Just got an M1 Carbine...

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whatever

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My dad just gave me his old M1 carbine. I'm not even sure if he ever fired it himself, just been sitting in his safe for years. I'm a novice rifle guy, but it looks like it's in good shape. I don't know much about this thing or this particular gun's history. It's got an IBM manufacturer mark if that makes a difference.

I plan on taking it to a gunsmith to get it checked out and mae sure it is safe to fire. What are some common things to look for on the m1? Any particular ammo I should avoid? Must-have accessories I should get? Maintenance tips?
 
.30 Carbine ammo is getting more expensive and harder to find. Mail/internet order places like Cheaper than Dirt still offer it but your local sports shop might not. Try to find good brass case stuff and avoid Russian steel case ammo (which does exist in this caliber).
The gun was made for ball ammo, that is FMJ ammo. Yours may or may not feed soft nose or hollowpoint rounds successfully. If it doesn't, of course you can use ball ammo, but if you want to use it for hunting or self defense the HP ammo is better -- a gunsmith can polish the feedramp and this may help.
Some military 15 round mags are good to have. Cheaper Than Dirt has some pretty decent modern repro mags in both 15 and 30 round sizes. If you want to use 30 rnd mags have the mag catch changed to the M2 catch; it has an extra "finger" to hold the catch on the rear side of the mag.
If yours doesn't have a sling, you can get repro sling and oilers from CTD as well.
Clean the rifle as you would a 30 caliber rifle, but try keeping it upside down so fluids don't get in the gas tappet area.
IBM is one of the rarer manufacturers and your gun, in good condition, may be worht a little more than the standard run of the mill Inland. Offhand I am not sure how rae it is so I can't really say how much it's worth is affected.
 
they're tons of fun, but have gotten rather expensive to shoot. ammo's gone way up for that caliber. value on those things varies a great deal based on condition and collectability, but figure a value of $700+ for what you have described. Real old surplus ammo might be corrosive and you will want to avoid that, but other than that, the m1 carbine is chambered in 30 carbine, and they really only make ammo for that particular gun. It should all be fine. Mail me your empties.

user manual and info: http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/pdfs/m1_carbine.pdf
if you need them

id: manuals
pass: chipin
 
true Tommy, but you'd hate to lose a barrel to something so simple. I've certainly come across corrosive ammo and wanted to pass on a cautionary word. .

I'm attaching another manual for you Whatever.
 

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  • m1 carbine technical manual_1947v2.1.pdf
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.30 Carbine ammo is getting more expensive and harder to find.
Click to expand...

I don't think $15.95 per box of 50 is that expensive for new rifle ammo. The is what AIM Surplus has it for right now.

I am sure it will be safe to shoot, accuracy is going to depend largely on erosion at the muzzle.With good ammo like CorBon DPX these are ideal little carbines for HD/SD as well. It is also an easy round to reload on a progressive press.
 
One point about M1 carbine ammo: all US military and commercial ammo has been loaded with non-corrosive primers, due to the fact that the gas piston was designed to normally not be disassembled by anyone other than an armourer.

I have heard of only two uses of corrosive primed .30 Carbine ammo:

Federal made a small amount for tests by the military (1942?) which confirmed to the testers that corrosive primed ammo in .30 carbine was a bad idea.

France made a relatively small amount of corrosive primed .30 Cabine ammo after WWII. I have not seen any French .30 Carbine ammo on the surplus market.
 
I have heard of only two uses of corrosive primed .30 Carbine ammo

Another was Chinese 30 carbine which was headstamped LC52 which was originally made for Communist Guerillas in the Phillipines who were using M1 carbines captured from the Army and Police there. This was supposed to provide a deniability for the Chinese to use that they were supporting the guerillas. Problem was it was berdan primed which LC never did.

I haven't seen any of this since the 90s but there may be some around.
 
Must-have accessories I should get?
Click to expand...
bayonet
sling
oiler
magazines
ammo (test soft-nose ammo out)

all of these things can be had from the CMP:
http://www.odcmp.com/
via the federal government ... enjoy your actual assault weapon!
(my condolences if it lacks a bayonet lug)

They have a really nice carbine-size soft rifle case at the North Store, I didn't spot it on the eStore, but it is the perfect size for an M1 Carbine or Ruger 10/22 carbine. The red one, not the blue one, if you find them elsewhere.
 
Honestly, I wouldn't bother having it checked by gunsmith unless I noticed a problem...your corner "gunsmith" may not really be one, and if he is, he likely knows squat about M1 Carbines.
I have owned two Carbines. One was a commercial Plainfield, and my currently owned CMP Inland. Both shoot soft points like they were made for them. I never tried hollow points since I virtually never see them for sale, and even online, the price is ridiculous...like a dollar or more a shot. So soft points it is for me.
The Korean made mags available from AIM Surplus and others are great. If you want to use the 30rd mags, you may or may not need an M2 mag catch. This part is cheap, and easy to drop in.
My favorite ammo is PRVI, available in both FMJ and SP at reasonable prices.
 
One thing you want to be sure to do is give your carbine a good cleaning. Until you nknow more about the collector value do not refinish. Nearly all rifles that have "set up" for some period of time will benefit from a good bore and chamber cleaning. I have put many rounds through various US and commercial carbines and they are a fun gun to shoot.
 
The source I use (http://www.wideners.com/index.cfm) has 30 Carbine Ammo 110gr FMJ, Tula at $13.50/50 (steel case, non-corr, berdan primer) or Prvi at $17.45/50 (beautiful looking brass, non-corr, boxer (reloadable) primer).

Yeah, during the "drought" I was able to find locally one box of Winchester FMJ at 39.95 and passed on Winchester softnose hollowpoint at 49.95 (I made a point years ago to put aside a good quantity of Win SNHP when it was cheap).
 
One thing you want to be sure to do is give your carbine a good cleaning. Until you nknow more about the collector value do not refinish. Nearly all rifles that have "set up" for some period of time will benefit from a good bore and chamber cleaning. I have put many rounds through various US and commercial carbines and they are a fun gun to shoot.
Click to expand...

Don't forget to field strip it and give it a good overall scrubbing and lubing of all the metal parts, and if the wood's in good shape give it a couple of coats of 100% Pure Tung Oil inside and out (not tung oil finish! Just pure, clear, stinky tung oil.). Rub it in by hand, let it soak in awhile, then wipe dry. It'll love you for it!

Unless, of course, you prefer to preserve the historical grime and funk, a lot of guys like 'em that way. I like mine to have "the look", yet still be clean and lubed, ready to use.
 
You guys run steel in your carbines?

I'm not a steel-fearing guy, and I run it in my pistols frequently ... but pucker up at putting it in my antique carbine for some reason. Wouldn't the straight-wall case and non-sealing steel make for more cleaning?
 
Hello friends and neighbors // Congrats on owning a great piece of history, the M1 being IBM manuf. just adds a cherry on top.

The M1 Carbine has easily adjustable sights (maybe the best) and are very accurate.
With FMJ it also has more penetration then most folks think.

There are 30 round mags available but if you use them the ammo goes quick., 15 rounders go fast enough.

Ruger makes a Blackhawk in .30 carbine caliber, mine is a hoot to shoot.
Shooting rifle ammo in a handgun usually is though.

I hope you enjoy your M1 Carbine as much as I do mine.
 
I run steel in mine without any problems. CTD has tula for 12.00 a box, which is the cheapest I've found : http://www.cheaperthandirt.net/AMM6140-1.html

At the same time, I'm on my second carbine and built the first one, so I'd have no problem replacing the extractor or other bolt parts if something broke or wore out. Others may not be in the same boat.
 
Far as French corrosive stuff goes, stay clear of any marked 'VE'.........nearly lost an M1A1 to that stuff. I recall reading that the French stuck with the corrosive priming because they'd found it more reliable in some of their tropical colonial holdings.

I have read that some ammo from China bears what normally would be a GI surplus marking is corrosive.....Can't recall the site, but someone posted a photo of the real LC stuff beside what was alleged corrosive bearing a nearly identical stamp.

Guess the lesson is just be careful what you use and if unsure then flush the bbl with a good solven after.
 
Just curious -

Other than the M1 Carbine and the Ruger Blackhawk, are there any other firearms chambered in .30 Carbine?

Thanks -

gd
 
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