I'm headed to the CMP south store on Wednesday to pick up a service grade M1 Carbine.

I plan to try to find the best looking one, but assuming equal condition which brand should I get and why?

I voted Inland because it is the one I got (12-44).

So far, no issues.

I voted IBM, since I can't seem to see the results to my own poll without voting in it.

I think that brand wont matter, as they are all mix masters, and of equal quality.

I know that it won't matter, it's just going to be a shooter.  I am more interested in picking the best looking rifle.

If I have several that look good I need to decide which manufacture I want, hence the reason I'm asking here.  



 

Some say the Inlands are the most reliable. Get one and spend the extra money on ammo...and lots of it!

If you are looking for a good shooter one is no better than another in the same condition

Get the one in the nicest condition. Manufacturer doesn't matter. As far as value goes, anything non-Inland will be worth more than an Inland.

-Mark

The plan is to get one in the nicest condition I can find regardless of the brand.  Although I am leaning towards the inland due to the reduced cost.  

Is there really much variation in value since none of these are collectors items anyway?  I have been leaning a bit towards a non traditional firearms manufacture,

just for the novelty, but condition will come first.  



The real challenge will be making it out of the store without buying another Garand.  Which may be tough to do....










 

Yes, there will certainly be some valuation differences even given that they are mixmasters. Parts make-up and manufacturer still come into play.

Personally, I would look for the following:

1) Good, original barrel. US-made .30 Carbine ammo was never corrosive so this should not be an issue. Some manufacturers used a mix of barrels, so they may be harder to determine originality, however.

2) A solid USGI M1 stock. While the M2 stock is marginally better from a shooting perspective, the M1 stock has much greater value, particularly if you can find one with intact inspection stamps.

3) If possible, see if you can't find one with some earlier features - push-button safety, barrel band without bayonet lug, etc. These parts are worth much more than the commonplace later parts that appear on most mixmasters. This isn't a big deal, however, and you may wish to ignore it altogether.

-Mark

I had convinced myself that I wanted an IBM, just think it would be great to have IBM stamped on the receiver.  




But when I went to the store none of them caught my eye.  I ended up
with a 5 digit serial number service grade Inland.  Haven't shot it yet




though since they were out of ammo.
Mine is a little strange seems to be blued and has markings in front of
the trigger guard.   I'm sure someone here can tell me all about it.




And now pictures.








Markings in front of trigger












Stock Markings, not sure what the numbers mean, was told the W meant that it was a Winchester stock






Seems to be a good barrel






 

 

The numbers on the trigger guard mean your carbine was used by the Austrian police.

Certainly don't discount an Inland.  Inland made the most thereby dropping their rarity and subsequent collectibility BUT they had the most consitent high quality according to some M1 carbine experts.  They got through their growing pains and were still making more.  The makers of smaller lots were still figuring things out during production and borrowing parts off eachother and the army.  Inland and Winchester were made of mostly in house parts and are rated highly.  

bottom line is they all met the military spec and were approved.

Looks like a great carbine you have there. I picked one up at the NS two months ago. Just looking through them was a blast. I was one of the first in there and landed a nice '44 Inland. It was in a strong National Postal Meter marked stock (wartime replacement handguard).


I already had a racker shooter in a repro M1A1 stock.

I figured this thread needed a little more carbine porn