[QUOTE=rkittine;140779020]My M1 National Match Garand is legal in New York. They did not come with the bayonet lug. You can also get one now if the bayonet lug is ground off. With 8 round capacity and top load it is not even considered to have a magazine. It is awfully heavy though. Fine for 18 year olds to carry
My Springfield Armory Type I NM does have the lug if that makes a difference. At 10lb I doubt the Mrs will want to shoot it.
The SKS is about 1/2 the price, 2lb lighter and recoils less. Ammo is available and less expensive. 20 round top feed mag available

As long as you don't mind loading the magazine while it is fixed in the weapon.

Bob

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Sag Harbor & Manhattan, N.Y.

The National Match, Camp Perry versions did not have the bayonet lug to begin with. You can have it ground off to be legal in New York State.

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Sag Harbor & Manhattan, N.Y.

Right about top loading.
I love my Garand. Never letting it go. If it has a deficiency, it’s that it cannot be topped off. Don’t know about the SKS

If you live in a state where the AR-15 is banned but semi-autos in general are not, then consider a Mini-14. With a little tuning they'll shoot at well as the average AR-15, with the benefit of being less "scary" than an AR-15.





They have a lot in common with the M-1 Carbine in terms of the gas system and slide, as well as the M1 Garand style rotating bolt. They are not much heavier, have little recoil and fire the more substantial .223 / 5.56x45 cartridge.

I guess I will jump on in since I have a few of the rifles mentioned. I have a M1 Postal Meter carbine, Marlin 94 lever in 357 mag, Bushmaster AR15. I have also had in times past the following SKS. Marlin Camp 9, M1 Garand, Ruger Ranch Rifle. shot a Hipoint 9 carbine (junk). As much as I like the M1 Garand given today's choices the weight makes no sense. Same for the SKS. The hipoint is junk yes I know they have a lifetime warranty, but how much good will that do you in the SHTF situation after all we are talking hypothetically society has broken down. The Ruger Ranch 223 might make a good choice given the OPs home state. I kind of like the Marlin 94 357 given it is capable of taking a deer out to 100 yards (I have done it a few times) takes the same ammo as his side arm, and light enough to carry if need be. The M1 Carbine is not a bad choice either I have never shot a deer with one, but have heard stories of others that have. Some will not understand my final statement buy the rifle that best suits your situation now, because if it really ever does get bad there will be plenty of arms, and ammo laying around fight with what you have until something better comes along hypothetically speaking of course...

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Randy

Another idea that is mentioned here already is the Remington 7615. It is a 223 pump based on the 760 or 7600 that takes AR 15 magazines.

I have one and I love it.

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Let's be careful out there

My experience with M1 Carbines goes back to the late 1960's. There were many thousands of carbines in Vietnam used by police, popular forces, regional forces, and a lot of Viet Cong (the US delivered thousands of Springfields, Carbines, and Thompson SMG's to Ho Chi Minh during WW2 when he was leading resistance against Japanese occupation forces).

Great choice for short to medium range defensive use (out to about 150 yards in my experience). Power is limited, similar to .32-20 performance. Magazines are pretty easy to find, although the US surplus mags from WW2 and Korea are becoming a little pricy on the collector market. Note that the 15-round standard mags do not provide a bolt hold-open function after the last shot, but the 30-round (Korea vintage) do have this feature.

Not a precision shooting instrument! Standard carbines in the hands of experienced shooters are seldom capable of more than pie plate accuracy at 100 yards, but the Carbine is certainly easier to score hits with than any handgun.

I carried a M1 Carbine as a back-up piece in my vehicle during my 24 years in law enforcement. I still keep a Carbine on hand for defensive use, and it frequently goes along on road trips. Right at 36" long, slender without a lot of protruding parts, about 5 lbs. empty weight. Standard sights are decent for any use within the range and capability of the weapon. I keep an old GI-surplus 30-round Seymour mag ready to use, and a pouch on the stock with two original 15-round Inland mags, so 60 rounds are ready to go and easily grabbed with one hand.

Easily one of my all time favorites, and one of my "must have" firearms!

This just my personal preference, and I'm sure that lots of folks will disagree.

I don't like to leave loaded guns around unattended, so I prefer guns that can be loaded and unloaded very quickly. Because of that, tubular magazines don't work for me.

If the SHTF, for me it will be a Glock and an M1 Garand.