M1 Garand

The M1 Garand was the first semi-automatic service rifle to be adopted by the armed forces of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S. Patton, the Garand officially replaced the bolt-action M1903 Springfield as the standard service rifle of the United States Armed Forces. The rifle would serve the United States throughout World War II, Korea, and to some extent, Vietnam. The Vietnam war was the last time the M1 Garand was used in a military conflict. It was replaced by the M14 Battle Rifle, due to the M14's lighter ammunition, superior ergonomics, higher capacity magazines, and selective-fire capability.

Battlefield 1942
The M1 Garand is the primary weapon issued to the USMC "Engineer" kit. It is capable of high power at long ranges. Its small capacity and slightly long reload can be a problem in a large firefight.

Battlefield 1943
The M1 Garand is the primary weapon issued to the USMC "Rifleman" kit. It is capable of high power at long ranges, being able to kill in 3 body shots. Its small capacity of 8 rounds and narrow cross hairs can be a nuisance in close quarters, but a skilled player will be able to effectively get a kill simply due to its high power.

The Garand is fixed with a bayonet and a mount for rifle grenades.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
The M1 Garand is available to Battlefield Veterans upon release. It is available for all classes, belonging to no specific one, though its use counts toward achieving the Submachine Gun Pin, despite the fact of not being neithier automatic or firing of pistol ammuniton.

It usually takes around 3 center mass impacts to kill enemy troops. The M1 is a good weapon in terms of power and accuracy but is lacking in rate of fire due to its semi-automatic operation, and lacks any attachable gunsights. Its smallish 8-round clip is also a liability in a target-rich environment, and necessitates a viable sidearm. The Garand is much more effective in Hardcore Mode, as it is usually takes one or two shots to kill a target, greatly increasing it much better economy of fire than in Hardcore. It is recommended to be used as mainly either a novelty weapon or a medium to long range battle rifle due to its high power and long range. The M14 EBR is generaly recommended over the Garand considering they both have identical stats (contrary to ingame menus) but the M14 sports a slightly larger 10 round magazine over the 8 round of the Garand; However, the Garand boasts superior iron sights, making aiming considerably easier. There is also a similar japanese version used in the first level in campaign which has a square iron sight.

To unlock the M1 Garand, you must have at least a Veteran Rank of 1 (which means you must have played and registered 2 other battlefield games). Make sure you have an EA account on their website. After creating the account link your Gamertag to the EA account. The next part is to make sure your games are registed to the account (if you don't have another battlefield game, download Battlefield Heroes which is a free to play game which counts towards the Veteran Status). If your Veteran status is at 1 or higher, turn on your game and you should get a nice little message telling you that you've unlocked the M1 Garand. After all of this and you do not have the weapon turn off your system and wait about 30 minutes. If still nothing call EA's customers support line and they will be glad to help you.

Trivia

 * It is a direct equivalent (in stats, and nearly in appearance) to the IJN Type 5 Semi-Automatic Rifle.
 * In Bad Company 2, if you get 7 kills with this weapon, the game will award you a Submachine Gun Efficeny trophy, which is odd due to the M1 being a semi-automatic battle rifle.
 * All stars achieved with the Garand actual show up on the M1/A1 Thompson. This is a glitch and upon checking your Garand for skill level, it will still say 25 more kills till next Bronze Star (as it did in the beginning).
 * In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, players cannot currently fix a bayonet on the weapon, despite what appears on some online stats pages. Presumably, if enabled, this bayonet would qualify as a weapon attachment in-game.