I don't know why I am struck with this, I have an awesome Colt 6731 that I love, but for some reason I am just feining for a M1 Carbine.  Anybody know why?  Should I get one or get another AR, what do you guys think?

TIA

Personally I find the carbine too short and the round anemic at best. For fun target shooting at the range and sentimental value buy the carbine. If you plan on anything serious get the AR.

Good luck

If you already have an AR, then it would not be an awful thing to fill your M1 Carbine desires. My first gun as a teenager was a .22 caliber semi auto rifle purchased through Sears (I believe it was made by Savage-Stevens). Soon after I ended up getting another rifle via Sears, this time a commercial M1 Carbine (made by Universal of Hialeah FL). IMO, the Universal M1 Carbines were a mickey mouse quality firearm, but it was the start of a love affair with the neat little carbines. As the years went by, I ended up owning other M1 Carbines, including other commercial made guns (such as Iver Johnson), and more quality military guns (such as Saginaw and Winchester). I currently don't own an M1 Carbine, but something always draws me back to them. No, they are not typically going to be the greatest of shooters in accuracy. They do not shoot the most powerful round on the block, and they are definitely not a modern black rifle design, but my draw to them is there nonetheless. The gun was designed to be a substitute/replacement for the 1911-A1 pistols, not designed as a main battle rifle. To look down on the guns ballistics is not a fair thing to do, since one cannot and should not compare it with traditional rifle cartridges. IMO, they are fun, they are neat looking, they are low recoiling, they tend to be reliable (the real ones anyway), and my father used one quite a bit during his tour of duty in the Korean War. So........... it just draws my attention

My suggestion is to look around, buy a good specimen, and fill that desire

The only commercial version right now seems to be the Auto Ordnance/Kahr Arms M1 Carbine, since I believe that Israel Arms International may now be out of business. The Auto Ordnance M1 may look alright, but I've already heard that they are nowhere near as well made as the real things (with todays cutting of corners being such a norm, that does not surprise me). Probably buying a real one in very good to excellent condition is the way to go. If a modern firm would produce a halfway decent quality reproduction, as Springfield Armory wanted to do a few years ago, I would not hesitate in buying one. But with the repro's that have been coming out, your best bet would probably be to buy a real one....... IMO        

Shooting an M1 carbine is just plain fun. It is so light and handy, it almost leaps to point and has the mellowest recoil.
Even if you don't get one at least shoot one, they are great.


BTW, why is the .357 magnum, 10mm and even the .41 magnum considered such great manstopping rounds but the .30 carbine weak when the .30 packs much more power? Yeah, I know about ball ammo being a poor stopper but there are very nice hollowpoints for the carbine.

Just my $.02

Quoted: Shooting an M1 carbine is just plain fun. It is so light and handy, it almost leaps to point and has the mellowest recoil. Even if you don't get one at least shoot one, they are great.

Agreed.

The M1 Carbine is just plain FUN FUN FUN!!!

have
But I suggest a military one, not the Universal or civie copies. Those are not that reliable.

I was thinking of getting one as a trunk gun/plinker/home defense.  Cheaper than an AR and more PC.

Everyone should own a Garand, M1 Carbine, 1911 & 1903A3, IMO. These are the guns that freed the world from tyranny (sp?).

So is GI the only way to go?  If so I just can't rationalize 1000 bucks on one.

I think I seen mention that the CMP may start stocking M1 Carbines. Anyone have any real info on this? That would be the way to go, IMO.

chewbacca,

Check out the pawn shops in your area, you might be surprised.  My wife found a really nice Winchester M1 Carbine at a shop near us.

 One weekend, she started bugging the hell out of me to find her an M1 Carbine. We searched in all the entire Phoenix-area gun shops we could find. Nada! All they had were a couple of Universals and she was having none of that!

We then decided to start hitting the local pawn shops. After coming up dry after about six, we check out this one used-gun store disguised as a pawn shop. OMG, did they have guns!! The guy starts pulling around seven carbines off the wall, when she sees this Winchester and it's love at first sight. She HAD to have it! Ten minutes and $650  later, it's hers.

After she gets it home, I go through it and give it a clean bill of health. Now she has to 'accessorize it'.
We go online a find a khaki sling and oiler. (OD didn't 'go well with it') Next, it needed a matching gun case, khaki, of course.  We also found an assortment of mags to go with it. It wouldn't 'look right' with 30-rounders, so we had to get 15's. NOW, it was ready to go to the range. At this point, I'm starting to get a little jealous of all the attention she's lavishing on 'her little rifle'.

Since then, she's been shooting the hell out of that poor little rifle and they're both luvin' it!

Buy one!

Quoted: chewbacca, Check out the pawn shops in your area, you might be surprised.  My wife found a really nice Winchester M1 Carbine at a shop near us.  One weekend, she started bugging the hell out of me to find her an M1 Carbine. We searched in all the entire Phoenix-area gun shops we could find. Nada! All they had were a couple of Universals and she was having none of that! We then decided to start hitting the local pawn shops. After coming up dry after about six, we check out this one used-gun store disguised as a pawn shop. OMG, did they have guns!! The guy starts pulling around seven carbines off the wall, when she sees this Winchester and it's love at first sight. She HAD to have it! Ten minutes and $650  later, it's hers. After she gets it home, I go through it and give it a clean bill of health. Now she has to 'accessorize it'. We go online a find a khaki sling and oiler. (OD didn't 'go well with it') Next, it needed a matching gun case, khaki, of course.  We also found an assortment of mags to go with it. It wouldn't 'look right' with 30-rounders, so we had to get 15's. NOW, it was ready to go to the range. At this point, I'm starting to get a little jealous of all the attention she's lavishing on 'her little rifle'. Since then, she's been shooting the hell out of that poor little rifle and they're both luvin' it! Buy one!

Right on, thanks for the advice...I will definately check that out. Sounds like you have a pretty cool girl.  

I picked up an all correct Underwood carbine a few months ago for $450. At 25 yrds the thing shoots into one hole with  MilSurp ammo. I was supprised to say the least. I must echo others here, it is just plain fun. If you just want to shoot it and not collect , get one with an import mark, it will save you a good bit of money and will do the same job. Mags are still cheap at the shows and on the net, and parts are always available.

You should be able to find an M1 Carbine for $600 or so...

Many were re-imported by Blue Sky. They're decent shooters, but they're really worn. Expect to have to replace the extractor on them.

The barrels are generally not too bad as .30 Carbine was the only non-corrosive ammo issued to the US during WWII...doesn't mean they won't be shot out, but they probably won't be horribly pitted.

As far as power and ballistics goes...the .30 Carbine is roughly identical to a .357 Magnum, ballistically. As said before, it's FMJ performance isn't great, but softpoints will bring down almost anything in North America.

Light, handy, low-recoil, accurate enough...I got 3 of them, and I love 'em all

In the latest issue of American Rifleman, Auto-ordnance has an ad for their new M1 Carbine. If you just want one to shoot, that might be worth looking into.



Edit: M1's are so user-friendly, they make an outstanding gun for breaking in newbies to centerfire shooting.

Go for it! One of my 1st rifles was an M1 carbine. I started reloading with that round and got some decent accuracy.

Quoted: I think I seen mention that the CMP may start stocking M1 Carbines. Anyone have any real info on this? That would be the way to go, IMO.

If it is true, I WILL BE ALL OVER THAT.............

Damn another caliber to stock.......

Chewbaca

If we ever have another AZ shoot we  can both be at I'll bring my IBM carbine for you to try and see if you like them as much as you think you do.  They are fun.  But who knows?

Or if you are in the northern part of Phoenix and want to have a range day let me know.  Maybe we can get several AZers out to shoot.

Quoted: Everyone should own a Garand, M1 Carbine, 1911 & 1903A3, IMO. These are the guns that freed the world from tyranny (sp?).

working on it!

Saginaw M1 Carbine
Springfield M1

Still need 1911, and the 1903. Too many guns, not enough $$

Quoted: Everyone should own a Garand, M1 Carbine, 1911 & 1903A3, IMO. These are the guns that freed the world from tyranny (sp?).

+1

A must for everyone...

- BUCC_Guy

Didnt see this post before i started a new M1 carbine thread.......

Anyway, I guess I'm just one more who is one the hunt for one of these fun little guns.  Although I was hoping not to have to spend more than say $500 for one.  I had no idea how much they were worth when I decided yesterday I needed one.   My father in law brought his out and let me shoot a few mags out of it.   I told him I really liked it and he told me he bought it out of a catalog in the 60's for $25!!......I offered him $30 for it, but he politely declined.


BTW, How about some pics??

Quoted: Personally I find the carbine too short and the round anemic at best. For fun target shooting at the range and sentimental value buy the carbine. If you plan on anything serious get the AR. Good luck

A good soft point round is far more effective than any pistol caliber carbine.

I have an original 1944 .30 carbine paratrooper model with folding stock. It is a lot of fun to shoot. I keep it hanging inside a jacket from the clothes bar in my girlfriend's closet.

My only complaint is that ammo is pretty expensive.

I picked one up a couple of years ago for $400, had it reparked for a $100. Probably the best 500 I've spent. Ammo isn't the cheapest. Magazines are cheap and plentiful. They even look better with a bayonet on the end. They're surprisingly accurate. Really light quick pointer. A piece of history. Get one.

Why would you NOT want one ?!?!?!

I've had five or six over the past 10 years or so.  Remember when a BUNCH were imported back then -- anywhere from $140 and up ? ? ?

I'd get a "crappy" one, clean her up, add  little shine, sell it and make a few bucks.  Buy another one.   All of them went "bang" when I pulled the trigger.  

Oh  ! !   Those were the days  ! !    

Still have one today (Inland) and it was the first centerfire rifle my son ever fired, at the age of 10.  Wifey likes it too -- "it must be empty -- put some more bullets in it please  ! !"

Like the 15 round mags -- looks "right" -- and when loaded with SP ammo would NOT want to be on the wrong end  ! !

Light-weight, handy, short and sweet, reliable with 15 round mags, very little recoil, looks cool . . . .

Like I said - - - why would you NOT want one ?!?!?!?

Quoted: I was thinking of getting one as a trunk gun/plinker/home defense.  Cheaper than an AR and more PC.

Exactly that's why I have one plus if it gets stolen (trunk) it's not my preban AR.
M

And it is normal for the bolt to be blued, even though the rest of the .30 Carbine is parkerized.  Also, the parkerizing came in different shades, from light gray to dark gray, to green-gray, depending on the manufacturer.

Back in the 60's-70's the .30 Carbine was THE fun gun.  It was common to find them new or in near new condition for as little as $60-$70, mags and ammo plentiful and cheap.  Not many aftermarket accessories (just GI stuff) until the 80's.

I've got two Standard Products M-1 Carbines, one is a shooter and the other is an all correct 1943 that is beautiful.  I have a lot of fun looking for accessories for it that are correct in date/year for this Carbine, all my 15 rounders are Standard Products mfg.

I love those od mag holders that go around the stock.  I don't have one but always did want one.  You guys aren't making it any easier.  There's a guy that refurbishes them to like new.  www.miltech-arms.com  miltecharms.com   Not sure which one but it's called mil tech arms.  I don't think they're cheap though.  So the kahr ones are crappy?

Not to change the subject but who here would like to see a reising made again?  Or an updated version?  I love that wood stock.

I have a garand and 1903a3
carbine is definitely on my list for the gunshows coming in the next 3 weekends

Quoted: Everyone should own a Garand, M1 Carbine, 1911 & 1903A3, IMO. These are the guns that freed the world from tyranny (sp?).

I'd like a M1 Carbine, but the ammo is kinda gettin pricey, and so's the carbine. Wish they were easier to get in the 400 dollar range.

M1 Carbine is EXTREMELY fun!

Its a shame the M1 Carbines became such collector guns as they are right at the top of the fun to shoot list but the collector status has driven the prices through the roof.

Its also a great gun to teach new shooters as the sights are easy to use and the recoil is very reasonable.

Everyone serious collection should include an M1 Carbine.

I think it was The_Beer_Slayer said that CMP will be getting a lot of them over the next couple of years, or something like that.  Maybe IM him?


Woody

Every man, woman and child that has shot a M1 Carbine all have the same expression and feelings which is amazement.

They are amazed on what little recoil there is.
amazed on the accuracy (at short distance, not 100 yards)
amazed how fast they can shoot and still maintain target sight.

Also, they don't cost $1000.

Non military ones are $300-$400

You can get a good military M1 for just under $700.

Perhaps I shouldn't mention I picked up my 1943 Inland M1 last year for a mere 300.00 bucks...


And no, it is not for sale....

Perhaps I shouldn't mention I picked up my 1943 Inland M1 last year for a mere 300.00 bucks...

That's a good deal considering todays prices but remember they used to sell for $150.

Since there were around 6 million made during the war they should be selling for alot less.

While mine was not quite as cheap as $300, I paid $500 last year for a sweeet 1943 Standard Products M1 Carbine that is all correct.  I also bought a shooter Standard Products M1 Carbine as well and it's a real hoot to shoot.  I've been having fun buying Standard Product mags for it and have 5 of the NIW Nomenclature Standard Product mags as well.  From what I understand they only put one of these Nomenclature mags in a crate of mags, the mag has the lot # and all other info for that crate of mags in case they needed to recall them or whatever.