[4v50 Gary]

Well, I went and picked up that M-1 Carbine I asked about a couple of weeks ago. I was prepared to talk the price down, but when I saw that it had an Italian folder and the original stock, I figured it would be taking an unfair advantage of the guy. I wrote him a check for his asking price of $300 and both of us are happy.

It's got the bayonet lug, 30 round magazine release, later round style bolt, flip type safety switch and later stamped out type adjustable rear sight. The make is Saginaw by GM's Steering Gear Division. Barrel is also Saginaw.

Thanks for the input earlier.

[BigG]

Sounds like ya done good! ;)

Didn't know the round bolt came in the original ones. Only had seen the flat bolt before.

[Schuey2002]

Cool ! It sounds like ya' got a good deal.

Gary, are we going to get a range report ? :)

[3 gun]

From what I've seen here in the Ohio area you "took" him at his asking price. The folding stock alone would sell for $90-$120 depending on condition. Sounds like a great buy to me. Did he have another??:D

[twoblink]

Gary, we "demand" a range report! ;) :D

The M1Carbine is on my short list of "to buys" after shooting Runts. I really like it.

[kalibear45]

Cool, I need to get me one of those.

[Kahr carrier]

Congrats good deal.:D

[4v50 Gary]

OK guys, I'm swinging by the dealer the pick up 30 carbine ammo. I'll see if I can shoot it this week before I'm going AWOL from here.

[Sven]

Would love an update on your experiences with the carbine!

Thanks,

-s

[clem]

$300.00 for a M1 Carbine, that's a good buy. Enjoy.

[4v50 Gary]

Finally got the carbine to the range today. Last time I went I left the mag and home :( and had to play with my pistol. Well, today there were a bunch of aspirants for the ESU and so I took my place with my carbine. Learned some things:

The collaspable stock isn't optimal for southpaws. It's hard to get a good sight picture if you're southpaw and left eye dominant. Another problem is that the stock sometimes wants to fold on you if your left cheek is pressing on it. The pistol grip is a bit fat for my small hands too. Manageable, but fat.

OK, had one FTF on first round. Suspect that the bolt wasn't locked up all the way and there wasn't even a firing pin indentation on the primer. Operator Error. The first round that fired was followed by my handguard slipping off. Turns out the screw for the front band wasn't tightened (I never checked) and the front band/bayonet lugged worked itself forward, allowing the handguard to slip. :o Opps. Had to borrow a screwdriver to tighten it down. No other mishaps, misfires or jams with the 50 rounds of PMC 110 gr FMJ I was shooting.

Course of fire was a pistol course that was anywhere from 25 yards to 3 yards. There were about three or four strings of 2 shots from the kneeling. Down & scan of course after the two shots (didn't check 6 though). Then up to the 15 yard with two shots strong, mag change, two shots week. I can tell you that I didn't do the mag change since I had only 1 mag, a 30 rounder. I did switch hands though and while the gun fits better right handed, using the right eye was half as fast for me. We also went up to 3 yards and did some double taps. I stopped using the high shoulder Universal Position and placed the buttstock squarely against my sternum. Shot from there and all hits were centerline. Afterwards we move back to the 5 yard line for some double taps with mag changes. The CoF wasn't quite 50, but I blasted what I had. After all, I'm there for fun.

Brought it home and cleaned it thoroughly. The carbine was the first rifle I learned to field strip as a child. Didn't forget a thing and it readily came apart. Scrubbed it out and inspected the parts. All is well.

All in all, it was a fun day. It wasn't a test of the gun's potential but I am reassured that it is reliable. Gotta try it for accuracy on another day.

[Sven]

Thanks for the update. Would it be too much to ask for pictures?

;)

Signed,

-a demanding carbine fanatic

[Schuey2002]

^^^ What Sven said.. We need pics. :)

[SodaPop]

I passed up on a Carbine and went with a new scope for my FAL instead.

Someday I'm gonna get one.

[rock jock]

I hope yours is reliable. Literally every M-1 Carbine I have seen in 3-gun matches over the past two years has jammed repeatedly. I don't know how our troops in Korea didn't get slaughtered using these things.

[Sven]

rock jock:

What type of jams, specifically, have you observed?

[4v50 Gary]

Digital camera is coming back from the repair shop. It got busted on my last trip to KY, TN, WV, PA, MD, OH, IN (yep, seven states in about 3 weeks). When it returns (they actually sending me a new one), I'll take a pic or two and see if I can find out how to post for you guys.

[Sunray]

"...Literally every M-1 Carbine I have seen in 3-gun matches over the past two years has jammed repeatedly..." Operator failure, dirty rifle, bad mags or bad ammo. The only time mine has given me any grief was a 30 round mag that failed to feed(fixed with a wee tweak of the lips) and a dirty rifle. Other than that it has been 100% reliable using HP bullets in a handload.
4v50 Gary, move out to 100 yards and see what it does. Any rifle will shoot well at 3 to 25 yards. You need to determine it's 100 yard grouping. All the running about and shooting at short range is for SHTF handguns. A rifle is used to avoid them. And you should determine if that folding stock is real or a reproduction. Real para stocks are worth a bundle. Then put a proper wooden stock on it.

[4v50 Gary]

but I went to the police pistol range where the max is 50 yards. If I press it, I can go back to about 65 max (provided no one else is there). Because of the short distance, the test was for function and not accuracy.

[buttrap]

Well I like the M-1 carbine myself..killed a deer at 120 yds with one shot with my winchester once.....off a log rest and a lot of sighting. The one issue the gun has ever had is after market junk 30 round mags,there is a lot of really poor 30 round mags floating around, I had one that would spit out 5-6 rounds out the top of the action every shot. bang and a handfull off ammo would fly tru the air.