I'll be honest - even though I love WWII weapons, I never saw the point of the M1 Carbine. I have a Garand, M1903, Mausers in 8mm and 6.5, Finn and Russian Mosins. I kinda like "BOOM" over "pew-pew."
I was given a bunch of 30 Carbine ammo, a mix of milsurp and commercial reloads from the 50's and 60's by a widow - the guns were already gone. So I looked for a GI M1 Carbine to use with it. I searched and came up with $1200 USGI carbines all day long. Since I was shooting unknown/untrusted ammo, I justified the purchase of an AO Carbine. If I blew up a USGI relic by shooting "found" ammo, I would be upset. A knock-off, not so much.
I am in love with the thing. All of the gifted ammo is long gone, as well as several hundred reloads. I have owned my AR for years, the M1 Carbine for a few months. The round count on the Carbine is higher than the AR, probably double it. I can't stop shooting it. Since I have gotten it, I have shot it more than any other gun.
The included mag will sometimes hang up on the first or next-to-last round, but good USGI mags (included with the ammo) work fine. Only one USGI 10-rounder, marked "RUSS" is completely unreliable in the gun. Other than that it has been 100%.
I really like the AO. Even though I never wanted a USGI carbine, I really want one now...the carbine is just a fun gun to shoot. I am looking for a USGI Carbine more than ever. With that said, I will most likely keep the GI mostly as a safe queen, since I think the AO is just about a perfect shooter M1 Carbine and I do not plan on getting rid of it.
As far as accuracy, I am happy with it. Here is a report from some of the first reloads I ran through it:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9586382#post9586382
About a 1.5" group at 50 yards, without using a rest. My eyes won't do much better than that with open sights.