issued to us, 2 per vehicle on the M60 series tanks. Out of all the weapons I fired in that 33 years, the "grease gun" was the one I had the most fun with. Just watching those big, marble-sized slugs rip out of there and pummel the target was always a hoot.
Shooter marble you mean, im shure!! .45
We did an inspection of an armored unit in the Massachusetts National Guard in 1986 in Worcester Ma.They were part of the 26th ID (Yankee Division). They had the M3A1s in their arms room!
@@geodes4762 - We still had these issued to our tankers in the early 90’s in our armored cav unit. I was a 19D Cav scout, but I still got to qualify on one anyway. Would love to have one of my own!
@Chris Farrell I don’t think any of the SMGs had any great range but they certainly had more effective firepower than a pistol. I always cringe when I watch Combat and see Saunders try to engage Germans with his Thompson at great ranges! The SMGs are decent close in but beyond that I would much rather carry a “real” rifle like a Garand or an M14.
@Chris Farrell Yup. That 30.06 is a full sized, powerful cartridge. It has great ballistics and hitting power. The NATO 7.62 or .308 is very similar in ballistics and about a 1/2 shorter. I first qualified on an M14 which fires the NATO 7.62. I also own several 30.06 caliber rifles including a Garand, M1903, and M1917. You can hit targets all day well beyond 350 meters with any of these. At the end of the day, your shoulder will tell you that you have fired a “real” rifle and you’ll have a bruise to show for it. The Garand clip is not a big deal if you properly learn to load it. Good riflemen can do the reload very quickly. The sound of the ejecting clip is an urban myth and greatly overstated. The shooter can hear it for sure but beyond that I don’t believe all the stories that have been told about that being a big detractor. Perhaps if you were in a one on one close encounter in a building or enclosed space someone may hear it but certainly not in a firefight!
Adjusted for inflation the firearm should only cost $93.57 today. It was only $6 new.
Paul Frederick And a deal at that price. Wondering if the gov destroyed all the left overs.
@@Folma7 sometimes the bean counters get it right.
Folma7 Probably dropped them all off in SE Asia. I'd wager both the Philippines and Vietnam have a couple thousand somewhere.
@Ice Cube hahaha they out-Stenned the Sten.
The American cousins of the Sten
Ironically, the gun with the best barrel-preserving rate of fire also has the easiest barrel to replace.
the thing that impresses me most about Ian, is his unwavering professionalism, while remaining very chill and likeable. whatta guy
I remember that slow rate of fire of the M1 when I was stationed in the Philippines' in the 70's. I had several burst fired at me one night, for years I thought it was a Thompson that was used until years later when I heard a Thompson being fired, the rate of fire was to fast and I came to the conclusion that in fact it was a grease gun. It was not uncommon to hear fully auto fire near the perimeter, however it was normally M16 with Filipino Army or the AK's used by Communist rebels. There were lots of weapons from WW2 floating around the Philippines every village had a militia armed with M1 carbines. When I heard the first burst it was odd due to the unusual boom boom boom, I didn't realize they were shooting at me until I heard the second burst then those big 45's slug hitting the pavement in front of me and making a bussing sound as they skipped off the pavement. The next burst hit behind me, I never saw where they came from but they had to be literally lobbing the rounds from a good distance. I'm surprised the rounds got as close as they did. I was armed with a patrol dog, a 38 revolver and two slap flares, I didn't stick around for a fight as I had no cover and was out gunned. Just another exciting day in the Philippines', strangely it wasn't as scary as one might imagen.
Air Force Security Forces?
Military Police??
Soldier 💪🏻
You would be Surprised what the Philippine Marine Corps did to the Grease Gun.
They Modified it. Added a Red dot sight and a Built in Suppressor.
Mathew Rupp could have been a commie rebel or any militia with an M3 or M3a1 cause i assume at that time communist rebels had ww2 firearms from their prodecessors the huks during ww2 and the post war rebellion against the post war government as well as the AK’s and commie copied M14s(the famous ship incident in 1972) during the 70s Martial law period.
We carried 2 of the grease guns on our M-60a1 tanks in the '70s. The weapon is so simple and easy to clean. I loved it. It was like having a piece of WW2 history with you. Thank you for the review.
How much actual shooting did you get to do with it, and how much was officially sanctioned versus "we're hurrying up and waiting for the next 3 days and we're bored"?
We actually still had several of these when I was in the Marines 86-93. We used them for the motorcycle riders and in fact took them to Desert Storm with us. Really enjoyed shooting them because while like he said the sights suck its very controllable and a lot more comfortable than it looks. One thing the high speed showed that I hadn't realized is its a very rigid gun when firing. Having seen many machine guns/SMG's fired now on high speed I was expecting to see the gun and stock flexing but this doesn't at least not much. Useless trivia but interesting all the same. Thanks Ian
Wayne Hindes
I was wondering does the bolt bottom out at the rear it doesn't appear to looks like the spring is stopping the bolt before it actually hits end of travel. That would certainly smooth the gun out considerably if it doesn't hit in the rear like some SMGs do
it is rifled
donn kelley sorry it took so long, it didn't notify me someone had responded. From want I remember no the bolt doesn't hit the rear of the receiver during travel or if it does its a really light strike. Another thing is that its really heavy for a SMG, like 8 or 9 pounds so that absorbs a lot of the recoil too.
how dare you offer useful first-hand information about this firearm when I could read comments from a bunch of people who have no idea what they're talking about
How many civilians and children did you kill?
I know Ian goes to Maine a lot, but it was weird to see him in the snow. I'm so used to seeing him in the desert.
i cant help but imagine theres a little bit of climate shock going back and forth. I dont know how hot and humid the northeast can typically get during the summer so i wouldnt be suprised if it feels not only cooler but way less muggy as well, but its been a bit my memory may be way off
I really liked the episodes of InRange in Finland cause you saw them in front of green backround which was a bit weird but refreshing
tuhtols jesus came from the desert
maybe the auction house puts him up when he comes up?
+Der Kurfürst waiting that ian comes here in winter 😀 well up north not south.
I enjoy watching the hang time of the bolt in high-speed footage you can truly appreciate the fact there's no harsh slam at the end of its travel.
Great explanation and demonstration. Love how you were explaining things - you're very humble and explaining practical ergonomics as to how firing effects you (sighting, experience, and ease of loading) - and the history.
Friend of mine rented an M3 at a range once, and put a couple rounds in the ceiling after the sear let go and it ran away from him. Rangemaster was pretty ticked off until he fired it and the same thing happened.
For someone trained in shooting full auto firearms yes you are correct but for the sort of people that go to a range that have never fired one I can see how this could happen. My job was to test firearms to see if they function correctly I would only load 2 rounds in the magazine to prevent just such a issue. Don't be so quick to put someone down because they may not be as knowledgeable as yourself in the field of firearms. we live in a time when it's very difficult to Owen a firearm and a one-time only exposure can't make you an expert. If you want to blame someone that would have to be the range master for failing to instruct him completely in the working of a firearm. I'm sure it was a lesson he won't soon forgot.
We (M60A3 Tankers)had these in the National Guard circa 1989, sear let go or trigger stuck all the time. you just had to hang on, control the muzzle and ride out the whole stick.
@@luisp1174 Like the "Owen" reference. Fine SMG rep w/ Aussies.
@@dmacarthur5356 M60A3 tanker in Germany from 1987 to 1989. We used them to along with the 1911 45.
@@dmacarthur5356 Considering how wide the recoil iterations are it seems like a more forgiving weapon to have that occur on.
Looks like someone dismantled a bicycle to make it lol
That’s the point:
-Cheap
-Reliable
-Relatively easy to handle.
Yea, exactly. I don't know why but I love this thing. It looks like someone threw it together with spare parts in their garage. It's amazing.
One of the main manufacturers was the GM headlamp division. Headlamps, sub machine guns, whatever.
@@unnamed_boi In quantity the purchase price for the government was $6.
AFAIK, the unit price for a Grease Gun (in 1940s dollars) was $14. Pretty damn cheap.
So many firearms, even "higher quality" firearms wobble and flex as they fire (you can see it in the slow-mo clips) but this thing seems really solid/stable!
Bruh
@@quarol732 what's the bruh for? Is the wobbling a good thing?
@@meem4606 wobbling isn't bad, it's entirely expected and just a fact of firearms
Just found this channel props to the crew that produces this content. Including the host. It's not often you find people that make weapons videos with out being a dork.
Very approachable and informative. Beyond professional. Thank you.
Ian is the best gun channel host. No bullshit, no dubstep 3d graphics intros. No bombastic hot takes on what makes the better gun. Just a solid review. His takedown and history vids are similarly great.
He is a dork just a Firearms Dork some of us even wear glasses
I really like that scene in fury.
"Coonass run him trough that gun"
Open's the dust cover. "Now you killin'."
Closes the dust cover. "Now you ain't."
Eyeball
Nobody manipulated the M3 dust cover better than Steve McQueen in "Hell Is For Heroes".
Carried it when I was in the Military. Thanks for the memories.
lloyd bulman We still had these in our arms room in Germany in 1977. I talked the arms room Sgt. into letting me shoot it in the field. 2 mags through it with no problems.
The M3 Greasegun didn't leave service till the tanker's got updated from it after the Gulf War! He did a video on it as well as several vets I know have used it lol It has served many a soldier well in its day. Personally this would probably be the only SMG I would ever really be interested in owning if I ever were to get one (I'm not a fan of automatic anythings, but this one was really awesome)
Shot one at Fort Knox in armor officer basic in 86. However, they had been replaced in my tank unit at Fort Hood by M16A1’s by the time I got there.
How many civilians and children did you kill?
@@Horus-Lupercal all of them
We had these into the mid 90’s also. I worked at Ft Knox 94-96 fixing all the tanker/cav scout training weapons and in the consolidated arms room were about 50 of these that saw regular use. We also had about 10 M79s, which were also pretty sweet.
The rate of fire is excellent for control and the rationing of ammunition. It also looks like a great gun for left handed shooters as well. Watching the rounds ejecting in the video, shows them moving away from the shooter at the front of the weapon. I never had interest in these weapons, probably due to their look. Now I see what a great firearm they really were. Thanks for the video. 👍🏼
An oldie' but a goodie'
You'd be surprised by that old part, in US service they only went away with the M4 coming around, all the way up to the M1 Abrams era, tank crews where issued M3A1 grease guns , that's right, WW2 vintage sub guns sat in composite armored, depleted uranium sabot firing Main battle tanks all the way to the early 90s.
then it should have been named as the M1-LF
@@marbzirc376
Mother 1'd Love to Fire.
I wish they sold these at walmart.
ej732 I wish the Hughes amendment and NFA was repealed then Wal-Mart might sell them
only if you are 21 and up
Lucky Americans. Buying weapons like this legally in Europe is impossible. We can hope for a puny bolt-action rifle or a shotgun, but never functional weapons made for real use.
And there are millions begging to give up their rights to own them, crazy right?
Thord
I wouldn't say that bolt action rifle or shotgun's are puny. Tons of Americans choose a shotgun over an AR15 for home defense.
I was issued an M-3 grease gun while an Army tanker in the 80s. my favorite weapon of all time. nothing else comes close. controlled full auto, shooting a .45 bullet, and if your target is within50-60 meters, you win. I'm 60 years old now and can't see far anyway so I'm good with the M-3.
Carried one in the Army. First ever shot was way low. Told about bolt weight thing you mentioned by an older Platoon Sergent and shot expert with it. Loved it!!!
I thought it was interesting, while watching the high speed footage, that you could actually see the inconsistency of the ammo . The bolt did not always go back the same distance with every round fired and the brass was not always ejecting with the same amount of hight...
Mixed lots of ammunition.
My dad was a tank crewman, specifically a gunner, in M60A3's in West Germany, in the 1980's. He said he was issued a 1911 and a Grease gun as his personal weapons. I wish he was still around so I could ask him which version he had!
Ian Phillips They were issued the M3a1 version of the grease gun.
we had the M3A1 during the 1960's up into the late 1980's in our tanks (M48A3, M48A5, and M60A1's) 50AD 2/172A
We were issued the M3A1 in the 1970s- 1990s, two per tank in the M60A1/A3 & M551s. The original M3s had all been either upgraded or scrapped by then. I liked it- it was much easier to get in and out of a tank than an M14 or M16 and was easy and controllable to shoot. Plus it fired the same .45 cartridge that we used in our issue M1911A1s (one per crewman).
My dad qualified on the M3A1 in 92' or so, a few tankers were still issued them through the end of Desert Storm
Ian Phillips : All M-48’s and M60’s has two per TOE.
I was in the Army as a 19Kilo armor crewman the Grease gun was a tankers weapon. I loved it. Thank you.
Fired one of these at a range in Dallas today and it was a dream to shoot. Very controllable and easy to use and the trigger is surprisingly good for such a crude gun.
I love my M3A1. Its a great engineering solution during the war. Having issues with charging handle? just drill a hole in the bolt and stick your finger in it! I agree with you the front sight is not very good but typical for some WW2 guns.
Have there ever been any problem with the bolt heating? I can see that causing burns in long firefights.
Pekka Mäkelä: I was wondering about the same thing. You'd think after a while of continuous fire the bolt would be blistering hot.
brlbrlbrlbrl at least my rk62 and rk95 parts go hot with just one mag
It’s an Open Bolt Weapon so it’s Always Cooling
I have never had it get very hot no matter how many mag dumps I have done. The bolt has lots of mass and the 45acp does not have much powder in it vs the case size.
Rescued one of these from a downed chopper in RVN during my tour out by Ashua Valley. Rehap it and used as my backup weapon as radio op. The M-16 wasn’t the best for dropping NVA, this worked every time if they were close enough. Gifted to a newbie when we rotated to OKI!
The M16 ain't good for much of anything except jammin'.
@Mark Patino meanwhile with an ak12
You can give it some 0.50$ ammo and it will never jam
@Mark Patino the gun shoots
@@heidiholiday1879 Not anymore though. AR15s are fantastically reliable now but they did have issues initially beyond just the wrong powder charge in the ammo.
Don't tell lies Pinocchio
We ran into one of the M3’s while I was a National Guard medic on a range in the early 80’s. It would make your thumb raw to load the magazine. It was a lot more fun to fire than load. 30 rounds don’t last long. Some “just back from basic” truck driving recruits were qualifying with their 1911 45 cal pistols next to us. A few of them might have gotten a few extra rounds in their target.
I once shot "over expert" with 3 extra rounds in my target... thanks poor slob next to me... but didn't need the help.... lol... it's still funny 40yrs later.
Color me surprised as a unit Armorer in the US Army. Got to West Germany 1988-1989 and in the arms rooms there were half a dozen M3A1 grease guns for the M88 tank retrievers. Hated them, then got to shoot them. It's actually a favorite now and I would love to see an updated M3A2.
Looks and sounds very comfortable to shoot...
A friend was a tanker in the 1990's to early 2000's, he said the m3 that he was issued had started use in M4 Sherman's and was still being use in a M1A2 MBT. Don't know if it is true, but he has pictures with one from 1998.
The description is very apt. And when a war is on and all that’s wanted is the cheapest serviceable bullet hose (accuracy not being a first priority), this is what you get.
When I was a Ft. Bragg in 1981 going through Special Forces school the 82nd had M-551 Sheridans. The crews still had M-3's, a 50-year old weapon. It was small enough to not take up much room in the tank (space is at a premium in armored vehicles) and it gave them a gun to use if they had to bail out of the tank. I still remember seeing guys carrying the M-3, it was in the inventory all they way into the '80s.
While the STEN is simpler (presumably) cheaper, the grease gun seems to have struck the balance between simplicity and effectiveness far better. Of course they had the benefit of several years of war when designing it.
Thinking of the Kriss Vector(touted as low recoil, easy to shoot), it’s couple of pounds lighter but I wonder if the extra complexity is really worth it over the 80yr old M3?
th-cam.com/video/1HlAUsWaahU/w-d-xo.html
Vector is in a different category because it's closed bolt and this is open, but if someone had made a grease gun with rails, thread for a can and to run on glock mags it would be basically just as good, but for a fraction of the price.
And if we're talking full auto, then grease gun would win too, because ROF on Vector is ridiculous - Vector is good for taking down one enemy, grease gun would be better in a sustained firefight where you can't spit your ammo out in one second.
Sten guns reputation get hammered by the early rushed guns, the later mark 2 (Canadian), marks 3 and 4 where much better guns.
Forgotten Weapons perfect! 👍
The Kriss wins on ergonomics and sight options, the Grease Gun is much nicer to shoot (I have a lot of Grease Gun experience and only a couple mags through a Kriss.) I'll give the Kriss better single shot accuracy though, but that's not what subguns are about! Ian was totally right about the bolt mass being an issue with the first round fired from the Grease Gun, when we had my buddy's M3A1 at the range we would set up steel and practice getting off single shot bursts (there is no selector, full auto only) and getting hits. With a little practice it is something you get used to.
Ive always wanted one of these, that and the Australian Owen Gun. Something about how they were designed to be these things of pure practicality really is just interesting. That and they both look like plumbing fixtures.
1986, I was in the armory of a NM National Guard ADA battery that was still using M42 "Duster" SPAAG twin 40mm guns. In the arms room, they had racks of M3s.
I currently own a m3 grease gun mine is the previous model with a charging handle which I prefer over using ur thumb as a cocking handle. The gun is a pure blast to shoot and very controllable and reliable. They are however very rare and hard to find in a transferable status. This makes them very valuable about the same price as a non Colt WW2 Thompson. They are however way more rare. I would consider them an excellent investment and I have no doubt will increase in value substantially over the years. Great piece of history and a blast to shoot.
This thing is beautiful in its simplicity. I love smart, simple, and efficient designs.
Had the opportunity back in 1985 when I was 15 years old.
The .45acp version we had a ton of rounds to fire it was a great day I will always remember.
A friend of mine was a army engineer in Germany in the early 80s and his service weapon when he was in armored carriers was the first version M3.
I inherited my dad's tools when he passed away years ago. Out of all the stuff he had, one was a late 1930s grease gun. I've actually used it on several occasions and it does look exactly like the gun you've shown her. Thank you for posting this video
These were issued to my 8" Artillery unit (4/92) into the late '80s. We had the M110 Sp and every driver was issued an A1 and a Grease Gun.
I have always been appropriately jealous of your access to all of the historical firearms you have fired or handled and your depth of knowledge. I am a Californian so we are refugees when it comes to historical or exotic firearms. Your channel and others provide much needed access albeit virtual rather than actual. Keep up the good work.
The high-speed footage here is perfect for observing the kick from the bolt in a straight blowback. Especially compared the the MP5 which didn't move at all
Great video, brother! One of the best guns ever made.
I was a 19K when I was in the US Army and heard lots of stories about these guns, and how some units STILL have them! If they were to update the design to include a pic rail on top and switch the irons to a simpler blade and notch design, you'd have a very durable, powerful and easy to maintain and could make thousands for relatively cheap. If I had the option to carry one of these instead of carrying an M4 AND an M9, you better believe I'd choose this beast. Not to mention how great of boon to the grunts this thing would be during urban ops such as room clearing.
I get these videos in my recommendations right after dice releases a new unlock in tides of war in battlefield 5. Sometimes I wonder if there's an actual person sitting behind TH-cam's algorithm who's trying to troll people.
I just thought exactly the same 😂
Haha!
Just the way the algorithms work though, I think. They don't only show you stuff they think you are directly interested in, but also stuff that people with your general interests are also interested in. I guess after the gun was added to the game, a lot of people 'like you' were actively searching for it on TH-cam.
I loved it. Shot well for range within the 45 range. The first time I used it was training in Jungle Lane and had more than one magazine left over. A natural fit, hell on the pop ups.
“You look like a sten gun” is my new favorite insult
The large capacity American V-twin of SMGs, thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
Our own Sten?
It's just an MP-40 rip-off
@@MrDaftJustice Germany lost
@@joeblowe3180I think people just don't realize that in urban combat where distance doesn't go above 100 meters, it doesn't matter if you have an M3, Thompson, MP40, Sten, PPSH 41, PPS43 , every single one will be deadly and effective.
@@joeblowe3180Plus one bullet from the M3 will bring you down worse than a 45acp Colt let alone 30 lol
I just love the sound of the M3 "chugging" away!
That’s crazy how slowly it shoots, but it makes since. You can see that big mass of metal sliding back in forth in the slow mo shots.
I have fired this weapon . I carried one in the cupola of the M60A1 in the early 70’s. Loved it .😁
Fired one of those in Vegas at a gun range with that open bolt you can feel the bolt moving back and forward but super simple easy to use any farmers son would work out how to use it in a few mins no trouble
Nice. I remember Steve McQueen in ‘Hell is for Heroes’. As a kid this was the ultimate.
Next time you watch it note how the weapon keeps jamming on him. The movie went over budget and all kinds of problems arose from the cost-cutting - the blanks they wound up using were defective. Really pissed him off. That could have been a great movie - was damned good as it was, but ended abruptly. No money left.
Mr. S
I got to fire one of these in '74 while in the Army. It looked and felt cheap and had a good heft to it but I liked it a lot. Over dark ground on a sunny day I could actually glimpse for a split second those big slow .45 balls going down range. I would like to have one and yes, I preferred that slow rate of fire to the m-16.
Still in service in Argentina. There is a locally made version of this gun. It is called PAM (pistola ametralladora) here. A relatively slow rate of fire but I doubt wheter anyone would need more bullets per minute considering how powerful that 11.25 mm rounds are.
I carried a Greasegun for exactly one week while I was in Vietnam. It looked cool - but it was almost impossible to hit anything intentionally with that thing past about 20 meters and I was essentially helpless when the enemy was shooting at us past 100m. I also realized that the cheap little pig weighed exactly as much loaded as my M-14 - so I got my rifle back and sold the Greasegun to a SeaBee.
SeaBee would arguably have better use of an M3 anyway.
Sounds made up.
The gun wasn’t designed to engage enemy at 100m it’s a close range encounter weapon. 50 yards maximum.
Among the best sounding guns ever.
It’s so simple and crude by design yet it’s reliable and effective in its designated role gotta love it.
These were assigned to M578 recovery vehicle crewman in Desert Storm. Problem was that .45 ACP was in short supply along with spare magazines.
I did see a safety tab break off the folding dust cover as well. Probably just from old age
Oh, and I almost forgot, the ones I saw had a conical shaped flash hider attached to the end of the barrel. Not sure if it helped dampen the muzzle flash but it looked cool.
The M3A1 was still standard issue to US tankers all the way into Desert Storm. I know I saw M3A1s carried by tank crews in 1993 when I served with the 24th Infantry Division.
Fun fact: Delta Force got hold of a number of these, thanks to their very first commander, Col Charlie Beckwith. They got a bunch of suppressors too and were really well liked and called them unrivaled in suppressed use, thanks to .45 being subsonic. They used them, mostly suppressed, till they got hold of the MP-5 and SD models and replaced them.
Ex-Delta Force operator noted firearms historian and trainer Larry Vickers likes the M3 Grease Gun a lot and has said so in his videos for his channel. Maybe Beckwith is where Larry got exposed to the design....
A weapon I have always wondered about. Thank You .
Just want to say i enjoy your videos!
I was on an M88 crew in the 80's and issued this sweetheart....God i loved bring this to main gate guard duty over my M203 as the captain of the guard NEVER had any clue how to do an inspection of this thing.
carried one along with a 1911 sidearm when I was in the army
We had them in our armor battalion (4/35 Armor) in Germany in the 70s...it was the standard weapon for tank crews and other vehicle drivers/crews
Hello Ian. I am not a gun guy but a historian, specifically the period from the 1929 depression to 1980. I enjoy your videos on WW II weaponry especially.
As was once said on RCR, "I WAUNT IT!"
I always thought the grease gun looked like a really shitty MP 40
In many ways, it was far superior. You did not need to carry a separate magazine loading tool, nor a separate cleaning/tool kit. That was all contained "on the gun" with the M3/M3A1.
It fired 45 instead of 9mm so it had that going for it
Those double mag versions were quickly dropped as being too heavy and not providing much of a benefit in combat. Now if they had made a drum mag for them, it might have worked out better.
I think it actually was better than the mp40, however it is an ugly gun, but it works
I'd love to see you team up for a video with the slo mo guys, I think you Ian would really smile seeing some of your weapons being shot at insane fps.
Holy fudge bro another one out of the park beautifully done!! Love you bro keep up the good work “Happy corona Day”, be safe!!!!!!!...
It has the same 'thud thud' as a .50 cal on a tank... (Although obviously not as punchy) Sounds cool
A while back I got to fire both the Grease Gun as well as a Thompson, and an MP40 as well, and I really have to say, the grease gun was a joy to shoot compared to the Thompson. Maybe had I shot it (thompson) more I would have gotten used to the recoil. But man, does the Thompson ever kick upward. The shooting range I was at had a policy of hanging targets upside down when people shot the Thompson because everyone would always aim for the head and end up hitting the roof.
All that being said, the MP40 was absolutely beautiful to shoot. I may just be remembering it differently, but it honestly felt like I was shooting liquid, it was so smooth.
Why would the Thompson give you more stopping power? It shoots the same round as the Grease Gun...
Haha well you see, I'm an idiot. I was thinking about the MP-40 while writing that and I guess I got the calibers mixed and thought the Grease gun was shooting a 9mm.
Ha, no worries. I find it very interesting that the Grease Gun's slow rate of fire makes it very controllable on full auto, it's just a shame that the heavy bolt movement makes the first shot more difficult.
It's a very odd gun to shoot, that's for sure. But given the choice, I'd choose the Grease gun every time. The Thompson is fun and all, but the high rate of fire with the massive kick back really isn't ideal. I'm sure if you trained with it a lot, the recoil wouldn't be such an issue, but even still, I much prefer the Grease gun.
The key to mastering the Thompson is trigger control. If you can discipline yourself not to mag-dump it, it is surprisingly accurate and controllable.
Good video as usual from Ian. The M3A1 was a quite useful arm ( yes, cheap) that did the job.
In the summer of 90 a couple of the guys in my platoon at boot camp were 12F, and even then they still had a familiarization day with the grease gun. I didn't even know it was still in service at the time.
Shocked these aren't still being made today give how cheap, simple and effective they are
I had one of these when I was in South Vietnam. I had won it in a card game, much later the bolt broke and rather than hunt around for a new bolt I went and destroyed it with a thermite grenade.
Didn't stop a bunch of hooks shitting on the USA tho did it hshaaaaaa
@@MrCatseyes01 Oh shut up
Just lost $34.5K if you kept it!
@@MrCatseyes01 It's because he destroyed his M3. If he had gotten that bolt fixed, the war would've ended the next day.
@@theinstitute1324 "The bolt that lost the war"
nice demo. seems like a good rate of fire that allows it to be controllable and conserve ammo too.
It Has a Nice Sound to it As Well, I am Satisfied.
I just came here from watching the villar perosa footage; the rate of fire difference is astonishing.
Grease gun: tat tat tat
Villar Perosa: BRAAAAAAH!!!!!
IMO the grease gun was more practical a weapon in the field; Two or 3 layed down steady suppression fire, while M-60's were getting set up...
Difference between it and the sten is the common sense to have the magazine fed from below the gun.
There are merits and demerits. Side magazines allow complete prone, for example.
US built a weapon for fighting whereas the Brits built their weapon for hiding.
I love how simple it is.
That first shot thing you mention is a very common thing with open bolt weapons. It's also very noticeable (to me anyway) in the UZI.
All I can hear is heavy screaming “YA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA”
My grandfather was in the gulf war and he’s told me that tank crewman carried grease guns at the start of the conflict.
A lot of pretty sentiment for a POC! My family has had experience with this weapon in time of war and peace, and all involved have a negative view of this weapon. First My Dad carried one for a short time, and it discharged on 3 separate occasions by it's self! first two were when Dad was in the Philippines at Luzon, walking through the jungle and hopping down, the bolt jumped the sear and discharged a round. lastly for him he was a part of the occupying force in Japan and the Army ran jeep patrols in the foot hill areas. These patrols were 2 man teams and part of that was a M3, which went with the jeep. Once you got the patrol the new team would check the weapon and continue on with their patrol. On one occasion one of the new patrol members checked the M3 and threw it in the back seat, where it promptly discharge striking one of the patrol members in the abdomen. He was rolling around yelling, my Dad and the other members grab the guy and where trying to get his uniform off to check the wound. Luckily the bullet just clipped the soldiers side and his heavy sweater he was wearing held the bullet up again his skin as it circled around to his front, only ended up with a burn where the bullet passed. ...AND lastly my experience with the M3, I was in the Army, training at Ft Knox on all weaponry that went on a M60 tank, unfortunately that included a M3 for the driver. We went to the range to get acquainted with this weapon, I was one of the first to try to fire it, standing on line waiting for the order to fire, and when it came I pulled the trigger, and it started bucking, and when I let go of the trigger, it continued to buck ...I had a "run away" ...and it didn't stop firing until the magazine went empty. I saw 2 other incidents of this problem happen that same day with other soldiers. I was very happy to find when I got to my permanent duty station and assigned as a driver I was issued a M16!
What a nice sound. So many guns are just ridiculously loud and this one.....I'm sure is also super loud but still a nicer sound on the ears.
Open that cover. Now you're killin'. Now close it. Now you're not.
While it has a slower automatic rate of fire, it makes up with control, accuracy, and .45 ACP ammo!
The best carbine ever. LOL, I wonder if Delta still uses it for their selection course? Why? It's bulky, a beast to carry with no sling, and really easy to lose after about 14 hours of land nav. Wheryat, candidate? Right here, sir. WherYa goin? Right there, sir. where is your WEAPON, candidate? Uuuuhhh.... Go back and get it. Have a goodn.
this gun has one of the most awesome firing sounds
This was my issued fire arm when I was a tanker in the army, looked cheap, but very fun to fire...and controllable.