For some reason, gamers have it in their head that the M1 Garand is somehow "impossible to reload mid-clip". The fact that we know differently and allow the player to reload the weapon in Brothers in Arms has become quite the point of controversy. We get swamped with emails and feedback about how we're doing it wrong, so our military and historical director, Col. John Antal (ret.) has taken it upon himself to create this video of himself loading and reloading his M1 Garand. Actual visual proof that we know our weaponry.
Now, I know that Medal of Honor and Call of Duty do not allow the player to reload the M1 mid-clip. I've played them both, and enjoyed them for what they were. I won't presume to know why exactly they both chose to make an "un-reload-able" M1, but just because they did it doesn't make it fact. However, they did come out first, and it's hard to go up against that kind of precedent.
We've always been vehement about making Brothers in Arms authentic and accurate, and have gone to painstaking lengths to do so. The same goes for every weapon in our BiA arsenal. We go out and find the real weapons, get real life experience with them, and do our best to relay that experience back to the player in a truly authentic fashion. The Colonel actually owns many of the weapons used in our games, and has trained all of us on their use. We go out to the local firing range, learn the ins and outs of each weapon, and then get to blast away to our hearts content – following all of the proper firearm safety measures, of course. Even in secure settings, with trained hands under trained supervision, firearms are still extremely dangerous. Don't try this at home, kids.
To give you a glimpse into our experience with our weapons, here's a second bonus video of our Brothers in Arms story writer, Mikey Neumann, getting a lesson on how to properly fire the M1 Garand. Firing from a standing position is really tough; Mikey does a pretty good job. I'll tell you, the kick from that thing is pretty tremendous.
So there you have it. The M1 Garand can be unloaded and reloaded just like any and every other firearm. We're not crazy or just making this stuff up. We've seen it, we've done it, and now you've seen us do it. As Mikey would say, we have "shared this experience, and that’s what makes it true."
