Help With a WWII Era Carbine

R

rinoman

Inactive
I'm still plowing through a list of guns for an aging family member, trying to value them. I am stuck on one where I don't have enough info to beging to find it in my Blue Book.

The description is:

US Military Carbine
.30 cal
SN 5499067
Adjustable sight

I have a picture of it on my web site http://reineman.com/units/pages/22.htm I seem to have problems uploading pics to this forum.

I know someone will recognize the model at least. I suspect I won't get enough info to positively locate it in the Blue Book. If someone is willing to take a shot at a value I would appreciate that also. Ballpark estimate is OK, the person liquidating their collection is OK with a rough estimate for this piece.

Thanks in Advance.
 
That's an M1 Carbine and apparently in very nice shape. The rear sight is postwar. The manufacturer's name will be stamped on the received but the rear sight is covering it up. If you look closely you may be able to discern the maker without drifting the sight out. Several contractors made M1 Carbines, from Winchester (who designed it), to IBM, GM's Inland division, to Rock Ola (as in the jukeboxes).

Valuing US martial firearms can be tricky. For example, most M1 Carbines are "mixmasters," i.e., they were rebuilt at least once during their service life. An all original gun is worth more. Value is also influenced by your location.

BTW, I looked at a few of the other pics in your gallery. IMO, it would be a good idea to get this stuff to a knowledgeable appraiser, there appears to be some good stuff there.
 
Yes, neither the internet nor the blue book is a great way to appraise US military arms-too many variables in manufacturer, condition, etc.

Quite a collection!

Larry
 
Dave is right, you need a real expert looking at those guns in person.
The value of the carbine will depend strongly on the maker.

I will point out that #19 the S&W New Model No 3 is a target model with adjustable rear sight and Marble Sheard front bead. I don't know what that will do for the value, but it is a less common variation. They only made about 3600 in .32-44 and .38-44 and I don't know how many .44 Russian target versions.
And note that #28 a S&W 1950 Military is quite a scarce gun.

Some of the others are, too.

This is getting to be enough and nice enough guns to support an auction, which seems to be the way to maximize money from a collection these days.
 
Thanks for all the replies, this is a great site for gun expertise and people who are willing to help.

Judging by your comments it looks like I stumbled into something pretty good. An older family member wants to get rid of them and aren't terribly interested in making money, sort of a family deal. I've been doing the Blue book thing as an attempt to come up with some sort of reasonable offer.

Thanks again.
 
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