M1 Garand

Gen. George Patton proclaimed the M1 as, "the greatest single battle implement ever devised by man." Although today it is considered "obsolete" the M1 was the most reliable weapon ever issued to troops in the field, with the possible exception of the combat knife.
The M1 was the type of weapon that could be dropped in the sand during an amphibious assault, dragged through the mud, used as a crutch, and then as a baseball bat and still fire. Many troops were sorry to see the M1 leave the service with the introduction of the M-14 and later the M-16 which was despised as being made of cheep plastic and being unreliable (these problems were fixed in later issues of the M-16).

The M-1 is still used today by some Navy SEALS and other special forces, since they can choose what weapon they use unlike the regular armed forces.

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The biggest problem with the M1 was the magazine construction. The magazine holds 8 rounds, the rounds are fixed onto a metal clip and inserted down into the magazine well. This construction makes it almost impossible to reload the magazine when there's still some rounds left. Also, when the clip is empty, it ejects with a distinctive "clunk", telling the opponent that it's time to attack...

The Garand is still used, mainly as a parade weapon --because of its balance, it's well suited for juggling / rifle drill!