M1 Carbine with Ultimak and Red Dot Sight

[Dave Markowitz]

I'm a big M1 Carbine fan and lately I've come to appreciate the virtues of red dot sights for fast target acquisition, especially in poor light. This week I decided to combine the two and dropped the coin for an Ultimak mount along with a Bushnell Trophy 1x28mm red dot sight. It all came together tonight and here is the end result.

Full profile:



The Carbine is a Rock Ola made in 1943. If you're wondering why the stock pouch looks backwards, it's because I'm left handed.

Close up:



The Ultimak mount is machined from a piece of aluminum and held on with two brackets that go around the barrel. The machining is smooth and the finish a nice, evenly-applied matte black. The instructions which came with it claimed that most GI stocks will not require inletting. This was not true of either GI stock I tried. I had to remove some wood to provide clearance for the brackets, but I don't blame Ultimak since there's going to be some variation in millions of Carbine stocks made over a few decades.

If I was chasing terrorists, I'd put an Aimpoint, EOTech or Trijicon Reflex Sight on it. However, since I'm no "operator" the Bushnell Trophy will do. I have an identical one on my Marlin Camp 45 and it works well. It has 4 reticles: 3 MOA dot, 10 MOA dot, crosshair, and 3 MOA surrounded by a 65 MOA circle. The latter is very much like an EOTech reticle and is the one I prefer. It combines the ability to aim precisely at small targets, with really fast acquisition at short range. (According to reviews I've read of this sight, changing reticles will affect zero. I picked one and leave it there.)

This combination makes a very handy, very fast close range defensive rifle and plinker. The mount and sight add little weight to the Carbine and it still balances well. It is extremely fast on target.

P.S. I got the Ultimak from Blackjack Buffers and the dot sight from MidwayUSA. I had extremely positive experiences with both, and not for the first time either.

 

[dm1333]

Me likey! I've been debating whether or not I want to buy a Carbine through CMP or buy a new one. I think the Ultimak and a Tru Glow 2X red dot is the what I want. BTW the mag pouch doesn't look backwards to me.

 

[possum]

thats a great take on a classic favorite of mine, i looks great and seems to be very functional. i like it.

 

[mattw]

Ah-ha! I knew it before I even read your post. A fellow left handed M1 Carbine shooter!

I also belong to the righthaded, left eye dominant club!

 

[Dave Markowitz]

One more point about the Ultimak:

It does not require any permanent alteration to the gun, except for some minor stock inletting, and that depends on your stock. So if anyone is worried that I "Bubbaed" a nice Rock Ola, you can untwist your knickers.

 

[sharkhunter2018]

Very nice. I actually like the Ultimak mount on the Carbine. A modern twist to a classic. I had thought about doing it to mine, but since i already have a Ultimak mount on a WASR 10 GP, im not going to do it. Not that i wouldnt do it in the future, i just have other things im after. I do like the Ultimak mounts though. They are a rock solid mount. Since ive put one on my WASR, ive noticed it has a much more solid feel to it. You no, AK's tend to feel like they are going to disintegrate on you when fired, but since the mount clamps right onto the barrel, it does not rattle as much as it did before. It's got a Aimpoint Comp ML3 with a 2MOA dot mounted. It is much easier to aquire targets now. I got my mount directly from Ultimak, as well as the Aimpoint and a new stock set in synthetic black

 

[USSR]

Dave,

I went the Ultimak route as well. I initially ordered the Bushnell Trophy red dot sight, but the one I got was a POS. I then bit the bullet and bought an Eotech. IMHO, a M1 carbine set up like we have, is the ultimate HD rifle.

Don

 

[dm1333]

Dave, is that stock original or did you refinish it? Pretty! Every so often I talk my self out of buying a Carbine and then you guys post some pictures and I fall back in love again.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

DM1333, funny you should say that. The stock is original. It's some sort of orangish beech or birch. I've actually considered stripping the finish, applying a walnut stain and finishing it with tung oil. But I'll probably leave it as-is.

The pic below shows the Rock Ola in the walnut stock that the Underwood in the paratrooper stock originally came in. Up until I put the Ultimak on, I had it in the walnut stock. I didn't want to modify the walnut stock so I put the birch one back on.