M1 carbine price

R

rmocarsky

New member
Gunners,

I was in my LGS and they had a M1 carbine in what appeared to be mint condition. It had a ventilated hand guard and the salesman told me it was used.

The price tag was $499.

Considering that it was without blemish (I held and inspected it outwardly), is that what you would consider a reasonable price?

Rmocarsky
 
You should inspect it further, but I would say the price is anywhere from good to reasonable depending on condition.You should do some camparing online in terms of brand, and stock type to determine if you're getting a good deal.

I love my M1 Carbine. Other than me .22 and .17 HMR it has the least recoil, but the energy it puts out is still very good in terms of stopping power. The .30 Carbine cartridge has less energy than a .223, but it also kicks a lot less too.

Some will tell you it lacks stopping power. It's a relative term. Compared to the M1 Garand or M14, hell yeah it's weak! Compared to powerful handgun rounds like the .45 ACP, hell yeah it's got plenty of stopping power!
 
That would be a great price for a GI issued carbine in very good condition. But I bet it is a commercial brand of Carbine. Is it an Inland, Winchester or other WWII/Korea manufacture? Muzzle end of barrel should have manufacturer's name and date, and receiver under the rear sight should have the manufacturer and serial number. Or is it Auto Ordnance, or some other commercial brand?
 
appeared to be mint condition. It had a ventilated hand guard
Click to expand...

Odds are it's a new production Carbine. Look for a name on the receiver heel. Not all of the new Carbines are as reliable as the USGI Carbines. A USGI M1 well run about $600 for a nice Inland, less for a rifle put together with assorted parts. Some of the rare GI Carbines can run up to 3-4K.
 
Madcratebuilder said
Odds are it's a new production Carbine. Look for a name on the receiver heel. Not all of the new Carbines are as reliable as the USGI Carbines. A USGI M1 well run about $600 for a nice Inland, less for a rifle put together with assorted parts. Some of the rare GI Carbines can run up to 3-4K.

+1 and the ventilated metal handguard is usually a tell tale sign it's one of the cheap commercial copies (including early Auto Ord), though a GI could have had one swapped on. However, in most parts of the country I've seen, a "nice Inland" that's not an import (back from Korea etc) typically will go for even more even in this economy. Now that the CMPs are mostly gone, $650 seems about par for the course for a nice Inland (or whatever GI) import. Imports, or more accurately re-imports, are ones given to foreign governments in the 50s-70s and brought back into the US...usually will have an arsenal stamp on the barrel somewhere like "Blue Sky." Some of these are decent guns, others rough. The risk with re-imports is unknown storage/use/abuse conditions abroad over the years, but some can be fine shooters. I'd rather have a clean re-import GI than any commercial, including a new Auto Ordnance/Kahr.
 
I'm not adding anything to the discussion by saying that it is not a USGI carbine, it's a commercial example. The price plus description tell me about that

However, I would like to mention that the M1 carbine is a perfect rifle in many ways
 
Thanks Gunners.

I don't know exactly when I will get back to the LGS, but when I do I will heed your advice.

Rmocarsky
 
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