Good News for Gun Enthusiasts as Iconic Firearms Set to Hit Market for the First Time

Gun enthusiasts received some welcome news recently as the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) announced that the U.S. government will be releasing more than 100,000 M14 service rifles for sale to the public for the first time. Additionally, the CMP expects to receive 438 vintage Winchester 1897 trench guns for future public sale as well.

The CMP is a federally chartered nonprofit corporation that teaches U.S. citizens firearms safety and marksmanship, with a strong focus on youth development. President Theodore Roosevelt created it as a military preparedness initiative in 1903, and it was run by the U.S. Army until 1996, when Congress privatized it into a nonprofit.

The surplus M14s are expected to go on sale in early 2027 for about $2,000 apiece and will be permanently reconfigured to be semi-automatic rifles. Further details on the batch of Great War-era Winchester shotguns are limited.

The M14 has a long and complex service life, and interest in this battle-arm is robust. Designed to follow the venerable M1 Garand (it’s basically a Garand with a detachable box magazine), the M14 was also originally envisioned as a replacement for the famous Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR).

However, as testing and trials played out, the M14 proved difficult to employ in a full-fledged machine gun role. It officially entered U.S. military service in 1959 but was replaced as the standard infantry service rifle by the famous M16 in 1967. Active procurement of the M14 ended in 1964.

However, the M14 is still used to this day, mostly for ceremonial duties and by honor guards. While it has one of the shortest lives as a main battle rifle for the U.S. Army, it carries the distinction of standing in overall U.S. service longer than any other infantry rifle.

Of note, Medal of Honor recipient Randy Shughart – who, along with Gary Gordon, gave his life while protecting a Blackhawk crash-site in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu – famously carried a modified M14 as his primary weapon.

All of this news is exciting stuff for those who are interested in antique and military surplus guns. But the release of these storied firearms from government stocks touches on a number of other important issues, including the nature of homeland defense; the criticality of firearms to that defense; the value of good marksmanship; and the inherent value of an armed citizenry in a free republic.

According to the CMP, the organization “traces its direct lineage to… the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP) and the National Matches.” The original intent of the NBPRP was one of preparation and readiness – to provide the American public with an avenue to learn and practice marksmanship skills should they be called to serve in the military and mobilized for war.

In fact, the NBPRP reported directly to the Secretary of War. Even after it was privatized by Congress, the core mission of helping educate the public on proper and safe firearms use still stands today. This mission is completed in part through periodic, government-sanctioned, legal, and monitored sales of excess or surplus military firearms from government inventory.

Of course, gun control zealots have had problems with the CMP, believing it to simply be a portal to arm the citizenry with surplus firearms. But if the intent of the CMP is to help familiarize the public with firearms so they are better prepared to secure the nation in a defensive capacity, shouldn’t those citizens be armed?

Those hostile to the idea of private gun ownership are constantly trying to make the case that the Second Amendment is really about a “well-regulated militia” – and they continually point to that line in the Constitution to make their point. So, if that’s the case, it would stand to reason that the CMP is one of the most important and valuable avenues to train, equip, and maintain the proficiency of the “militia.”

As far as “well-regulated” goes, in order to obtain a firearm from the CMP, one must go through a significant amount of paperwork, proofing, and adjudication processes – making CMP buyers some of the most thoroughly vetted gun owners in the country.

Additionally, if the mission of the CMP is to instruct Americans on basic marksmanship and safe gun handling, one must also ask: how can that be done without the guns themselves? For all the current messaging from anti-gun groups about “gun safety,” one would think that the CMP – an organization dedicated to responsible and safe gun use – would be held in great esteem.

Unfortunately, we all know how notoriously difficult it is to reason with those adamantly opposed to the idea of civilian firearms ownership. With all of their constant goalpost shifting, double standards, and cherry-picking, no fact or logical point will ever be enough to get the anti-gun crowd to accept reality regarding what actual responsible gun ownership in America looks like.

Efforts to ensure Americans are well-versed in proper firearms use, including for the common defense, should be of universal interest to all Americans. After all, the Founding Fathers did not craft the Constitution with a single party’s interests in mind.

That said, the anti-gun left and a majority of the modern Democrat Party would probably be aghast if they found out that President John F. Kennedy – a WWII combat veteran, National Rifle Association Life Member, and a dedicated gun aficionado and collector – actually received his M1 Garand from the program that later became the CMP.

The CMP’s existence, purpose, and efforts are in direct keeping with the Second Amendment. From the Minutemen of the Revolutionary War period to the modern era, the United States has had a fundamental tradition of defensive service performed by the “citizen soldier” – regular Americans who do their duty to protect our country.

Whether people want to acknowledge it or not, that duty is often carried out with firearms – from Springfield muskets to the M14 or an M16 variant today. As long as there is a need for our military to be populated with individually armed citizens, the CMP still has a relevant and consequential place in our nation.