M1 Carbine Question

roboman

Which are the most desirable M1 carbines for the purpose of collecting?

Which of the later clones are the best?

roboman

Can someone tell what this is on the butt stock of a Winchester Mi Carbine? I know Don, it's a brass circle with c18 on it. [:D]
Seriously though?

roboman

I was watching some Band of Brothers and Windtalkers tonight and I kept on seeing those nice little guns over and over again. I know Mark Christian is rolling his eyes but I just had a few questions about them. How do the newer models perform? The cheapest ammo I could find was something like 26 cents a shot so I was wondering if there was an cheaper ammo. Is the 30 Carbine round powerful? Any other information I'd love to hear. They seem like a steal with their prices. [^]

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"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long..."

trooperchin

Im assuming that when you talk about "newer" M1 Carbines your talking about the Universal ones? If so, Ive heard their crap and arent miliary issue. Ive never shot a GI M1 Carbine but ive heard there a blast.







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roboman

I saw some of those but also saw some IAI models as well. Would be cool to get a preban and throw a folding stock on their too.

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"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long..."

gap1916

IMI makes a very good state of the art M1 carbine. Very lite weight. Much much better than the 9mm carbine. Balistics much like the .357mag only at 100 yards. ie the muzzel energy of a .357 at the muzzel equals the M1 carbine energy at 100 yards. Not bad. my 2 cents [8D]

Greg
Former
USMC
ANGLICO

gunpaq

Try to find an IAI carbine or a good Blue Sky import (all US).
I picked up a Blue Sky last year and it is great but be careful to check them carefully.

The M1 carbine a great cartridge for the 100yard mark and this one I have is tops to bump fire in a very controllable manner. The carbine was designed to be a sidearm substitute for year area personnel. As stated prior, the round is similar to the 357mag with a little more zip and from plinking around the farm I have found it will penetrate oak boards better than the 357. the ruger Blackhawk in .30 carbine is awsome.

Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.

hdwrench

i have both a surplus and a universal . i love em both .

i bought the uni many years ago at a locsl dept store for 139 plus tax .it has been fun to shoot and own ! it accepts the same mags and goodies as the original . shhots well also .

the other is a rockola .that speaks for itself .

toolmaniam

My Dad has a M1 carbine, it makes a great grab it and shoot whatever out to a hundred yards gun. Like stated earlier, similar to .357.

A dead intruder cannot testify against you in a court of law!

If they're still moving, put another round in them!

bigdaddyjunior

There is an Underwood all original at the shop for $300. I wanted to get it, but I was there for a pistol and had no extra cash.

Big Daddy my heros have always been cowboys,they still are it seems

Rebel_James

I've got an M1 Carbine made by the Underwood Typewriter company back in WW2, with a paratrooper folding stock. I've had it since I was a youngun. Dad was a cop and was able to buy 2, and 2 of the paratrooper stocks, from the goverment, for 15 bucks each back when the military was changing from the M1 Rifle and Carbine to the M14.

They're a blast to shoot, kick bout like a modern AR15. As far as power, not really enough for deer, and way too much for rabbits and squirrels.


"If they won't give us good terms, come back and we'll fight it out."
-- Gen. James Longstreet

mark christian

It is a fact of life roboman that M1 carbine ammo is pretty pricey fodder. You can get the cost down to bellow 20 cents per round on a case purchase of good quality ammo like Sellier and Bellot and the CMP was selling surplus carbine ammo (1350 round case) at a price that worked out to 16 cents per round (I think it is all gone by now). Anyway that you look at it this is above typical plinking prices and that is about all a carbine is good for; They are fun to shoot and their light weight makes them easy to carry around and for most folks this is enough reason to own one. Consider reloading your own ammo (I like to use Winchester powder 296). I care nothing at all for the commercial carbine knock offs...it is GI or nothing for me.

Mark T. Christian

Invicta

Remington's web site claims 1990 fps and 967 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle for their UMC 110gr 30 carbine round so its pretty powerful.
Cabelas.com has 300 rounds for 72.99 = 24 cents per bullet.

bigdaddyjunior

Seems like you could load some 30 cal soft points or something to make a hunting round for them.

Big Daddy my heros have always been cowboys,they still are it seems

offeror

robo -- I agree, they are a value and pack a little more punch than a carbine that takes a typical handgun round. I bought my Underwood for under $200 in the 80s, and we are now fortunate to have the IAIs as hi-qual new guns, still reasonably priced.

Their popularity is such that there have been a couple consumer versions over the years; but the mil-spec guns are definitely the way to go for your first one, if only for the history. If a Universal or Plainfield fell in my lap for a good price, I wouldn't be afraid of it, but if I went looking for another M1 carbine I'd be looking military; the maker doesn't matter much to me as long as it's a mil-spec gun. In the military surplus, Underwoods seem plentiful, and there are Rockolas, Postal Meters, and the more expensive Winchesters, among other makers. The M1 carbine saw service in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam, though it got some criticism in Korea because the light round didn't penetrate the enemy's cold-weather parkas very well. Still, without the heavy padded coats, this is a good round and a good little carbine. So don't be put off if you run into a cranky know-it-all who feels compelled to dump on the M1 carbine.

I have an aftermarket folding stock for mine but frankly I find myself going back to the regular stock. There have been many commercially made folders over the years of varying quality. I think they want too much for most of them now.

I got a deal on a new condition mil bayonet. Mine came with OD sling and the oiler (that is needed to attach the sling properly).

The .30 carbine is more versatile if you seek out soft nose or hollowpoint rounds for it as I have done. 1800 fps and a 110-gr. bullet with an expanding nose will do for many of the more practical things. But the round is so common that every plain-wrap manufacturer makes it in FMJ too, so practice ammo should not be terribly expensive compared to many other cartridges -- more expensive than .22lr, certainly, but what isn't?

And the mags are plentiful and cheap -- 30 rounders for $15 or less. The 15-round stick mags are extremely reliable and go for around $8 --the military 30s are reliable and some of the aftermarket 30s are not, I've been told. So buyer beware. I would try to limit my purchase of 30s to mil surp.

It is a fun gun, mostly, that can be pressed into use as needed, and it seems to me nearly as robust and reliable in the trunk of my car as an AK would be, in terms of simplicity and reliability of action. Keep good springs in 'em and they will cycle and they will work after a period of storage. And pleasant to shoot too -- no recoil to speak of. Hardly any muzzle rise at all. It does have a rather sharp crack for my ears. I don't like shooting this one under a tin roof, as you find at some outdoor ranges, without muffs on.

I love mine and will probably always have at least one, even though I may pick up other guns first for most purposes. If nothing else, you can toss this to a buddy in a pinch -- anybody can shoot an M1 carbine pretty easily.

T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

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