I've probably got one of the best ones yet....so, my dad had an M2 carbine....had it for soo long that it was "o.k."(well probably NOT)....BUT he had it forever....he got scared when he got his FFL...was afraid he would get "inspected" one day, and they might find it....never occurred to him to place in my safe keeping.....so, he made the attempt to remove the full auto part....not a very good idea as most of the parts, held together by springs and what not exploded on him....he was not able to collect all the pieces....M2...GONE...converted into an M1 in nano seconds...
it was fun to shoot...

:-)Rocky

Rocky,
I place a terry cloth towel on the workbench to (hopefully) catch stuff before they go out into the unknown.

Shame what happened to the M2.

Wayne

Depending on the situation, some assembly can be done in a 2-gallon ziploc (find them on Amazon) or one of the "jumbo vacuum seal" bags.

Came in handy once when I was assembling a mini-Uzi and a ball detent spring decided to launch the ball into orbit.

I plan on using the shower, with a wash cloth across the drain!!!

:-)Rocky

Rocky,
No offense but I see trouble on the horizon there.

No let me see,you are in the shower and teeny tiny indent ball goes.............somewhere and you lift the wash cloth.

Guess what just went down the drain.

Looks like Windsor has a pretty good idea.

Wayne

Hi, I have springs in every house or apartment I've ever live in. I can really relate to the above , regards, Mike

PS: Try field stripping a M1 Carbine bolt; especially without the tool!

Getting it apart is relatively easy. Putting it back together without a third hand is quite the challenge. I did it once and promptly bought the tool for any future operations.

I think that's what my dad must have done....

The carbine can be field stripped with just the cartridge case.

But to take apart the bolt,especially w/o the tool is....interesting. Basically impossible.

I find that the M-1 Carbine is a far better patrol rifle especially with the Paratrooper folding stock than today's M-4s you see in today's cruisers.

Our first patrol rifles MANY years ago were WW2 M-1 carbines.

Never had a problem. 15 round magazine in place and two 15 round magazines in the buttstock holder made it pretty darn good.

Wayne

Hi Wayne, Jim Cirillo member of the NYPD "stake out squad" was a big fan of the M1 carbine with "soft points". I'm a big fan also, regards, Mike

Mike,
The carbine and the 1911 have their lovers and haters.

Both are superb. I forget the name of the author,but in the book Shots Fired in Anger the author says that the M!-carbine was the best weapon designed for jungle warfare.

The late Charles Karwan (who I knew) says that it was far better than the highly touted MP-5 and at 1/5 th the price.

I tend to agree with both men.

I have the late Jim Cirillos book and agree with you and him.

Wayne

John George

My behind-the-door gun:



1943 USGI Underwood receiver, Inland barrel, modern folding stock, Ultimak clamp-on style rail, Leupold reflex red-dot. Leather sling is a Stolla Wein Bavarian from the 50s lend-lease program.

Bought it from the CMP "back when" and the stock and hand guard were shriveled up and dry. I carefully sealed them up in a vacuum bag for future work and re-homed the metalwork into something interesting.

this one hangs(on 5lb fishing line) above my closet door, next to the back door....for easy grab and go!!
AND it stays out of the grandkids way while being on the ready!!

:-)Rocky

AND...the ammo to go with um!! one crate is numbers matching, compliments of Dad...the other I acquired nothing matching about it...

:-)Rocky

we could probably start an M1 Carbine thread...

Here ya' go...
Capt. Chris

Guess we're free to talk about War Babies.

Another one I have was made by National Postal Meter. It has an interesting stamp on the top:

The Capt RULES!!!
I will not have much to fill this thread, however I'll get my $.02 in for sure!!
Rob,
that's pretty cool!!

:-)Rocky

Rob,
That is super sweet!!!! Ummm,can I have it?? Guess not.

Rocky super nice way to have that piece ready to go...and safe too.

Wayne

I have three carbines, Winchester, Underwood and Inland, will try to get to the man cave and post some photos
Peter

All original as made for WW2, 12-42 barrel date, 6 digit sn, dogleg hammer, large face push button safety and 24 coil sping. Hi wood, I cut. Never monkeyed with.

Nice weapons for sure.
Walker

I hate to say this,but when I was in 'Nam,I saw stacks of crates with M1 carbines. The carbines were all wrapped in cosmoline,all sitting in a warehouse.

They more than likely now are at the bottom of the Tonkin Gulf with thousands of other items.

Wayne

%#%%()(*_+)*&%*&_+_)(*)(&(**&%&^$%^#&)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAMIT!!

:-)Rocky

Here's another one. I had forgotten that this one (Inland, 1943) was also stamped to reflect its lend-lease provenance.



The barrel on this one is made by Saganaw S.G. Division of General Motors, with no MM-YY stamp.

Growing up, I didn't think much of the M1 Carbines. "Real Men Shot Real Rifles" and all that.

The CMP was given a pile of them and put them on the market back in 2010 and I bought one and a handful of USGI 15rnd mags.

When it arrived, I bought some Aguila ammunition (110gr round nose FMJ) and took it to the range. I had a absolute blast poking holes in the paper -- "Oh I gotta get more of these!"

Funny thing about that range (down in Garland), they have a "no FMJ" rule for rifle ammo. I understand the reasoning why, (rifle, bottleneck) FMJs are more likely to exit the property after hitting the backstop berm.

When I presented my box of .30carbine RN-FMJs, the RSO said "only if you shoot it on the pistol range."

"Uh. OK." (whatever)

The club I belong to has some strange rules as well....guess when a bunch of old guy's sit around, with not too much to do, they can come up with some strange ideas!!!

:-)Rocky

Sounds like the politicians.

Wayne

Here are my carbines and enough ammo for most situations

Peter....can you really have enough ammo....I dun no....BUT you got a good start!!! That's for sure...my rule of thumb is 1k rounds for each gun....3 M1's....3k rounds...so...I give you a reason the buy more!!

:-)Rocky

What Manufacturer is in the middle Peter?

The beauty of the M1-carbine ammo was right from the start,it was non-corrosive so that eliminated many problems.

A friend of mine,in 1967 purchased one of the first Ruger Blackhawks in 30 carbine.

Being that he was a long time reloader,we were able to get two large cartons of fired M1 brass that was going to be scrapped from the armory.

That Ruger made a nice companion to the M1-carbine he got through the DCM years earlier.

Wayne

Hi, I had a Blackhawk that would light up the sky with it's flash, using factory ammo. I got some 32-20 SWC 115 gr. lead bullets and had them sized to.308. That was a great option. I noticed in mine that LC Arsenal GI ammunition would stick in the cylinder. It wasn't to hard to eject them, just a gentle tap. I polished the cylinder but it didn't help. I think the GI ammo was a tad hotter than factory. Factory was not a problem, regards, Mike

Wally
top to bottom are
Inland
Winchester
Underwood

Peter

Mike,
Yes,the muzzle flash from the GI ammo in the Ruger was to say the least...intersting...especially in an indoor range!!!

And I agree that the Military ammo was loaded fairly hot. Specs called for 1900 fps with a 110 grain bullet but some of the ammo was clocking out at over 2000 fps.

Wayne

Found this on an old hard drive.

Thanks Tom!1
I've been wanting to get off my butt, and post up mine...
3 here plus the one in my closet....can't get the manufacture of one without removing the rear peep sight...too much trouble!!

:-)Rocky

Rocky,
Those look very nice!!! The one "elsewhere",is it a paratrooper model??

Wayne

Wayne,
Nope it is not..
not that lucky

:-)Rocky

valueman, the carbine that you cannot see who made it, take the serial number and on the internet you can find the block of s/n’s that each company made each year. oldguy

k...i'll try that

:-)Rocky

Has anyone ever seen or heard of an M-1 Carbine 22 caliber conversion? It's not the reproduction available new today but a WWII surplus M-1 with a 22 caliber barrel liner and a 22 caliber magazine placed inside of the original 30 caliber magazine. I think I heard it was done by someone named Williams, not David Williams I don't think. Asking for a friend.

Hi, The Carbine Club has a small card with the serial numbers and the manufacturers. What may be of interest here is that 1937520 - 1982519 is National Postal Meter, regards, Mike

Hi, also your IBM is "kinda" rare as it still has it's flip sight, Mike

Hi, here's a link for serial numbers. See the "table of contents" for other interesting stuff, Mike

http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/serialnumbers.html#numericalorder

Thanks!!
Printed it

:-)Rocky

Hi Tom, could this be referring to the 22 Spitfire? Melvin Johnson designed a necked down 30 carbine to 22 caliber. He replaced the barrel to 22 caliber. He's the Johnson that invented the Johnson Rifle that gave John Garand a run for his money, regards, Mike

Rocky,
Funny thing,put a folding stock on that M-1 Carbine,it now becomes and "assault weapon" here. Same goes for the Ruger Mini-14. With the standard stock all OK,put a folder on it and now it is a no-no.

Wayne

The one I have seen is 22lr.

Wayne,
So sorry to hear that!!!
I'm afraid we are all going to possibly endure those laws one day, if we don't get the right folks back in power....it's a constant fight!!!
AND that's why I have a few "floders" around....never pass a chance to pick one up, if I got the extra $, and the price is right....read today where they are comings for some triggers....calling them "machine gun conversions".....like the slide fires, and what not....never ending!!

:-)Rocky

Rocky,
We are so fortunate that they are protecting us from so many evil things.

Down in Washington DC,if a 22 semi auto rifle has a tubular magazine with a capacity of more than 15 rounds it is listed as a machine gun.

Wayne

to assume this site is not monitored, would be foolish

:-)Rocky

Top dog, we are so lucky as you point out!
I got a small splinter in my finger the other day. I guess I need to try to find out where the tree was grown and start the process to protect others from such a serious injury, being impaled is no joke!
Sad state of affairs. And Rocky, you are correct.
Walker

Shoot,
It was not a splinter........you got the covid virus "wood variant" that Phizer is now working on a booster for.

Getting back to the thread subject,we just received another foot of snow so the outdoor range will be closed. Sunday would have been the last day of the winter schedule but now the range will be closed until about Easter...........maybe.

Next week I will be receiving a Crosman 2240XL CO2 22cal pellet pistol and a BSA red dot sight and TKO Airgun suppressor for it.

Once set up,I plan on going to various farms to help remove starlings and pigeons that steal the feed and make a mes of things.

I will be using non lead pellets in case some pellets wind up in the feed/grain.

Wayne

The latest issue of GUNS Magazine (Apr/22) has a nice article in it about collecting M-1 carbines.

Wayne

Here's my M-1 Carbine. Bought it 2 years ago; always wanted one. I was told it was an Inland but the serial number 1,907,894 shows a Quality Hardware. I thought it was pretty cool that the rack number was still there and in nice condition.

Pap

yep....VERY cool!!

:-)Rocky

"I thought it was pretty cool that the rack number was still there and in nice condition"

Hi, I got one from the CMP; part of the Greek returns. It had a paper label, on the stock. My Dentist is Greek and he translated it as " Fat Gus" and the name of a small town in Northern Greece, regards, Mike

Very nice, Pap!

Pappy,
Really nice!!! You have some really good stuff!!!

Wayne

The M1 Carbine was the first centerfire rifle that I ever fired. I was 10 years old and during my NRA Hunter's Safety course, they let us each fire five rounds out of one.

I recently picked one up from the local gun shop. It was made by the Millville Ordnance Company (MOCO). This company was not around long and eventually became the Plainfield Machine Company.

These MOCO Carbines are a mixture of commercial receivers and USGI parts.

Many years ago, I received mine (from the DCM), and enjoyed shooting it for several years. It's gone, now, in a trade. I wish that I'd kept it!

I have one, still has the rack number stenciled on the stock. Not sure if it's WWII but for sure Korean War. Fun to shoot.

Pap

I still have mine. Inland division of General Motors dated 12/1944

I have a few: IBM (1943), Underwood (1943), NPM (1944), and Inland (1943).

All came from the CMP but the IBM went through another person before I bought it.

The Inland has an interesting engraving in the receiver next to the bolt:

Bob,
That is very interesting.

I have often said that the M-1 Carbine makes a much better police carbine that the highly toted M-4s,MP-5s.

Wayne

The NPM (National Postal Meter) that I have is a Bavaria Forestry Police unit as well, I totally forgot about that until I looked it up in my spreadsheet of CMP purchases.



http://www.bavarianm1carbines.com/bavaria.html

They were returned to the US Government whenever and the CMP got them in the early 2000s. I picked them up in 2010 when I was flush with cash because I was "between wives."

I thought this conversation was starting to look familiar, I posted about the BRP carbine earlier, back in December 2021. whups!

I wouldn't turn down a M2 kit (Form-4 and all that), if one ventured my way for a sane price.

Rob,
I am sure that M-2s are available but pretty pricey.

The tax stamp process has been greatly reduced from many month to less than a week if you are interested.

Wayne

I saw a recent interview with a former ATF employee, he said that the NFA crew validating paperwork went through a complete cultural overhaul.

A new head dude was installed and he started getting death threats from employees that didn't appreciate being prodded to doing actual work.

Grind through the government process of relocating them elsewhere or letting them go, eventually productivity was restored.

He also pointed out that trusts take longer because they have to have the legal team verify it is a valid trust. Too many were "pulled from internet" and wouldn't hold up in court if it came to that.

Rob,
As we all know,the gov't is not happy w/o loads and loads of paperwork.

Believe it or not,in my state at least,it is easier to get a class 3 item and less paperwork than a standard firearm. Basically one form and that's it.

One of the guys at the range had his tax stamp in three days.

I fired some M-2s while in 'Nam and found that I liked semi-auto better. Full auto in any configuration is basically a waste of ammo. At least in my opinion.

Wayne

Yeah, I fully understand that.

I had the same itch with a bona-fide German Luger. Had to have one. Finally got one, shot it, PITA to load mags, cleaned it, "meh."

I suspect my desire for the M-2 kit would be much the same, but the itch exists nonetheless.

Hi,I collect Carbines, most I got from the CMP. I also had a yen for an M2 but the one I found several years ago was $6000. This was several years ago but too rich for me, regards, Mike

Mike,
Yep, six grand is way too much for that for sure!!

I remember in the early 60s,when you could buy guns by mail,a shop called Ye Olde Hunters Warehouse in Alexandria ,VA was offering M-1 carbine I thionk for about $49. Garands were $79 and 1917 Colt/S&Ws for $29.

DCM carbines back then were insanely cheap.

I remember in 'Nam seeing a warehouse with crates of carbines stacked up. Knowing the military,when we pulled out,they were probably dumped in the Tonkin Gulf.

I remember in the book Shots Fired in Anger,the author,a WW 2 vet said that the best weapon for the Pacific campaign was the little carbine.

Like I had said before,that little carbine would be an ideal patrol car rifle.

Wayne

Hi Wayne, " Shots Fired in Anger" by Lt. Col. John George is a great book. He was a target shooter that went to the same High School as my sister ( 20 years apart ). He said the school in Chicago had a rifle range in the basement. The CMP had carbines in 2009 and the cheapest were $350, regards, Mike

PS: this book is available on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents

Mike,
I remember in that book where Col,George had said that he had cut down a 15 round magazine to six rounds and it would fit flush with the stock.

It made the carbine that much more sleek/handy.

I remember back in '67 when Ruger came out with a Blackhawk in 30 carbine. A buddy of mine in the Navy bought one and being he was an avid reloader,needed brass.

No sweat,I "aquired" a case of fired brass and gave it to him.

If memory serves me right,he had also gotten a carbine through the DCM at that time as a companion to the Ruger.

I think that would make a nice combination.

Wayne

Hi Wayne, I had a Ruger and found that GI Lake City ammo would get stuck in the cylinder on firing. I never figured out why; maybe too hot. Commercial ammo was great and I even worked up a load using a .308 sized 32 lead cast SWC. I finally decided it wasn't worth the effort and sold the revolver. regards, Mike

Automag III was .30 carbine, too.

Those are getting kinda rare, prices are reflecting that.

Mike,
Maybe the Lake City ammo was a bit hot for the Ruger.

My friend worked up a load for the Ruger and carbine using H-110 which was the powder designed for that round,using the Speer 100 half jacket lead bullet.

It functioned well in the carbine and,of course,in the Ruger.

Being that the powder was designed for the carbine bbl,muzzle flash from the Ruger was a bit...............interesting.

Wayne