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Tell me your experience with the M1-Carbine
Mr. Perfect
Member, Moderator Posts: 66,381 ******
The M1 Carbine is not one with which I have much familiarity. Are they generally accurate guns? I have always assumed they were pretty reliable, but are they?
I've always liked the simple and sleek design. It just seems handy; like it would be a good gun to have behind the door for if there's an unwanted vermin on the place, I could grab it without much fuss and have a good "discussion" with the vermin and at some length too, if necessary due to the capacity.
A lot of folks say it's kind of anemic, but my use for it wouldn't be at some great distance, just out to the border of my place out the front door, to say 300 yards max.
What would be similar yet better?
Discuss.
Some will die in hot pursuit
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Comments
most m-1 carbines I've shot would do about a 3 to 4 inch group at 100 yards +-. all were reliable with proper ammo.
Sounds ideal for what you would use it for.Years ago when carbines were plentiful and cheap one of my buddies took his on a deer hunt and I admit neither of us knew any better.Back then there were few deer and short season.He shot a fork horn with the carbine and it ran, ending up shooting the deer 14 times and his brother put it down with a shotgun. Probably as much bad marksmanship as it was not enough gun.
At what range? Seems like a 30 cal would be enough for a deer. 14 times is a lot!
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
First shot was probably 50 yards or so.Those carbine rounds look more like pistol ammo than rifle.
I'm guessing FMJ and he didn't hit the magic spot. Bob
Is this one a good deal for today's market?
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
In today's market, that isn't a bad deal. Plainfields were made with govt. parts mated to one of their own receivers. Probably the best non govt. one that was made. The extremely high mounted scope leaves a bit to be desired though. I'd replace it with a red dot mounted directly to the rail and throw those high rings in the trash. Bob
Most M1 carbines are collectors and have gotten very expensive, and I haven't seen any ammo on the shelf for the last two years. Took me 120 rounds to sight the gun in and I scored very well at the M1 carbine shoot at the gun club about 8 years ago. After about 200 rounds the piston just about carboned up and you need a special wrench to clean it, like a full disassembly, otherwise they start doing funny things. Yes and they shoot 4 minutes of angle at 100 yards, expect to miss a varmit. Holding the carbine in the standing position was so hard to keep the bead on a target because they are so light you need a rest. Before the run on ammo, a box of 50 costs $29.00, now i bet they're a buck a round.
For less money the new Henry Homesteader is a semi-auto rifle that shoots 9MM, a lot less expensive to shoot and you can put a scope or a red dot type sight on it. You can buy them with a Glock well and use Glock magazines, if you don't want the Henry mags.
Thank you @thorhammer that's just the sort of info I want.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I have owned & shot a number of these carbines over the years and would consider those groups well above average. My best groups were attained by reloading with good bullets and 110/296 powder. I too have never seen one fail. They are fast handy and light.
I’ve have owned a Winchester two Inland’s, one a paratrooper model and one Plainfield.
They are what they were intended to be, a lite weight weapon to replace the M1 Grand or model 1911, where the Grand would have been cumbersome and the 1911 wasn’t enough. Mortar men, artillery men, clerks were some that the carbine was intended for use.
They are accurate out to 100 yards on man size targets, you can use out past 100 yards but they are not tack drivers. They are fun to shoot, no real recoil at all. With military magazines they are quite reliable, can’t ever remember having a jam once after firing thousands of rounds. Very simple to disassemble and clean, I have a gas piston wrench but never used it, almost all piston nuts are stacked and the piston it self is stainless steel. Most bores on military rifles are good account of 30 caliber carbine ammunition never used corrosive primers. With only 110 grain FMJ at 1950 fps velocity there is not a lot of stopping power, but for pests around the house it will do.
I have a Iver Johnson stainless version and I'm using in the same scenario that you described. The one I have has been extremely reliable as long as I stick with 20 round or less magazines the 30 round magazine are not reliable
Apparently not a great deal as there is no bidders with less than 30 minutes left...
I had an inland carbine and it was okay for close range varmint hunting. What made me sell it to my cousin was getting a marlin model 62 the M1carbine was good for what it was designed for.
My best friend, just gave me his dad's WWII issued M1 Carbine. I haven't shot it yet. Now my Brother in law, wants me to have my deceased FIL's M1 Carbine. I never shot one before, but they look like fun. I know absolutely nothing about them either, so I have been reading this thread. My FIL's needs some work. The action won't work, but the springs all look fine. I will have to do some more research and see if I can fix it . The springs are different then the other one. I had them both apart. One has one spring and the other has two.
Mr. P, I would say the carbine would work for you to protect your home, family and life in a hurry and maybe not hurt your neighbors if they are close by. It's really not a wimp when the enemy gets too close to the trenches. Just my 2 cents. ---------------------Ray
Appears to have been relisted at the same starting price.
I also see that LF has a nice one up for sale that is getting bids.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I think I would give one of these a look if I needed a pistol caliber carbine. If you already have a Glock, the carbine can be configured to use the same mags. Bob
Yeah, I guess I am on the fence about a PCC. It sorta does what the .30 carbine is, but not really. The .357 out of a rifle is about the same, but then rimmed cartridges don't feed super reliably in semi-auto. So, the .357 SIG might be a candidate, but I don't even see chamberings for that except on the happenstance rare occasion someone happened to build one for themselves and is selling it.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
There is a few 10mm ones out there that brings the power level up over the 9mm
not a lot I can add
I bought a universal manufactured copy around 1976 or so it was fun just to waste ammo never tried to shoot any groups but it never jammed
I traded it off at some point . skip ahead many years , maybe 25 yrs ago I bought a real nice underwood m1 carbine at a GS fired it a few times and its been it the safe since , as for accuracy. barn door at 100 yards seem common
for what its worth I have read some people like to keep them as home defense guns there easy to use . light weight , and up to 30 rounds of ammo . basic kind of what it was designed for close combat and fast handling ,
any way I have read many times the GI's were not fond of it the 30 carbine round (around a 38 special comparison what I always heard ) it would not take out the enemy ( Chinese ) in the winter the heavy cloth coats would stop the rounds from doing any real damage and they would just keep advancing however in the tropic areas of fighting they did better but no heavy clothes to stop of defeat the round
JMHO
Thay would make a decent home defense / truck gun as some use them for at one time the 1st one I owned was also my just in case home gun . but to me the gun is more of just a fun plinking gun and conversation piece or collector gun now I guess
I promised mine to my youngest son
there is lot better options to protect your self and house
as stated ammo has always been a little more hard to find just some else to consider
You may consider a AR in 350 legend basically it is 357 on steroids
I have one and it is very accurate and ammo can be picked up fairly reasonable
We tried that heavy coat sceniro out with a M1 carbine when I still lived in MO we put it around a fairly good size pig carcass it went straight thru with no problem we even frozen the clothing and it still made it all the way thru
Thanks
nice to know some one real world tested it
I have heard and read that statement countless times over my life
may have been a one time who knows who started rumor that took on a life of its own
I would guess just maybe if your shooting a 30-06 to protect your self , then a 30 carbine would not impress you
Most pretty righteous M-1 carbines are asking in the $1200-$3100 range and up. They have gotten collectable and thus largely over priced in my view. It is difficult to find a nice example with a correct parts (lot of sub-contractors involved). There are over 150 different markings on magazines for example depending upon who made them under which contract for which manufacturer of rifles . To a lesser extent the same is true with many other parts.
If you are just looking for a shooter Auto Ordanance makes a serviceable reproduction for less money new.
I would not consider the .30 caliber carbine cartridge a 300 yard deer load.
I managed to find 105 of the 150 magazines and have some spares, Mr. P. If you do buy one let me know and maybe I can get a couple to you.
My non issue weapon in Danang in 1966 was an Inland M-2 carbine with the stock cut off behind the pistol grip. Paul Hoppe and I were Chaplain George Sheldon's driver and body guard when he went out into the field to conduct services. I never felt under gunned with it. Hoppe and I both had our M-14's if need be. Chaplain was quite a guy, he was a fighter pilot in Korea before becoming an Episcopalian preacher. And, yes, he did carry a .45, but more than once he was thankful we had that 3rd long gun.
Many years ago hunters around here had to hunt deer on game lands, deer were very scarce on private land, really non existent. You had to check in and out at entrance roads to the desiginated hunting areas.
You were checked for licenses and type of firearm. M-1 carbines were not allowed due to lack of killing power.
My uncle had an M2 that was a real hoot to play with, it was the first full auto I ever shot.
Got an Inland Service Grade carbine from the CMP about 15 years ago; paid $550.00 if memory serves. As others have said, ballistics compare to the .357 magnum. Strictly a close range (100 yards or less) weapon. Of course it's a mixmaster of different manufacturer's parts but many of them were that way from the getgo. With factory ammo the best i've done consistantly is 6 inch groups at 100 yards. Not a tack driver but as a self-defense weapon it'll do. All I have is military 15 round magaxines, never had a jam, stovepipe or failure to function of any kind. Deb likes it. A lot. So, it'll never be sold in our lifetimes.
Good suggestions and info guys. Thank you very much.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I saw one at a Dayton, Ohio gun show years ago. That was the only experience I've had with one. I hope that helps. 😀
Joe
I own one and like it...... What else can I say.!! I have only fired it on the range a few times, so I can not add much in terms of the circumstances you mentioned in the original post..