M-888 M-1 Carbine

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Is the I.A.I. (Israel Arms) M-888 M-1 Carbine a decent shooter and good quality?

Here's the write-up from their website, http://www.israelarms.com/888.html -

"The U.S. Carbine, Cal. 30 M1 was adopted for service use in 1941 for the American Army. It is a semi-automatic, gas operated, air-cooled weapon, fed by a 15rds magazine. This durable remanufactured firearm is made by iai Inc. in Houston Texas. The M888 is a brand new rifle, offered with several types of wood stocks and hand guards, with new M1 Parts manufactured to all Mil-Spec. Overall finish: parkerized. Starting the year 2000, iai Inc. will offer this rifle with an additional caliber, the Wildcat .22 Carbine. Accessories are available as well."
 
I own one of those. $420 with one 15rd mag, used 15rd mags at $4-something each. Ammo runs 20cents/round for ball, twice that for soft points. The gun took about fifty rounds to break in (wouldn't always go into battery at first) then worked 100% (I think I fired about 300 rounds total). Accuracy with support is better than a Mak90 worse than an HBAR15. Accuracy off-hand is better than most other rifles for me because I am a whimp. Heat shield intrudes into the sight picture which bugs me. Recoil is minimal. Easy to fire and reload: I can see why it was viewed as a good tool for undertrained troops. It is my primary house gun because it is so short and easy to point. I like the looks of a wooden heat shield better but metal works fine and the overall build quality is high.

Two pictures of mine (held by a neighbor) http://dd-b.net/RKBA/louder.jpg http://dd-b.net/RKBA/ccw/family-values.jpg

I don't think mine came with a sling. The only modification I applied was some red fingernail polish on the front sight.

I *think* it has an M2 bolt in it...

------------------
Oleg "cornered rat" Volk (JPFO,NRA)

http://dd-b.net/RKBA

[This message has been edited by Oleg Volk (edited March 23, 2000).]
 
I too own a IAI 30 caliber carbine. I had problems with it in the begining. The head spacing was off. I returnrd the gun and it was fixed promptly. They replaced the bolt abd barell. sice then i have about 500 rnds threw it with no malfunctions.

I think its a great fun gun, light, no recoil, very good accuracy for a 30 carbine. The factory returned myb gun in less than a week great service.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
The head spacing was off.
[/quote]

What are warning signs of incorrect headspacing? Would ability to drop the hammer slightly out of battery (without firing the round) be typical to all M1 carbines or just those that malfunction? Mine did that the first fifty rounds but not since...
 
Oled:

Get an old style dual magazine carbine poch. Install this on your stock so that the pouch is on the off side(the one your cheek does not contact when you aim) This gives you a neat and inexpesive way to carry two 15 round magazines on the gun ready for immediate reloading.
Aso, if you consider your carbine to be a defensive weapon you have 30 rounds immediately available when you pick up your carbine. These poches are often offered for sale in the Shotgun News
 
I think it would be easier to buy a 30 round mag in order to have 30 rounds instantly available for home defense. If you are in a shootout in your house for longer than 30 rounds, I would be suprised. I have a pistol belt with 8 30 round mags on it in my room as well. I think I don't need that many, but I was young and figured I might have to take on an army at any time.
 
Actually, when picking magazines for the M1 Carbine, I'd pick the 15 round mags for reliability. Having 30 rounds hanging below the gun doesn't do much good if they don't make it to the chamber. Also, the 30 round magazine is considerably longer and makes the gun a bit more awkward. If you insist on buying 30's for the M1 Carbine, be sure to find real GI magazines, not recently manufactured aftermarket mags. The easy way to tell if the're real GI is the three letter manufacturer's code on the rear of the mag, I've never seen an aftermarket mag with the code.
 
Of course they are US GI. I bought a whole bunch from centerfire systems when they were only $9.50, They work great. Plus I bought 10 US GI mags from the last Great Western Gun show I went to for only $2 each! Two of them didn't work that great when I got home, but the others did! I will never need M1 Carbine mags again.
 
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