Early Winchester M-1 Carbine

[Retired W4]

I say early because this M-1 is from the first serial number range for Winchester, if you don't count #6-10. There were several changes/improvement during this period and this one is all Winchester, including the magazine. The oiler is marked IS (International Silver) which is very common, but everything that should be marked W (Winchester) is so marked. It goes well with my all Inland M1A1.

 

[Puller]

Very nice.

 

[H Richard]

I recall being at a buddy's house back around the mid 80's and he had just got a Garand through the DCM, (this is prior to the CMP program). With the DCM they only released about 8,000 guns per year and if your application didn't make it it sat until the next year. I think he had been waiting about 16 months. As he opened the box, and slid out the rifle, he stopped at the action and saw the Winchester on the receiver. Talk about a big grin!

 

[Jocko-44]

Very nice!

 

[Faulkner]

Very nice Winchester you have there.

I have been wheeling and dealing in USGI M1 carbines since the mid 1990's and of the 13 prime contractors who produced them during the war Winchester and IBM are my favorites. Not because they are any better than any of the other USGI carbines, I'm just fond of those two.

An interesting tidbit about early Winchesters is that their stocks had a distinctively flat belly in front of the magazine well. Once you learn to recognize the flat belly I find myself looking at wartime photos and can generally recognize a Winchester due to the stock shape. Late war Winchester stocks were more rounded and consistent with the other manufacturers, but none of the others had flat bellied stocks.

Also, many of the early Winchesters receivers and barrels were finished in Dulite which is much darker in color, almost black, when compared to the typical gray or gray/green Parkerized finish.