Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! As the U.S. Marine Corps modernized its infantry arsenals in World War 2 and beyond, it sought cost-effective .22 caliber rimfire trainers to instill marksmanship fundamentals. The Corps turned to an unconventional source – Harrington & Richardson’s compact .45 ACP Reising submachine gun. In 1943, H&R essentially scaled down the unique Reising operating system into a .22 LR semiauto carbine dubbed the Model 65. With ergonomics matching the new M1 Garand service rifle, thousands of these spartan .22s provided economical preliminary training for Leathernecks deploying into the Pacific campaigns. After VE Day, H&R tried in vain to market a sportier commercial version called the Leatherneck Model. But when the Marine Corps re-equipped with the M14 in 1958, the original Model 65 design underwent minor revisions into the new MC58 trainer. The key update was relocating the safety from a submachine gun-style rocker to a more intuitive thumb lever like the M1/M14 rifles. Around 3,500 MC58s were procured, with serial numbers suspiciously picking up where the earliest USMC Model 65 purchases seemingly left off. While an unconventional hybrid of subgun and rifle characteristics, the humble H&R Model 65 and MC58 gave the Marine Corps affordable rimfire clones that taught the manual of arms at a fraction of centerfire’s cost.
“This is an exceptional, as-issued example of a Harrington & Richardson MC-58 .22 caliber semi-automatic training rifle with U.S. Marine Corp property markings. The MC-58 was a H&R Model 65 with parkerized finish, an M1 Garand style safety and front sight. The rifle has a Redfield micrometer rear sight, 10-round detachable magazine, military style sling swivels on the stock and forearm and a military style oil-finished walnut pistol grip stock. “
Lot 1798: Harrington & Richardson Inc MC-58 Rifle 22 LR – Scarce Exceptional Marine Corps Harrington & Richardson MC-58 Military .22 Caliber Training Rifle with Sling. (n.d.-t). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/56/1798/harrington-richardson-inc-mc58-rifle-22-lr.
