I have a situation here - an older lady's husband died a few years ago, and she mentioned to my friend at church  that she wouldn't mind selling his guns  since she has no use for them.

He went over and bought her Savage 99 .300 for $300 (serial 600xxx) and mentions to me that she has a rem 700 in 30-06 w. 4x Bushnell scope and a m1 carbine (nothing else known) also for sale.

I'm not too interested in the 700 - I could go to walmart and get one and it would be new condition.

But the m1 carbine is very interesting.  OBVIOUSLY I need to check the manufacturer, as it is unknown, but can anyone give me a quick primer on the carbines or point me to somewhere?  I don't want to buy some piece of crap.

FYI, he said he thinks she'll take $300 for it in a heartbeat.  No, neither he nor I am interested in screwing some old lady over and lowballing her.

Thanks for any info.

Manufacturers names will be stamped behind/under the rear sight.  Sometimes these can be hard to see.
Barrels are often stamped below the front sight with a makers name and often a date.
Typical USGI makers were:
Inland Division General Motors.
Winchester.
Saginaw Division General Motors.
Quality Hardware.
National Postal Meter.
IBM.
Standard Products.
Rockola.
Irwin Pedersen.

Companies that ARE NOT GI include:
Universal.
Plainfield.
Iver Johnson.
National Ordnance

Most carbines will have been rebuilt so barrels and receivers may not have the same makers name, and barrels that were replaced often didn't have dates on them.

Look for any importers stamps on the barrel, usually on the side or bottom.
Names like Blue Sky, CAI, and others are importers of carbines that were given/sold to foreign countries like Korea, and have been re-imported.

There's a WORLD of collector's info on "correct" sights, bolts, bayonet locks, stocks, etc. but most any genuine USGI carbine in any kind of shape will bring $400 minimum.
One in really nice condition can go for $600 and up.
One in REALLY nice condition can go for over $1000.

FYI, Underwood was one of the other USGI manufactures.

Thanks for the info.

I might get to go over this weekend to look at the carbine - it's dependent on my friend being free or not.

My plan is that if it's USGI and in any sort of reasonable condition, to offer $300 and see.  If it's not USGI, I'll probably pass.

i have one and it's an awsome gunn 300.00 would be a great price either way.

Wolf now makes .30 carbine ammo, FYI

Quoted: Wolf now makes .30 carbine ammo, FYI

and it works great!
i just shot up 400 rds worth in my winchester with no issues

Quoted: Quoted: Wolf now makes .30 carbine ammo, FYI and it works great! i just shot up 400 rds worth in my winchester with no issues

really, how much per case?

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Wolf now makes .30 carbine ammo, FYI and it works great! i just shot up 400 rds worth in my winchester with no issues really, how much per case?

*

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Wolf now makes .30 carbine ammo, FYI and it works great! i just shot up 400 rds worth in my winchester with no issues really, how much per case? *

I paid $7.99 a 50rd box at Cheaper than Dirt. Cheapest I have found it around here.
Cabelas wants $9 a box