The M14 and Beretta BM59 are essentially Garands redesigned for select-fire operation and use of a detachable magazine. After WW2, many European countries made use of the Garand during the early days of NATO, both by rearming themselves with US Surplus/Aid and some Italian production. The Garand served in both theaters in WW2 and remained the standard US rifle in the Korean War, being replaced by the select-fire M14 Rifle in 1957, though Garands remained in service until the seventies. A survey of users during the Korean War found a small number concerned over the possibility, but far more deemed it a helpful reminder of needing to reload than a potential hazard. Much is made of the 'ping' sound that occurred when the metal clip ejects or lands on a hard surface, but this 'disadvantage' imagines that wars are fought as one-on-one duels in perfect silence, and was seldom a factor in reality.

Soldiers were drilled to fully expend a clip rather than attempt this in combat. The sharp closing of the bolt when a clip was inserted could result in the bolt slamming shut on the operator's thumb, resulting in a condition given names such as 'rifleman's thumb' or 'Garand thumb.' In videogames, the Garand is often depicted as impossible to reload without expending the entire clip this is not strictly true, as it is possible to eject a partially fired clip by pressing the clip latch button and operating the action, though this requires the use of both hands. The Garand features a distinctive loading method where the entire 8-round en-bloc clip is inserted into the action, automatically ejecting when expended and locking the bolt open for a rapid reload. The M1 Garand was the standard rifle of the United States military during the Second World War and the first semi-automatic rifle to be issued as a primary arm by a major armed force, officially replacing the bolt-action Springfield M1903 as the US Army's standard rifle in 1936.

Japanese type 4 garand