I picked one up Friday at the Badger military show, I have had them before. This is a gun you either like or hate, I have spoken to Vets who used it in combat and loved it, and some who hated it.

I bought mine for when the Zombies/civil unrest starts, I have ARS and M1A and a garand and other military rifles, but I find the little carbine handy around the house. I normally keep a stock puch with 2 loaded mags and 2 30 rounders in a jungle clip handy just in case.

I have a friend a Korean war marine who uses one to patrol his property up north, he has had some interlopers and poachers and he keeps the same set up except his is in a paratrooper stock. He used one in combat and liked it.

I do know a Korean war vet who was in an artillery unit that got over run by the Chinese and he shot an enemy soldier several times with a carbine with no appaent effect, he then picked up an abandoned Garand and saw puffs of cotton on both sides of the other soldier before he went down. he kept the Garand after that.


I plan on several uses for the gun, mostly fun but protection as well.

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Stan

I traded for a March '43 vintage Winchester M1 in an after-market M1A1 paratrooper stock at a gun show a month ago. It is indeed a fun little gun, although my father was not fond of them at all. He once told me of his experiences with the M1 carbine in Korea, and how he had smashed his against a rock so he could get a M1 Garand.
While I was at the gun show, I bought the Ruth and Duff book, "The M1 Carbine Owner's Guide." This book is mandatory reading for every carbine owner. I also purchased the Army/Air Force technical manual for the M1 carbine series from Brownells (it was on sale for $3.94 last week).
I read on another forum that an easy way to carry a folding stock carbine was in a tennis racket case. Nobody pays attention to a gray headed guy with a US Tennis Open case over his shoulder. Little do they realize it has a carbine with 3 15 round magazines. It's the perfect car gun.

One of my brothers was an infantry RTO in Vietnam from 1966-1968. He said he eventually carried a folding stock M2 that he liked just fine. My dad was land based Naval Air Corps in the Pacific during WW2 and he said he traded his M1 carbine off the first chance he got. So yes, it's definitely a love hate thing.

You have to realize that during both WWII and Korea they were limited to ball ammo. That little carbine with the correct load nowadays is a whole different kitty.

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

Nowadays the biggest thing working against the M1 Carbine is the ammo costs. I recall 15-20 years ago one could find a wide assortment of mil-surp ammo and it wasn't much different than buying .22 ammo. Not anymore, it's all gone. Replaced with stuff 10x more expensive.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

I put mine in a Choate folder and replaced the wooden handguard with a metal one. Unlike the old GI folders, the Choate one will lock open. It does make for a handy package, though one that I'm still ambivalent about.

I was just shooting mine today. Its a beat up old Standard Products with a Rockola barrel, arriving here by way of Korea and the good folks at Blue Sky.



Ammo is painfully expensive now. CMP sells Aguila for $155 per 500:

Ammunition Sales

They also have carbines in stock - $419 will get you a rack grade Inland.

http://www.thecmp.org/m1carbine.htm

Count me amongst the "love it" crowd.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

My father carried an M2 in Korea and absolutely loved it. Today at 85 years old he still keeps an M1 behind the closet door as well as a 45 gov't by the bedside. I would not have wanted to tangle with him in 1952 and I sure as hell would not want to mess with him now. In his day , he dealt with Germans, Japs, North Koreans and Red Chinese who tried to take his guns { I might add that we have a couple of nice Lugers, a Mauser or two, a type 44 Jap carbine and a neat Moisan brought home from Korea} and if someone comes to take them from him tomorrow, I am sure he will add something else to the collection.

My Uncle was in Armor during the Korean conflict. He used a Carbine once when their tank had lost a track and they were stuck defending it from a large group of bad guys. It was winter and despite knowing he was getting close range body hits...they were not falling. He eventually grabbed a .45 acp "grease gun" and seemed to get better results...but not much better.

He eventually snagged a Garand and carried that...despite the much larger size.

FN in MT

I've never seen the appeal of them , but my Dad always talked fondly about them. He was a WWII vet , artillery , Battle of the Bulge combatant. Says he carried both carbine and .45. He didn't have much interest in guns , but never stopped me from buying guns or shooting. We lived in a secluded , wooded area , and when I left home , I left one of my .45s with him for home defense. He really couldn't shoot it as he had a bad wrist after a break. I later bought him a 'Blue Sky' M-1 carbine , a few mags and a few boxes of ammo. Not too long after , he was asking me for more ammo. He actually liked shooting that thing out behind the house.

Garand vs carbine? I'd take the Garand... if I couldn't get ahold of an M-14.

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A closed mouth gathers no foot

Inland 6-43




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M1A1 4-43




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Saginaw Steering Gear, Grand Rapids (Augusta Arsenal rebuild)

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"I also cook."

My late uncle was in Vietnam as an advisor (USAF com specialist) in 1961. He was armed with a carbine, I'm not sure if it was a M1 or M2. He was in country for about a year and was attached to a group of USAF and Marines. He said the carbine was carried more than shot but it stopped whatever it was pointed at....he helped set up com stations and I think microwave com stations. My Winnie was rebuilt and purchased from the DCM in the '60's.....I love it.

jumbeaux

Here is mine. As you can see, the photo was from a "meal protection thread"!



About 2000, I purchased a Springfield Armory receiver from SA on Commercial Row at the Camp Perry National Matches.

SA was going to assemble carbines from GI parts, assemble them on their receivers and offer an upscale carbine.

The economics were just not there. Existing parts had gotten so expensive they abandoned their plans and just put the receivers on sale.

I purchased one for $65.00 and was a fool not to pick up at least a half a dozen. Within a couple of years I saw them selling for about $250.00!

I purchased "all new" GI parts, most from Fulton Armory, and found a beautiful stock at a Tulsa gunshow which the seller said came from Anniston Alabama where they were using them was fire wood on the Army post before they were "rescued".

I spent a considerable amount of time rubbing coats on tung oil into the stock, collected all the parts and then sent the receiver to Riverbank Armory in California for a barrel and to have it installed and headspaced.

Here is the complete gun. Looks like new, shoots like new, feels like new and even smells like new! I couldn't be happier.

Charlie

P.S. The steak was tasty too!

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G.P. Charlie

I've had a fondness for M1 carbines for over 20 years and have acquired a humble collection of them and I used them to transition my wife and kids from .22's to center fire rifles.

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- Change it back -

I had about 20 of these at one time. I'm down to three. A Rockola and a couple of Inlands. I carried one on patrol for several years. One of my all time favorite guns.

I would love to have an M1 carbine. Problem is, everywhere I look I see more info about them than I could possibly process. All the different makers, stamps and cartouches, import marks, arsenal issued and so forth I wouldn't have a freaking clue as to what I was looking at.

I have always love the Carbine. I own a Mini-14 just because it resembles the M1.

I still carry one in M1A1 configuration in my patrol car.

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- Change it back -

My Uncle was an artillery officer (105s) Africa, Italy, and finally Third Army France and Germany. When I came home from advanced infantry training and was bitching about the 1911 and carbine, he took me out and showed me the light.
He was a gun nut his entire life, I don’t think he ever saw a gun that he thought was worthless.
He said that the WW II GIs liked the M1 so much that nothing but perhaps a BAR or Thompson was ever good enough. So instead of taking the Carbine for what it was, light and handy, they bitched and found an M1, which for all of its virtues is neither light nor handy.

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Ipsis Rebus Dictantitbus

I was armed with an M2 back in the early 1950s in the 36th Div. TxNG. Fortunately, I never had to shoot anything more aggressive than paper but I loved the carbine. After each qualification the RO gave a case of ammo to each of us who had an M2 and sent us to the end of the range to burn it.

My first exposure to the .30 Carbine was back in WWII when a GI friend of my dads brought two of them to our ranch. We used a hacksaw to cut an "X" in the nose of the ball ammo (field expedient expanding ammo). As I recall, we took a couple of whitetails with them while he was visiting.

Bob

My Zombie rifle.

Standard Products M1 Carbine with a few modifications.

I also have a stock as issued Inland. I love these little rifles.

In my lifetime the "utility rifle" (I'm talking here of the 'always with you' rifle that rides in working ranch pickups throughout Texas.) has evolved from a M94 .30/30 Winchester to an M1 .30 Carbine, to a Ruger Mini-14 .223 to an AR-15 .223. I don't have any statistics to back it up but that is my perception. Frankly, I am still very comfortable with any of those selections in that role.

Bob

Since it was designed to be an alternative or replacement to the 1911 pistol it wasn't a main battle rifle, rather a lightweight back up weapon carried by officers and non coms. In that function it served well. It was never designed to be competition to the M1 Garand.

I have a 1944 with all of its original parts. Great little rifle.

Attached Images

Inland_M1_carbine_1944_2.jpg (24.5 KB, 60 views)

An M1 is nice, but this is the one everyone really wants.

Here's a fairly rare M1 carbine from my collection. It's a Standard Products carbine, in its original configuration with all original parts, including the magazine. It has escaped being upgraded with sights, bayonet lug, rotary safety, improved mag catch, etc. It's just as most M1 carbines were issued during WWII. I get so annoyed when I see movies on WWII where they are using later furniture on the M1 carbines used in the movie about an earlier era - very few carbines used in the war had the upgrades, and then only late in the war.

This one is just the way it was. It was made in early 1944.

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I wish I had one with the Happy Lever. Mine is a NPM u marked receiver with a Springfield Armory 1951 barrel. Man I miss the 80's when they were imported buy the boatload

I have always wanted a M-1, but I too bought a Mini-14 because .223 ammo is easier to find. Iam not a big fan of the small .223 but with 2, 40 round mags filled with Hollow Points I think it will get the job done.

If you're using 40rd mags in a Mini, make sure that you have PMI mags. Those are the only 40s for that gun that I'm aware of that have a good reputation for working consistently.

I've shot a bunch of M1 carbines. They are fun guns.

Back in the '70s, I was a deputy sheriff and the department armorer. The chief deputy had an M2 carbine and had me clean it. I made sure it was REAL DIRTY first!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

My dad got an M1 carbine in November of 1965 through some type of NRA program. It is a Quality Mfg version. The gun is in outstanding shape. I think he probably has put a grand total of about 50 rounds through it. It has the sling, oiler, and all the goodies with it. We were having a discussion several years ago, and I told him that of all his worldly possessions, there were only two things that I really wanted to inherit, his M1 carbine and an old beat-up 16 gauge Winchester Model 12 that he bought new. That 16 gauge has probably had several truck bed-fulls of shells shot through it. Thankfully, he is still alive and doing well, but he surprised me one day by giving me the M1 and accessories. Anyway, sorry for the long story, but I found some really neat documents where he bought the gun. I attempted to take a few pics of the documents. Look at the price that he paid for it.

Those prices from the 60s will tend to fool you. Don't forget an ounce of gold was $36. The $400 carbine the CMP is now selling is less than that 17 buck one the NRA sold

When adjusted for inflation, surplus guns are as cheap or cheaper than they were in the 60s.

I'm really not being fooled, as I am aware of the effects of inflation. With that being said, I bet there are not too many people with a receipt where their pops bought one in 1965. Not trying to start a debate over which purchase would be the better deal, I was just sharing what I considered to be a neat piece of documentation associated with the gun that I currently own.

The M1 Carbines are nice rifles to be sure. I got a CMP Winchester SG a month ago and I happened to mention it at work one day. A couple of the guys spouted off at how useless they were and that a M1 couldn't kill and commie if it had to.

An old Korean War Vet happened to be standing close by. He said to think about this, 110 grains going @2000 fps is in the realm of a .357. Then he asked to 2 guys there how many commies they had shot. Neither had shot any or been in combat (not sure if they had even been in the military). He then said if the shots were less than about a 150 yards and with good shot placement the commies he met were no more. He said in his opinion the main cause for carbine failure was poor shot placement and trying to shoot to far. It was designed to be a replacement for the .45 not the Garand after all.

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Mike
USMCR 84-87, USAF 87-07

Take a look at the Cor Bon 30 Carbine DPX ammo.

Kinda pricey, but I have heard it is good stuff for serious use.

I have a gold plated one from Universal. folks have warned me that some of them were known to fire out of battery. Mine is of an older generation when many GI parts were used, and less likely to do so. But it's still hard to trust it...

I'd LOVE a good (and trustworthy) M1 Carbine. It's an exce;;ent up close rifle. It's light and hits as hard as a 357 Magnum, with good loads. Corbon has a DPX for it now, and Gold Dot has a load out too.

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NRA Life Member

Neat little rifles and they love cast bullets.

Although I've loaded cast bullets for the M1 carbine, I'm reluctant to shoot a lot of them. When you think about it, minute amounts of lead will get into the floating piston chamber and over time, foul it up. Then it's going to be a b*tch to unstake the retaining nut and un-foul it. Not worth the trouble. BTW, the reason all GI M1 carbine ammo has been non-corrosive from the start is that it's too much trouble to unstake the retaining nut when the floating piston fouls up from corrosion. Same deal with lead bullets. I've shot them; they work great, but you're going to pay the price sooner or later.

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

About 5 years ago , the CMP was selling genuine USGI Lake City M1 carbine ammo for around $5 for a box of 50. Sealed spam cans of 600rds were about $45.

Great guns, shoot up a lot of GI ammo and reload with half jacket soft and/or hollow points. It works.

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Tis better to shun the bait than to struggle with the snare.

well my 2 year,5 month old Grandson, Colin, discovered the "fine" attributes of the M-1 carbine this morning, he's holding a late 1944 Postal Meter built by Union Switch & Signal................

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dan
NRA Benefactor,PMA

I also have one of the 1960's NRA carbines in my collection, a Quality Hardware, but I'm not as fortunate as you to have the paperwork. My grandfather ordered it and set it back and never fired it, it is in absolutely pristine condition. He said that he and several of his friends ordered one at the same time and that all of them appeared like new or newly overhauled.

As the oldest grandson, my grandmother gave it to me several years after my grandfather's passing.

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- Change it back -

Notice the green color? These are not ordinary cast bullets. They are coated with my proprietary coating.....no smoke, no leading. Bayou Bullets

I have an older IBM M1 Carbine without the bayonet lug. I liked it until the first time I fired it. Then I LOVED it. Great gun.

Even though most of my experience was with the Garand, carrying the carbine for guard duty and mandatory shooting twice year on our post: just loved it.
Reflecting on the low-recoil and over-all size: purchased an Inland years later and I take it out to the range twice year. No problems for me up to a 100 yds.
What others have said about the cost of purchase today and ammo costs seem artifically produced due to the millions of carbines that were mfgd. Anyway, I think every household ought to have one when "all hell breaks loose" in your neighborhood....

I got mine from the CMP a couple of years ago and love it (I replaced the stock with their new walnut version).
The late Chuck Karwan wrote an excellent article about the carbine a while back in GUNS magazine. He mentioned that in his experience as a LEO, he had never had to shoot anyone twice with it.
Does anyone here have any experience with the new KAHR made clones?

My favorite was the M-1 Garand. You hit something, it was hit. Only downside were the 8 round capacity clips.

Got my hands on one around 1968 and they were a lot of fun to shoot out to 200 yards.
If you tried to "Lob" one of the GI Ball ammo loads out to 300 yards with
the poor iron sights on the weapon and there was a twelve mph wind at the time
the odds of a hit in the first five rounds were slim to none, until you got the
"Kentucky windage" down pat.

As noted, I am another believer in no "Soft lead" bullets down the barrel with
the gas operation system that is used..... but what do I know?

10 year old thread back from the dead...

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USAF 1981 - 2001

mine is #1,088,976. Almost all Winchester. More carbines were made than Garands in WWII. It's not a main battle rifle, it's a PDW. Think of it as a .357 magnum with a really long barrel. At the relatively closer ranges in the Pacific, the Marines loved them.

I love it when ancient zombie threads return to life. I have never been a fan of the AR design, would rather have an M1 Carbine instead, especially if loaded with expanding bullets. My "nasty" load uses the Speer Plinker bullets. Regarding effectiveness, ask Bugsy Siegel about that. Many years ago I worked with a retired USMC Colonel who had been through both the Pacific Island campaign and Korea. He thought the Carbine was a dandy weapon, said that everyone he ever hit using his carbine went down and stayed down.