M1 Carbine

R

Russell92

New member
I've got a ton of handguns and now I’m in the market for a Carbine. One of the ones I’m considering is the M1 Carbine but I know very little about them. I’ve got a bunch of questions that I hope some of you can help me out with:

1. There seem to be a ton of manufacturers of both military models and modern made ones such as Israeli Arms (or something like that). Which ones are good and which ones aren't? Should I try to get an original military one or are the modern made ones better?

2. What's a good price?

3. Where should I look to get one? Is the internet the best source for them?

4. I want a really nice looking wood stock on it. Is it hard to find ones that look nice and not scratched up for a good price? Can a buy a separate nice stock after I buy the gun at a reasonable price?

5. How reliable are the military ones? the modern made ones? also how accurate are both?

6. It seems like there aren't many JHPs made for the .30cal; is a JSP do a good job for defense compared to a .45 JHP?

7. how lefty friendly are all the controls? do the fired brass eject pretty straight out to the right or will they fly back and hit me since i'm a lefty?

sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for your help.
 
I have owned 2 in the past. One was Military and one was a aftermarket clone made by Universal. I liked the GI Rifle so much that I put it up and bought the clone to shoot. I put around 6000 rounds through the Universal before I sold it. It alway functioned properly and if anything, the action got a little loose but thats it. I have been told that the later Universals had some reliability problems but mine was a very early model. Mags are everywhere and still cheap. I am left handed and liked the M1 very much. I paid $399 for the GI Rifle and $199 for the Universal. I have always felt that the 30 Carbine round was a little underpowered but I'm not an expert on the subject. Overall I would say that its a nice rifle and would probably buy one again if I found one in good shape.
 
I've owned two Universals (still own one) and just recently bought a IAI. I'm getting rid of my Universal. The IAI is just so much better built.

I'm function testing the IAI right now, I've put about 300 rounds through the IAI now with no problems from the gun itself. It appears to be a duplicate of the military carbine with a flat bolt. Out of the box it looks like a GI carbine that just came from the factory. Nice parkerizing job, nice wood, parts fit well.

I would whole heartedly recommend the IAI. Over on the carbine forum they'll tell you to stay away from the commercial knockoffs like the IAI. Sometimes I think it's just a touch of collector snobbery.

One thing I would be careful of though. A lot of the bad rap on commercial carbines comes from the magazines. There were a lot of poor quality magazines made for the carbine. I'm dealing with a 30 rounder right now that won't function right. The IAI came with a 10 rounder that works perfectly. I'm going to find some 15 rounders that are reliable.

1)I would prefer a modern one made to military specs. You have a warranty if anythings wrong and don't have to deal with weird problems due to age.

2)My IAI was $411.

3)Your local gunshop.

4)Stocks are readily available, new as well as used.

5)Combat accuracy level. Seems to be about 4-5 inches at 100 yds.

6)I don't know of any jhp but from what I understand the jsps are excellent self defense.

7)Controls are set up for a right hander but I've never heard any major complaints from lefties.
 
I've only owned GI Carbines; always reliable. All the old GI magazines feed okay.

Really pretty stocks, or new stocks, are fairly hard come by. The best thing, IMO, would be to sand down the scratches and (I guess; I'm not a stock refinisher) refinish...

Coarse sights and my eyes make it hard to really get an idea of inherent accuracy. Probably never any worse than three or four MOA.

In one of the other threads, a guy who's seen combat in Korea and used the Carbine, said that on semi-auto, three or four body shots with GI ammo would most likely be sufficient.

Depending on how beat up, and which WW II-era manufacturer, prices seem to be in the $300 (low) to $500 (higher). A few variants in top condition will cost more. (A cherry Inland, Paratrooper model, original and not "made up", will bring around a grand.)

FWIW, Art
 
Decent GI carbines cost little more, sometimes less, than commercial carbines, and will go up in price as historical items. Commerical carbines go down as just used guns. A GI carbine does not have to be either "all original" (almost none are except those in museums) or "restored" to be collectible.

Jim
 
My wife and I were at the range today with our two carbines, an issue Underwood and a Universal. Lots of people don't like the Universal due to it not being "just like" GI but ours has always worked since puchase in 1974. All carbines are going for a lot more money than 5 years ago. $200 would get you a nice military carbine, now the price can be twice that. They're not much(IMHO) as defensive weapons with hardball but with softpoints I believe they are more than adequate.
Of the "new" carbines I'd probably go with Springfield Armory, then maybe IAI, depending on what they actually look and feel like.
Wood is something that is a potluck affair, if you "gotta" have good wood, buy a new stock from Boyds.
The controls are laid out for right handers, you just gotta live with them.
As far as dependability goes, both of ours work great with good ammo. Good ammo and good springs seem to be the paramount considerations for dependible carbines. This assumes the rifle is mechanically sound in the first place of course. Just my opinion.
Hope this helps

Don in Ohio
 
thanks for all the help guys. i've just got one more question about the M1 Carbine: how hard are they to clean? that probably sounds like a stupid question but i will take ease of cleaning into account on my carbine purchase. i don't want a gun that takes a really long time for a good cleaning.
 
I'd call them easy. They're a piece of cake to disassemble. You can pull the bolt out without removing the barrelled action from the stock, if you want to. The gas port and piston don't seem to crud up all that easily...

Art
 
I have an IAI I bought last year, after wanting a M1 Carbine for a while. ('Cuz I hate M16's! :D )

Overall, a nice piece. The wood was nice, but a bit rough, so I worked it over with some fine sandpaper, then put a few coats of tung oil on it. It gets compliments now. :) Less than 30 min work, none of it hard.

I have found my IAI extremely accurate for an arm of this type (indoor range, so I was unable to shoot for groups at 100 yards), but Spartacus put three into touching holes at 15 yards, offhand, rapid fire. I put a single round within 1/4" of my aim point (bridge of nose) at same distance, again offhand.

I did have a problem with my firing pin, but IAI had my rifle back in a week, and no-one else I've spoken with seems to have had a similar problem.
 
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