Simply put, I am considering an M1 Carbine for home defense & frankly, there seems a myriad of conflicting info about the realm of reliability. To wit, I seek to cram my cranium w/ sage advice prior to pulling the (proverbial) trigger.

Please note: I am by no means bound to “Period Correctness;” quite the contrary. Ease of use, longevity, modularity; etc. is indeed my chief concern.

Thank you greatly.

I have been contemplating one for a awhile, seems like a fun shooter. Ammo cost and availability have been the only down side I can see. When I could just shoot my AR and stick to buying one caliber.

Why on earth would you do that?

Poor load options in an already poor caliber choice in a massively outdated design with no good way to mount a light isn't what I'd consider remotely within the realm of "bet the life of me and mine on it" territory.

Ease of use, longevity, modularity - the M1 Carbine offers literally none of these vs the AR15 or any number of other modern firearms.

And yes - I have an M1 Carbine, and love the little thing. It's great for taking new shooters out to step them up from a .22lr, but not a whole lot else.

Edit: I just looked up the best (only, if you're going to use it for something serious like HD) offering for a modern M1, the Fulton Armory, and realized it's $1700. And still no good way to mount a light, with ballistics only marginally better than a pistol. That's insane. That's absolutely insane.

Buy or build something like this. $700, so we've still got $1,000 left and we're already starting off better. Next up, grab one of these for $290 with a mount. Now we've got about $700 left still before we reach the base cost of the M1 carbine, so we're gonna go ahead and get ourselves a nice little red dot for $220, leaving, say, $500 after shipping/tax/transfer fees. Why not go ahead and pick up, oh, 3 of these and 100rds of the good stuff?

So now you've got a seriously capable setup with more ammo (700rds vs 0 / 30-100 vs 10-30 mags), better ballistics (rifle vs pistol), better ergonomics (by a lot), a light, an optic, more compact, near the same or lower weight - and we're only just at the same price of the M1 Carbine itself.

I'm all for people having whatever the hell guns they want. If you want a crazy range toy, get a crazy range toy - goodness knows I've more than a few of them myself. But the survival of you and your family, and the death of someone else - that's not the place for sub-par equipment. You and them are worth more than that. Let the M1 stays where it belongs - in history and at the range - it's boatloads of fun there anyways.

Not saying that there isn't, but I've never seen a reliable M1 carbine.

Colt 6720s are almost as light and they're reliable, so that's the route I'd go.

This guy pretty much nailed it.

I'll say .30 carbine ballistics are perfectly adequate for HD but the platform your slinging them from is not really practical when you look at modern offerings. Especially when you look at cost of M1 Carbines and ammo now.

If.you absolutely insist I'd strongly consider a Fulton Armory M1 Carbine. Not a 50 year old commercial ot worn out GI .

I'll be honest, I haven't had mine fail. But I've also never subjected it to even 200rds in a single day that I can think of.

I've never experienced a failure with my SAO 22lr revolver either. Doesn't make it a good idea for a defensive setup.

The two M1 carbines that I've seen used the most are owned by my brothers (I don't recall the grade). They were both purchased from the CMP and they were both about equally unreliable (about 1 to 3 stovepipes per magazine even with good mags).

Both had installed new replacement parts from Fulton Armory, action springs/extractors/ejectors, but neither of them became more reliable.

Maybe it was the ammo though... They were shooting mostly Aguila.

I’ve been contemplating one as a “dedicated” home defense long gun because for one, I dwell in a small apartment & I would prefer to not be rendered a duller version of Helen Keller via poppin’ off a 5.56 & such. Furthermore, with my boney backside pressed flush against the shower wall to the door frame (the greatest line of sight throughout my cozy digs) is not exactly a distance where only a Carlos Hathcok would do.

Oo la la!

A 110 grain softpoint will F your life up and it's short,  light,handy, soft recoiling and far better then a handgun, feeding issues are almost always from 30 round crappy or beat up mags, stick with good USGI 15 or 30 rounders.

What about a 9mm AR? Windham Weaponry has one coming out that takes Glock mags.

Then get a 300blk, as in the above parts list example. And/Or a suppressor. And/Or a linear comp.

The AR is still an objectively better platform. The 30car isn't exactly quiet either, and if you ask people who have actually been in shootings, most of them don't notice the noise and few seem to have any lasting issues from a single shooting incident.

Ballistics are ballistics, and a ballisticslly inferior round doesn't magically get better or stop sucking because it's closer. There's no way around it - the 30car is a glorified pistol round. Just, harder and more expensive to find and shoot. With less load options.

Pistols suck at killing people and stopping threats, rifles are pretty dang solid. Pistols aren't bad because of what they are, they're bad because of what they shoot. You put a pistol chamber in in a rifle sized platform, it's still gonna suck compared to a rifle. Can it work? Sure, probably, but having looked into the number of rounds it takes pistols to stop a threat vs a rifle I'll take a rifle every chance I get. As a civilian, home defense is about the only realistic time I get that as an option, so it's where I'm gonna take it.

If we go back up to the previous parts list - get the AR and the light, and you'll still have enough money left over for a Sandman K/S and tax stamp. There goes any debate about noise concerns. "But what about the 9mo wait?" Run subs from Lehigh Defense or Discreet Ballistics with a linear comp and you'll be quieter than the M1. Yeah, you'll be giving up ballistics doing this, but I'd still take it over an M1 and you can go right back to the 110 TAC-TX after your suppressor comes through. Or hell, just run it with supers and a linear - I'd still bet on that being quieter or at least as loud as the 30car - except the 30car doesn't give you the option of suppression (at least, not easily).

In the end - you can do what you want. If you want the M1, none of us are gonna be able to stop you from getting it and justifying the choice. But, since you stated "I seek to cram my cranium w/ sage advice," then as you can see the advice you're getting is that it's a dumb decision to run the M1 as a home defense rig - especially given the points you stated that you're looking for (Ease of use, longevity, modularity; etc. is indeed my chief concern). M1 doesn't hit a single one of these points. The sole thing it's got going for it is weight, which really doesn't matter at this role unless someone is physically unable to handle the marginal (if any) weight increase of an AR pistol.

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For what you need to do why not just get a basic Mossberg like this for about $350?  Pick the ammo to suit your penetration requirements.  It should also be legal in all 50 states.

Personally I would use an M1 Carbine for HD as long as it's had at least 500 rounds through it with 0 malfunctions.

Consider a Ruger PC Carbine.

Handles like a M1 carbine, takes glock mags.

Threaded and easy to scope and mount a light.

It’s just about perfect for home defense.

I agree with much of what's already been stated above and pick up a decent AR15 or HD shotgun.

Thanks lads! I have decided against the M1. I believe I will indeed stick w/ my initial AR & Mossberg duo.

There's no arguing against a rifle caliber carbine (or pistol platform), but they can be pretty brutal to the shooter as well with respect to concussive noise.  If you've never trained in an enclosed environment with an AR or similar rifle-caliber carbine, even with ear protection, they are pretty rough on the shooter.

I'm relooking the newer braced SMG-sized pistols.  Getting some trigger time and a little dynamic training with the MPX K and the B&T GHM9 9mm "pistols" with collapsible braces have proven very good options for home-defense.  Compact, handy, and very easy to get on target and put multiple rounds on target both more accurately and faster than a conventional handgun.  Additionally, it was much easier to train a novice, small-framed shooter (100 pound 18-year old girlfriend of my son) who has never fired a firearm before.  Within just an hour, she was able to accurately engage multiple targets at ranges from 5 to 50 meters with consistency.  She wasn't a speed demon on mag changes, but with 30 rounds, that's a good starting point for HD.  I only ran one box of 124gr Speer Gold Dot through the MPX and it ran without a hitch...I would be more than comfortable with that as my HD/bedside gun.

Additionally, such "pistols" make a more manageable platform for the addition of an RDS and light.  A 5.56 out of a short barrel will still out-perform a 9mm; however, a half-dozen rounds of 124gr JPH+P that can be accurately and rapidly put on target is nothing to sneeze at and it's much less concussive and abusive to the shooter in an enclosed room/hallway over a rifle-caliber round.  If I was to seriously consider a rifle-caliber, I would have to really rationalize suppressing it if I was going to actually do a lot of enclosed-environment training.

ROCK6

While I agree in 2018/2019 the M1 carbine isn’t the first on the list for HD gun..

I disagreee on most of the rest regarding its performance.. my father would disagree even more after his experience with the FFL in North Africa

OP,
For home defense you would better served with any modern PCC

Had one years ago and swapped it off, wish I never done it as I would like another and they can be pricey.

About 90% of the .30 M1 Carbines I've ever encountered were JUNK.

They were either shot-out G.I. mixmasters, which their owners wanted HUGE $$$ for, or they were unreliable, hiccup-prone commercial versions from 25-years ago. I'm not convinced recent commercial carbines are any better, with maybe the exception of Fulton Armory's pricey model. If you've got the coin, maybe that's your best choice.

But that's all before you consider the anemic-ass .30 carbine cartridge itself. It's junk.

I'd rather spend the same money and get a CMP Service Grade M1 in .308/7.62.

Reliable, accurate, and it shoots a real terminal battle cartridge.

The .30 carbine is ''anemic?" It's a replacement for the M1911A1 and Garand for behind the line troops and was liked well enough to be used on the front line and by paratroopers. 967 FPE [with the GI load] isn't anything to sneeze and and makes a .357 magnum and most common handgun rounds look downright anemic with very low recoil to boot.

All my USGI .30 carbines have been quite reliable and far from worn out. The barrels lasted far longer then Garand barrels to boot and were never screwed up by corrosive ammo. [save for some Chinese .30 carbine knock off crap]

I think you make a lot of good points.

It is one thing for a particular type of rifle to be good in concept and in its original form, but that doesn't mean that it's a good choice right now for civilians in the US.  We're not getting the same thing that came new off the assembly line in 1944.  The last time I shot a USGI carbine the bolt spontaneously disassembled itself.  The extractor hit me in the forehead and the ejector was in the dirt.

Garands just tend to work really well by contrast.  Maybe because the parts are bigger and there's a lot more mass and energy for the operating system.  Definitely not good for apartment defense due to overpenetration concerns but if it was all I had I'd use the 110 gr plastic-tipped varmint bullets like Hornady .308 TAP.

Just because it's better than most pistol rounds doesn't make it as good as a rifle caliber. It's still an awkward inbetweener. Would it do better than a 9mm? Sure. Would I take it over a CZ Evo? Honestly, no, simply because of the platform it's available in. Again - no good way to get optics or a light on it (light is a requirement for a home defense gun imo), and the ballistics for the size aren't that impressive. Would I take a 7-9in 300blk or 10-12.5in 5.56 over either of those? Heck yes.

Can it get the job done? Sure. Probably. Would I want to bet lives on it when I have objectively better and notably more viable (+cheaper) options? Of course not, that'd be rediculous.

It's easy to mount a light to any wood-stocked rifle.  All you need is a drill, some nuts and bolts, and a picatinny rail section.  Bolt the rail to the left side of the stock.

some of you guys need to tinker with guns more... with proper cleaning and a spring or too, I have gotten lots of M1 Carbines working with only a little effort, even the commercial variants that are less regarded.

biggest problem with M1 Carbines is finding ammo worth a crap, so much of its underloaded crap.  I have a supply of USGI I dole out whenever I have a gun that isn't running right, most of the time properly loaded ammo fixes the issues.  Crap beat up mags come in second.  Crudded up guns third.

that said, the Ruger PC Carbine has pretty much taken the role of M1 Carbines as a light handy defense gun in a typical 16-18" carbine configuration.  They are so cheap and handle much the same.

I've never seen a GI carbine that wasn't reliable assuming that the 60-70 year old springs had been replaced. I'm curious, Which manufacturers carbine, USGI or commercial and what ammo?

The two owned by my brothers that I've seen used the most are USGI from the CMP, I'll have to ask them who made them. Most of the ammunition used in those two has been Aguila.

All the springs were replaced with new springs from Fulton Armory shortly after they got them in an attempt to make them reliable.

Edit: One is a Saginaw and the other one is an Inland.

It sounds like you had a combination problem with the Aguila ammo, which is under powered, and then probably made it worse by installing modern replacement springs, most likely made by Wolff, which are not the correct length/strength for USGI M1 carbines.

A lot of uninformed people probably also go out and buy the cheapest 20 or 30 round magazines for their carbines, you know, because it tacticool and everything, but the M1 carbine is most reliable with USGI 15 round magazines.

I have had about 8 USGI M1 carbines and I rarely had problems with them. I can distinctly recall one that would consistently eject spent cases back on my head or in my face.  After a close inspection, I found a chipped extractor.  I changed that out and it worked fine afterwards.

I like the feel of a M1 Carbine but could not justify the cost of them for a house gun. So I bought a Ruger Mini-14. It is a Prison surplus GB model. Light, handy and reliable. Uses easy to get ammo. I also like AR-15 pistols in .300 Blackout. The subsonic ammo makes a good in the house caliber. PSA sells cheap ones that have been reliable for me. Save the M1 Carbine for fun.

I have no idea what brand the springs were, all I know is that they got them from Fulton Armory. The mags were 15 round USGI, some were brand new in the wax wrap paper covered in cosmoline.

I wouldn't doubt that is was the ammo and/or the springs though.

Well, that's one way, but it also depends on the particular 'wood & steel' rifle.

One example is with the M1 Garand and it's derivatives (i.e., 18" 'Tanker, 16" Mini-G). A couple of companies make a forward rail that replaces the rear handguard and bolts on firmly. You can then run a light, or a RDS, or a Scout scope - or some combo of those.

I mounted the Ultimak M1 forward rail on my 16" .308 Mini-G and am currently running a Sig Romeo5 RDS, along with a Streamlight pistol light on an .45-degree off-set mount. This set up works great.

I believe these same companies make forward rail mounts for the .30 M1 Carbine as well.

Aguila is the worst, pretty sure its loaded with floor sweepings and sawdust based on how weak it is.  The Russian stuff is a close second, it also seems underloaded and the steel cases aren't helping given the lack of taper on the case and no chrome lined chambers.

The only cheap ammo that may have a chance is Prvi Partizan, they seem to load everything up to the proper spec although can't recall if I have tried their 30 carbine ammo.

I have one commercial gun with weak springs, its the only that has a chance to make it thru a mag of the underpowered ammo.

If you like the looks of the Carbine get a Ruger Mini-14.   Much more potent caliber and for Home Defense it would be much better

Dont even have to go that much for a shotgun.. Knocked off 870 made in china

H&R Pardner Pump is 150.00 at Walmart.  Guntest gave it a good review

https://www.gun-tests.com/issues/22_8/features/Economy-Pump-Shotguns-5817-1.html#.XC9ruKl7mYU

Regarding M1 carbine reliability... Years ago i had a very worn Blue sky korean surplus version (bent barrel from stamping and poor bore) that I used as a host for my M2 trigger pack (class 3). After replacing the slide spring, it ran for 1000's of rounds with no malfunctions before I ran out of money to feed it... LOL. Bought a Universal M1 in the early 90's to replace it (it was virtually new, cheap, and was a 2nd gen gun), and it is still running fine after 3000 plus rounds, and again no malfunctions. Added a bare receiver/barrel combo to my collection and built that up with all used components other than springs (even have the slide from my long gone Blue Sky on it, HAHA). Runs great with 0 malfs after 500 plus rounds... All of these were/are fed using 30 round USGI surplus "J" marked mags and USGI 15 rounders. Also, except for the Universal, I had installed the M2 mag latch to support the weight of the 30 round mags. Ammo had/has been either PPU or NOS PMC, or original 68/69 USGI.... I really think that the key is fresh springs to maintain reliability, as well as quality GI spec ammo... FWIW

I know someone who has had pretty good luck with KCI mags

I still have the M1 carbine itch, Been thinking "what about a Mini-14?" looks like a M1 carbine kind of, Probably handles like one, plus the ammo is easier to get.

I have 3 M1 Carbines (2 Inlands and 1 Winchester) and feed them handloads. Never a problem and the things run like sewing machines. I use 15 round GI mags and South Korean surplus 15 and 30 rounders. I have a bunch of guns that people say are junk but they all work for me. Must be luck but I don't recall ever being able to say luck was with me, usually quite against me. I would use them for HD and not feel under gunned for a second. Hell, the dogs will probably slaughter anyone who doesn't belong here long before I could get my ass outta bed, and I can move fast when necessary....

You  will have made a fine choice in the M1 Carbine. Suggest an original one not one of the newly made versions.

unless it was US mags that was the problem.

99% of the problem with the carbine is the non OEM mags

OP

if you get one, make sure to go with SP ammo, add a light

Yes, the mags were good (some were brand new) USGI surplus. They also tested out a new 15 round ProMag M1 carbine mag just to see how it would do and it didn't do any worse than the USGI mags.

I have both a Mini 14 and 3 M-1 Carbines (1 CMP Inland, 1 "Blue Sky" marked Inland and a new production Fulton Armory one), I personally think the Mini feels nothing like the Carbines. I bought my Mini a couple years ago thinking the same thing and was disappointed.

As to reliability, the only issues I've run into over the years (I've owned several over the years, both commercial and a USGI Korean War bringback that was in great shape) has been either mag related or ammo (I've learned to avoid Aguila  over the years)

Mags people have to remember GI's considered M-1 Carbine mags a disposable item, I've read where front line troops would change their mags every week or so. I've had decent luck with these

https://aimsurplus.com/m1-carbine-30cal-15rd-magazine

I wouldn't hesitate to use the CMP or Fulton Armory Carbines for self defense with modern ammo. The Blue Sky I have I wouldn't only because it has a loose rear sight, it's about to go Fulton for some work. If FA does the same job they did on my new production Carbine I won't have any issues using modern self defense ammo in it.

As to buying a M1 Carbine over a AR for home defense or SHFT it's a no brainer, your better served with the AR or even a Mini. I like M-1 Carbines and have 14 AR's in the safe, I figure I have that covered and might as well get back into Carbines while I can

I have some and they work well.  The springs are noticeably weaker, it is much easier to load them, than USGI but they haven't been a problem for me.  Some people replace the KCI springs with USGI.  There was also at least one bad batch of KCI mags where the magazine catch notches were shearing off.