Do You Consider An M-1 Carbine Adequete For HD

[Treo]

Do You Consider An M-1 Carbine Adequate For HD

This isn't a "Should I buy an M-1 thread" I've already decided I'm going to, I'm just wondering if I should use it for HD. By HD I don't necessarily mean chasing a BG out of my house at oh dark thirty, I'm thinking more alone the lines of SHTF. I'm hopping that the AO reproductions will create more demand for the cartridge although I've never had a problem finding it. On to the question , I know the M-1 carbine served in 3 major U.S. conflicts and I think the Israelis used it in a war or two as well. But it was never used as a stand alone piece (that I'm aware of) I.E. as far as I know there wasn't ever a unit outfitted exclusive W/ M-1 carbines as an MBR.

So if you had to defend your home against crazed hordes of zombie soccer moms W/ an M-1 would you feel adequetly armed?

 

[pbearperry]

With modern soft point or Hollow Point ammo it would be fine.Short,fast and accurate is the key.

 

[highorder]

With modern soft point or Hollow Point ammo it would be fine.Short,fast and accurate is the key.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I would lean towards softpoints.

 

[USSR]

It's a fine choice if your situation involves distances of less than 150 yards.

Don

 

[CavalryJim]

Adequete For HD? Absolutely!

For years, it was THE rifle for survivalist, etc. Although there may be better rifles for a SHTF, I wouldn't feel underpowered if all I had was my M1 Carbine. Buy one (or two) then stock up on mags, ammo, & spare parts and you are set.

FWIW, I would go with one from the CMP over any of the reproductions.

 

[El Tejon]

I.E. as far as I know there wasn't ever a unit outfitted exclusive W/ M-1 carbines as an MBR.

You may want to ask the ARVN about this, however look how that came out.

HD? It's a gun, which means it beats a pointed stick or baseball bat. May not be optimal for me, but it is certainly viable.

Inside my house, in my Mickey Mouse boxers and my Ho Chi Minh flip flops, rolling out behind the dresser with 15 rounds of 110 grain bullet going, what, 1800 fps? With soft points it's going to put a big, bunny boo-boo on the threat.

It's 5 pounds and I can hold on a threat area for a loooong time at 5 pounds.

Prefer a shotgun for HD, but that's just me.

 

[kBob]

Absolutely,

Of corse my experience with the Carbine only dates to 1968, so as a beginner I may have a lot to learn.

Loaded with military FMJ Marshall and Sanow listed it as a 79 percent one shot stopper in 1033 shootings.

THough their base numbers were smaller (only 43 shootings) they rated the Winchester JSP as an 86 percent stopper.

One warning though, even the Winchester JSP normally exited human targets.

They are short and handy pretty reliable with GI issue 15 round magazines light enough and produce a small enough mount of recoil that smaller framed folks and folks with little rifle experince can work one with out straining or fear.

Now stand by for all the stories of how bad they were in combat others will give...granted a few around here will give first hand experiences....but yes the carbine has been used by a lot of police organizations and they seem to work well in that job.

I ain't affeared o' no horde of zombized Soccer Moms!

-Bob Hollingsworth

 

[MIL-DOT]

wow, i was expecting lots of "NO"s. Though i'm no fan of the M-1 carbine, i agree that it would be more than adequate for HD, in fact, better than a lot of other options i see used for that purpose.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Do You Consider An M-1 Carbine Adequete For HD

Of course.

 

[El Tejon]

Chuck Taylor, the gun instructor, talks about shooting people with the M1. He said that as long as it was close and soft points were used, the little carbine did just fine.

 

[GarandOwner]

a .22 is adequate for HD, the problem you encounter with HD isnt if something is adequate enough, but making sure it isnt TOO overpowered.

 

[kmrcstintn]

wow, i was expecting lots of "NO"s. Though i'm no fan of the M-1 carbine, i agree that it would be more than adequate for HD, in fact, better than a lot of other options i see used for that purpose.

THR attracts alot of folks with varied experiences & thoughts about all subjects regarding firearms ownership/usage/defense/legalities/etc...

go to a forum that focuses on AR-15's/M-16's or AK's and you might get alot of jeering & scornful comments

 

[sadlsor]

So if you had to defend your home against crazed hordes of zombie soccer moms W/ an M-1 would you feel adequetly armed?

Hard to say. I'd have to see the movie first.

Seriously... pfffffttt.
You could easily do a heckuva lot worse. Let's assume you can shoot it and operate it on an average skill level, then I'll agree with the majority here.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

My M1 sits between my Bushmaster Ar15 and Mossberg 500 in my gun safe. If I have to go to the safe for HD(my FIRST line of defense is my 686,.357),I'd pick up whichever was closer and be completely confident that I chose wisely.

 

[s2brutus]

+1 on the M-1 Carbine for HD.



Question for anyone who knows:

How heavy of a bullet can you load in the M-1 Carbine round without damaging the operating rod/gas system/etc.?

I would think a heavier than normal .30 cal. bullet - like say a 150 gr. round nose SP - would give a helluva whomp to the .30 Carbine round.

 

[fireflyfather]

I consider the.30 carbine to be similar to a .357 out of a long revolver barrel. Would you consider 15 rounds of .357 from a semi-auto adequate for home defense? I sure would.

 

[foghornl]

s2brutus has a good question about heavier bullets in the "War Baby"..

To go with that question, I have shot the M1 Carbine a few times but never really noticed..how much room is in the magazine for a heavier and therefore probably longer bullet?

 

[USSR]

How heavy of a bullet can you load in the M-1 Carbine round without damaging the operating rod/gas system/etc.?

I would think a heavier than normal .30 cal. bullet - like say a 150 gr. round nose SP - would give a helluva whomp to the .30 Carbine round.

The problem is two-fold. First, you are restricted by mag length to a very short OAL, which becomes a problem with heavier (and longer) bullets. And, if you seat a longer bullet deeper in the case to get it short enough to fit the magazine, you don't leave yourself enough room for powder.

Don

 

[SaMx]

yeah, I'd consider it adequate, as mentioned above, with softpoint ammo. It's like a .357 carbine, only you are limited to a lighter bullet.

 

[Pocomoke]

Seems that Audie Murphy, MOH, found it worked just fine against the Wermacht, so feel comfortable in your designated HD weapon.

Read Audie Murphy's autobiography, "To Hell and Back". Amazing low key writing about his life on the battlefield,

 

[buzz_knox]

There's nothing wrong with the M1 Carbine for general social use, as well as home defense. It's still used for those purposes around the world, even with standard military loads. Combined with modern softpoints, and you get quite an effective and handy weapon.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Agree with all others that it is generally very effective - but note that it won't go through nearly as much body armor as typical rifle calibers. May or may not be an issue depending what kind of scenario you are worried about and how many crooks in your area use body armor. I would definitely consider it better than a handgun, generally better than a pistol caliber carbine, but personally I would choose something in .223 or .308 for serious HD/SHTF situations.

 

[saturno_v]

I consider the.30 carbine to be similar to a .357 out of a long revolver barrel. Would you consider 15 rounds of .357 from a semi-auto adequate for home defense? I sure would.

Not exactly...the muzzle energy of a 30 Carbine round is just shy of 1000 ft/lb, I do not think there are many 357 Mag loads that can match that out of a revolver barrel, unless we are talking about a hyper-hot (non SAAMI) load.

I actually think the M1 carbine is too powerful for most HD situations (unless we are talking about rural areas) even when soft point are used, overpenetration can be a serious issue.

Look at the M1 carbine penetration test

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot36.htm

Korean war frozen clothes story balloney.....

 

[DMK]

wow, i was expecting lots of "NO"s. Though i'm no fan of the M-1 carbine,

Why? you have 15 30cal 110gr softpoint slugs zipping along at 1900fps.

Lot of folks arm themselves every day with a gun shooting a 115gr 9mm at merely 1200fps or a 125gr .357 at maybe 1400fps.

 

[s2brutus]

The problem is two-fold. First, you are restricted by mag length to a very short OAL, which becomes a problem with heavier (and longer) bullets. And, if you seat a longer bullet deeper in the case to get it short enough to fit the magazine, you don't leave yourself enough room for powder.

That actually gets to a very important point that I also had in mind.

Considering that the .30 Carbine is essentially a high velocity, small caliber pistol round, when handloading for it, is it loaded with typical pistol powders?

The notion I was getting around to was a heavier than normal bullet - which necessarily would have to be seated deeper in the case for OAL considerations - and a powder charge of a relatively small volume of very fast pistol powder, faster than what is typically used in .30 Carbine.

What do you think?