About 25 years ago I was a sub area arms officer at a mid sized station in the far north of New Zealand for 18 months. One day a detective came to me with what looked like a M1 .30 cal carbine that had been found at the edge of a drug plantation. It was fitted with a 30 round magazine.
Back then things were a lot looser than they became a few years later. It was common practice for shooters in the station to get offered guns found in circumstances like this for a donation to the station social club. The firearm would then be written off as “destroyed”. At the time NZ was going through a period of registering semi-auto rifles under a new MSSA (Military Style Semi Auto) designation. Because of the mag capacity (more than 7 rounds) this rifle qualified as an MSSA and I was the only one in the station with an endorsement to own it.
I took it home and gave it a good clean. That was when I discovered it was actually an M2 which had the selective fire mechanism removed. It appears (I can’t see the stamping properly under the rear sight) to be an Inland Division manufactured item and the S/N in the 737,000 range.
The obvious answer to how it came into this country was that it had been given away by, or stolen from, a GI stationed here in WW 2, or it was a Korean War trophy.
Anyway I arranged to have it registered on my collectors endorsement and got the necessary paperwork to order in the selective fire components from Gun Parts.
With the carbine back working in selective fire mode it went into my safe and really only came out to show it to very trusted visitors with an interest in firearms.
It is a condition of all guns held on a collectors endorsement that they be deactivated by removing a critical part and never loaded with live ammo. As I never came into contact with .30 carbine ammo I never bothered to remove a part.
The last time I showed the carbine to someone I discovered that the selective fire mechanism was not working as it should. With the current firearms legislation going through an abbreviated parliamentary process, and my brother reminding me of the requirement to deactivate it, on Sunday I pulled the carbine down with the help of YouTube to remove the firing pin. I didn’t have the bolt takedown tool so yesterday I dropped by the home of a retired engineer with a fantastic knowledge of guns who removed the pin for me and reassembled the bolt (without the tool I might add). Today I pulled the carbine down again and replaced the bolt.
On reassembling the carbine I found that the selective fire mechanism would work if I pushed forward on the select fire lever with some force.
Taking the action out of the stock again I found the rear of the lever was not pushing up far enough on the mechanism. I thought about getting the lug on the end of the lever soldered up but then had another thought. Peening.
Taking the actuator lever out again I placed the lug on the rear of my bench vice and tapped it a few times with a ball pain hammer. Reassembled again the mechanism works as it should, and it I am checked and asked about deactivation can truthfully say it is inoperable as required and show the part.
The carbine is a bit rough on the barrel and magazine, the result of rust after being left outside at a drug plantation, but all it lacks now is the barrel band locking clip and the front sling swivel.
Back then things were a lot looser than they became a few years later. It was common practice for shooters in the station to get offered guns found in circumstances like this for a donation to the station social club. The firearm would then be written off as “destroyed”. At the time NZ was going through a period of registering semi-auto rifles under a new MSSA (Military Style Semi Auto) designation. Because of the mag capacity (more than 7 rounds) this rifle qualified as an MSSA and I was the only one in the station with an endorsement to own it.
I took it home and gave it a good clean. That was when I discovered it was actually an M2 which had the selective fire mechanism removed. It appears (I can’t see the stamping properly under the rear sight) to be an Inland Division manufactured item and the S/N in the 737,000 range.
The obvious answer to how it came into this country was that it had been given away by, or stolen from, a GI stationed here in WW 2, or it was a Korean War trophy.
Anyway I arranged to have it registered on my collectors endorsement and got the necessary paperwork to order in the selective fire components from Gun Parts.
With the carbine back working in selective fire mode it went into my safe and really only came out to show it to very trusted visitors with an interest in firearms.
It is a condition of all guns held on a collectors endorsement that they be deactivated by removing a critical part and never loaded with live ammo. As I never came into contact with .30 carbine ammo I never bothered to remove a part.
The last time I showed the carbine to someone I discovered that the selective fire mechanism was not working as it should. With the current firearms legislation going through an abbreviated parliamentary process, and my brother reminding me of the requirement to deactivate it, on Sunday I pulled the carbine down with the help of YouTube to remove the firing pin. I didn’t have the bolt takedown tool so yesterday I dropped by the home of a retired engineer with a fantastic knowledge of guns who removed the pin for me and reassembled the bolt (without the tool I might add). Today I pulled the carbine down again and replaced the bolt.
On reassembling the carbine I found that the selective fire mechanism would work if I pushed forward on the select fire lever with some force.
Taking the action out of the stock again I found the rear of the lever was not pushing up far enough on the mechanism. I thought about getting the lug on the end of the lever soldered up but then had another thought. Peening.
Taking the actuator lever out again I placed the lug on the rear of my bench vice and tapped it a few times with a ball pain hammer. Reassembled again the mechanism works as it should, and it I am checked and asked about deactivation can truthfully say it is inoperable as required and show the part.
The carbine is a bit rough on the barrel and magazine, the result of rust after being left outside at a drug plantation, but all it lacks now is the barrel band locking clip and the front sling swivel.
Attachments
Last edited:
