Marko Kloos
Inactive
There are plenty of battleworthy rifles in my gun closet, but the one that's loaded up and ready for emergency use is my M1 Carbine. I keep it with a 30-round magazine in the gun, and two 15-rounders in the little butt pouch, for 60 rounds of instantly accessible "social medicine".
Where the AR-15 and AK-47 usually don't get derided as MOUT/CQB rifles, some folks belittle the M-1 Carbine as little more than a pistol with a buttstock, woefully underpowered and inadequate for serious fighting. Among the list of deficiencies are an "underpowered" round, limited range, and short sight radius for a rifle.
I happen to think that the M1 Carbine makes a fine and handy fighting tool. It has a bunch of features I find very desirable in a rifle, and its drawbacks are usually a non-issue for the kind of scenario any of us might encounter. The Carbine is very light, handy, can be held and fired one-handed if necessary, and it swings around extremely quick. Rate of fire is as high as any other semi-auto, recoil is very mild, and the sights are fairly good for an infantry rifle. The ammo is not a main battle rifle cartridge, but it has more punch than a pistol round and is perfectly adequate for the typical engagement distance of 300 yards or less. The ammo is lighter than most other rifle ammo and very compact, which means that the rifleman can carry more ammo with less bulk.
Listening to the detractors of the M1 Carbine, I always get reminded of the fact that while it was designed as a rear echelon & support personnel weapon, the Marines in the South Pacific thought it made a dandy fighting rifle. They loved the little carbine, and Marines know a thing or two about rifles and infantry combat. If it was good enough to be taken up the shores of Iwo Jima with the Marines, it's certainly good enough for me.
Bottom line: Next time you're looking for a centerfire semi-auto rifle that won't break the bank, has a ready supply of cheap 15- and 30-round magazines, is one of the handiest fighting rifles ever built, can be shot at most indoor pistol ranges, and is just plain fun to shoot, consider an M1 Carbine. There's a very good two-page article on the M1 Carbine and its viability as a LEO rifle in this month's S.W.A.T. Magazine, by the way.
Where the AR-15 and AK-47 usually don't get derided as MOUT/CQB rifles, some folks belittle the M-1 Carbine as little more than a pistol with a buttstock, woefully underpowered and inadequate for serious fighting. Among the list of deficiencies are an "underpowered" round, limited range, and short sight radius for a rifle.
I happen to think that the M1 Carbine makes a fine and handy fighting tool. It has a bunch of features I find very desirable in a rifle, and its drawbacks are usually a non-issue for the kind of scenario any of us might encounter. The Carbine is very light, handy, can be held and fired one-handed if necessary, and it swings around extremely quick. Rate of fire is as high as any other semi-auto, recoil is very mild, and the sights are fairly good for an infantry rifle. The ammo is not a main battle rifle cartridge, but it has more punch than a pistol round and is perfectly adequate for the typical engagement distance of 300 yards or less. The ammo is lighter than most other rifle ammo and very compact, which means that the rifleman can carry more ammo with less bulk.
Listening to the detractors of the M1 Carbine, I always get reminded of the fact that while it was designed as a rear echelon & support personnel weapon, the Marines in the South Pacific thought it made a dandy fighting rifle. They loved the little carbine, and Marines know a thing or two about rifles and infantry combat. If it was good enough to be taken up the shores of Iwo Jima with the Marines, it's certainly good enough for me.
Bottom line: Next time you're looking for a centerfire semi-auto rifle that won't break the bank, has a ready supply of cheap 15- and 30-round magazines, is one of the handiest fighting rifles ever built, can be shot at most indoor pistol ranges, and is just plain fun to shoot, consider an M1 Carbine. There's a very good two-page article on the M1 Carbine and its viability as a LEO rifle in this month's S.W.A.T. Magazine, by the way.
