I know they made them. Anyone know where I can find a M1 Carbine in 9mm?

The only 9mm M1 carbine I ever saw was an Iver Johnson that I had to look back into my 1993 Gun Digest book to locate. I have no idea if these are still made or not. I haven't seen any if they are. The problem with these are magazines. There are plenty of 15 rd 30 carbine mags around but the 9mm will be restricted to 10 rds or less. If you can even find mags at all. I did try to load up some 9mm rounds in a standard 15 round .30 carbine mag. The rounds will double stack perfectly in the mag but leave about a half inch of open space between the tip of the bullets and the front of the mag. There is no way this could feed reliably unless the mag was somehow modified.

My recommendation would be to get a US GI carbine chambered in the original .30 caliber. You can find all sorts of parts for these and the .30 carbine is a much better cartridge than the 9mm. In comparison, the 9mm sends a 124 grain bullet downrange at about 1150 fps at the muzzle. The .30 carbine launches a 110 grain bullet at 1990 fps! That is much faster than even the .357 Magnum! With softpoint or hollow point ammo, these are pretty potent rounds. They also have better range than a 9mm.

If your heart is set on a 9mm carbine, do a search for the Ruger PC9 Carbine. These are very similar in size and looks to the old .30 carbines. They have synthetic stocks and take any magazine that their 9mm P Series pistols use. There are tons of those available, anywhere from 10 rounders all the way to 30 rd hi-caps. They are very reliable also, which is important if you are interested in a defensive carbine.I saw one of these at the shop a year ago which was priced at $350 new. This model also had ghost ring sights. The Marlin Camp carbine is another good choice here. They too use pistol mags, I believe from the S&W 5900 series. Great little guns.

Hope this has been helpful. If there is a 9mm M1 Carbine design on the market at the present time I am not aware of it. IAI makes a new carbine in .30 cal as well as .22 long rifle. You might be able to track down a used Iver Johnson. Even if it does exist I think you would be better served by one of the other weapons I mentioned. Accessories mean quite a bit when you start needing them.

If you really want a 9mm carbine, I can highly recommend the Ruger PC-9. Mine was very accurate (don't pay attention to gun rag "experts" who say it isn't) and reliable. It didn't have the ghost ring sight, though, because I just don't like ghost ring sights. I traded mine, though, for an IAI M1 Carbine, and I prefer it for it's lighter weight, greater range, and availability of parts/accessories. If 9mm is your thing, though, you won't be sorry with the PC-9; it's a damn good little gun.

While we're on the subject of M1 carbines in odd chamberings, does anybody ever had any experience with one in .221 Fireball?

55 gr. bullet at 3000 fps. out of a carbine always sounded like a winner to me.

There is a guy in Michigan who converts M1 carbines to several calibers, including 9mm.

A friend of mine bought one. It was a POS and he returned it.