M1 Carbine for home defense

[the357plan]

More power than a .357

Not if the 357 is out of a carbine.

However, I do think a M1 30 Carbine makes a great home defense weapon.

My dad got one through some NRA related surplus sales in the early 1960's. And for 35 years, it was our family's home defense weapon. It stayed in the corner of the front closet with a loaded magazine located on the closet shelf. Outside of target practice, it was only ever used twice, once to shoot a rabid dog (our own pet) and the other was an attempt at a rabbit around the house. My dad hit under the rabbit. After a three foot summersault, straight up, the rabbit hit the ground running. My father didn't like the military front sight so he replaced it with the one from his 270. Although he did a good job, I always thought that was a big mistake. Eventually it was handed down to me. Since I ended up liking ARs and Levers better, I let it go. This thread makes me regret that decision a little.

So if you ever see an M1 30 Caliber Carbine out there with ramp and bead as the front sight, this is part of it's history.

 

[Swampman]

My father carried an M2 carbine as a Company Commander during the Korean War and later during the early days of Vietnam. After he retired he kept an old Inland M1 next to his bed for the rest of his life. When I became a wise and all knowing teenager, I used to razz him about keeping a useless, ballistically pathetic weapon like that around but dad would just smile and reserve comment.

Looking back at the times that I saw him shoot that carbine, I can't recall a single instance where he needed more than one shot to kill an animal, including a couple of head shot 300+ pound wild hogs.

I'm not near as wise and all knowing now as I was when I was 14 and dad's old Inland is now on duty as a "car gun" in my wife's car. It's not quite an M1a, but I'd rather have it than just about any pistol made if I were to be involved in a deadly force situation.

Just to set the record straight, I have to take issue with lemaymiami's statement that:

"That old surplus carbine was the principal weapon used in the infamous Miami FBI shootout back in the eighties and it darned nearly did in every officer the one bad guy still shooting engaged...."

Platt used a Ruger Mini 14 in .223 during the shootout. I've never even seen an M1 carbine mentioned in any of the reports that I've read about the incident.

Here's a link to the PDF file of part one of the FBI report.

http://vault.fbi.gov/FBI Miami Shoo...ooting 4-11-86 Part 1 of 11 /at_download/file


And here's a link where you can download the whole 11 part report.

http://www.google.com/cse?q=1986+mi...sc.tab=0&gsc.q=1986 miami shootout&gsc.page=1

 

[JShirley]

I'd have one for home/vehicle defense in heatbeat if they were a bit less expensive.

Auto-Ordnance makes a new M1 Carbine. You should be able to buy one for about the price of a lower-end AR15.

The M1 Carbine is a neat little rifle, and I'd have no problem using it for home defense, with one caveat: the 110 grain SP is considerably more penetrative than you might think. Frequently in discussions of using rifles for home defense, members who have no idea what they're talking about chime in that they won't use rifles because they actually care about their neighbors. I tell those people the truth: a high speed, fragile bullet expands or fragments faster and penetrates less in tissue than traditional defensive handgun rounds. The .30 Carbine SP is NOT a high speed rifle round, it's more of a handgun round, and soft point penetrates like the dickens. I strongly suggest using a good hollow point, and testing it in water-filled milk jugs to ensure it has good defensive performance. For home defense, I believe that's 2-4 milk jugs. Less isn't deep enough, and more is too much. If I had a Carbine again, I'd load 90 grain XTPs and run them at 2100 fps or so.

John

 

[voicomp]

I have an SKS and distrust it due to slamfires....

 

[sixgunner455]

I have an SKS and distrust it due to slamfires....

and this is relevant to the M1 carbine how?


Anyway - now that this thread's been zombified:

Two gentlemen of my acquaintance have used the M1 (possibly an M2 in one case) for serious purposes.

One was a Marine in the island campaigns. He used either an M1 or an M2 it many times, all at close range, and the only time he got hurt, he'd already been stabbed when he started shooting. He lived, they didn't.

The other was a police officer who had to shoot a fleeing felon at extended range. 4 rounds, 2 peripheral hits that stopped him from running further. He lived, but he didn't get away.

I believe, from these anecdotal stories, that it is an effective close range weapon with more hitting potential than most pistols for most people, but that like most other weapons in most other situations, you must actually hit what you are shooting at, not just think that you are. Otherwise, you're just making noise.

Only hits count.

 

[Art Eatman]

Post #2 was a pretty good answer.