M-1 Carbine

[giggitygiggity]

Hi, I am in the market for an M-1 carbine. I'd prefer it be a C&R as I have an FFL03 and I like guns that are from WWII or have some historical significance and aren't just reproductions. I know there are a number of makes (Rock Ola, Universal, Winchester, IBM, Harvester, Plainfield, etc). What are the best/worst M-1 carbine makes? Which are the most collectible? On a related topic, if anyone has an M-1 carbine that they are looking to sell, please send me a PM. Thanks!

 

[Tommygunn]

You're probably better off looking for one in good shape. Yes, there are different makes, and those VERY FEW which are in original condition and work bring in real premium prices as they are RARE.
After WW2 and Korea, most carbines were cleaned, repaired, refurbished and put in good working order. But they didn't pay any attention to keeping all the parts of any carbine together so Inlands wound up With Winchester bolts, Rockolas in IBM stocks .... and so forth and so forth with regards to all the parts groups. Some carbines did escape these refurbs.
So .... do you want one with the original "L" type flip rear sight? The push-button safety or the lever type? What kind of front barrel band, type 1,2, or 3? 2 rivet or 4 rivet handguard? And you see what we're dealing with.
Or do you care about these things?


But that's the beauty of the carbine ...... lots of choices!

Most collectible? Probably IBM with all IBM parts.
Most common? Probably Inland.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Thanks for the reply. It certainly sounds like there is a lot to consider. I mainly want one that will be reliable and a good shooter. It won't be a wall hanger but I'm not going to be shooting it every day. I just don't know enough about the different makes to have a good idea of what a decent price is. Parts matching and being of all one make is preferred, but it's not a big deal. I mainly want one in good shape. Something on par with a CMP service grade M-1 Garand is what I'm looking for but as a carbine. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[Fla_dogman]

I have a general motors and I've shot a singer (sewing machine) made, both were WW 2 and Korean era rifles

 

[Speedo66]

I'd prefer it be a C&R as I have an FFL03 and I like guns that are from WWII or have some historical significance and aren't just reproductions. I know there are a number of makes (Rock Ola, Universal, Winchester, IBM, Harvester, Plainfield, etc).

There were 11 manufacturers of Carbines in WWII, Universal and Plainfield weren't one of them.
They're both aftermarket commercial reproductions. You can cross them off your list if you want historic.

 

[Reloadron]

A good start would be Bruce N. Canfields book A Collectors Guide To the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine. There are volumes of text written on the "War Baby" but the book I mention gives a good overview. For example you mentioned "Plainfield" in your post. The Plainfield guns were post WWII commercially manufactured guns. A good GI Carbine will run you in the $800 to $1,000 range give or take. The cost of a good book for some research is a good $25 investment as I see it. War Baby! The U.S. Caliber .30 Carbine, Vol. 2 2nd Edition by L. Ruth is another good book but cost more and really won't help you get started any better than the Bruce Canfield book. Actually not all manufacturers made the entire rifle. For example Quality Hardware Machine Corporation never made barrels so a QHMC carbines will have a Rock Ola barrel, that would be normal. National Postal Meter is another example as NPM rifles usually shipped with Underwood barrels. The M1 Carbine had contractors, sub contractors and I believe sub, sub contractors to the sub contractors.

Ron

 

[Balrog]

I would not get all hung up on "all matching parts".

As M1 Carbines were re-arsenaled, no attempt was made by the military to match maufacturers parts.

Most of the "all matching parts" were re-arsenaled carbines that Bubba took apart and matched correct parts for in his garage one afternoon. Who cares about that?

Real USGI carbines are supposed to be mismatched.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Thanks for the replies. All good info. Are there any M-1 carbines that work better/worse than others. What are going rates for M-1 carbines from various manufacturers?

 

[Reloadron]

Thanks for the replies. All good info. Are there any M-1 carbines that work better/worse than others. What are going rates for M-1 carbines from various manufacturers?

Not really since for the most part they are all what we call a "mix master" meaning a variety of parts. That said some do command a higher price simply because the manufacturer made fewer. For a shooter it matters not. Finally, you want to look for good metal and it gets difficult to point out how to note wear on parts. You want sharp corner breaks on the operating rod channels, you want a sharp crisp trigger release. The rifling should be sharp and clear. Try to look at several and you will start to see what I and others are getting at. Anyway there no holy grail manufacturer when it comes to a shooter.

I mentioned earlier you can expect to pay $800 to $1,000 for a good shooter, at least here in NE Ohio area anyway. Your mileage may vary and you may get a real good deal but figure about $800 to $1,000 give or take.

Ron

 

[Ibmikey]

Reloadron has good information when searching for a GI carbine. Another thing to be wary of is the import carbines of thirty years ago, many are very worn and one particular import company (blue sky) stamped their name so deeply on the barrel that they actually came out egg shaped or to a lesser degree out of round. With the proliferation of repro parts (many of dubious quality) telling if a Carbine is all original (original mixed parts) is left only to the few experts in the field. I have collected the little rifle for fifty years and watched the changes from GI parts to Repro often sold as original, just be careful and be satisfied with the item before purchase.

 

[Roadkill]

They are out there - just have to look in the right places

 

[Poper]

You're probably better off looking for one in good shape. Yes, there are different makes, and those VERY FEW which are in original condition and work bring in real premium prices as they are RARE.

I can vouch for this statement.

I am not a collector, but I had a 1943 Inland in early issue configuration that was all correct, not-updated, post-war stressed condition. It literally looked like it had been to hell and back. I would have been happy with $600 for it. I auctioned it on GB starting at $0.01 with no reserve. It sold for over $1,100.

 

[GRIZ22]

Any GI M1 carbine should be a good shooter. For a shooter I wouldn't worry about matching parts. When they were new many manufacturers made parts for other manufacturers.

IMO, Plainfield made the best commercial carbine. All parts are interchangeable with GI. The worst is the Universal. Parts are not interchangeable with GI. I had one for a short time and t worked well when I had it. The innards are much different than GI and looked cheaply made.

If you're interested in an original folding stock M1A1 just the original stock, just the stock, in good shape was going for $1000. I bought a well made Italian copy of the M1A1 stock for about $75 about 15 years ago. They're more expensive now but are well made.

 

[bannockburn]

gigittygigitty

I second the notion put forth by Reloadron on getting Canfield's book. Great book with lots of valuable information, especially if you're looking at spending that much money on an original M1 Carbine.