So is there any reason to not own one? I have always been a AR guy, but hey the M1 Carbine was the AR of its day right?
M1 carbines were the rage when I was a kid. I really liked the look of 'em and the lieutenant on "Combat" carried one and I thought it was SO cool and I wanted my step dad to get me an Iver Johnson .22 that looked like the M1 Carbine for Christmas. He says, "I have a gun just like that and your uncle Bill has it, I'll give it to you." It turned out to be a Mossberg M152, looked NOTHING like the M1 Carbine, and I ws a bit disappointed, but I learned to like the old Mossberg, still have it.
Over the years, I never bought a M1 Carbine despite the infatuation for the look. You used to could buy a brand new production M1 Carbine, forget the maker, and it wasn't all that expensive. However, what do you do with it? It's a wimpy cartridge, not suitable for deer sized game, a short range cartridge. Oh, you CAN hunt deer with it, but hell, I COULD hunt with a sling shot, too.
Let's see, do I wanna use an M1 Carbine or a .257 Roberts? DUH! So, I never bought one. I still like the look, just have no use for an M1 Carbine and they've gotten expensive way beyond what they're worth. There was a company about 20 years ago chambering a .44 caliber cartridge or some such in the M1 Carbine. It was a little expensive, but that gun might have been a decent hunting rifle. One thing, M1 Carbines are REALLY handy and I'm a sucker for a light, handy rifle, probably why I like my M7 Remington so much. But, then, ain't much out there lighter or more handy than a Winchester 94 and I've never bought one of those either, despite the fact that I like the .30-30 round. As I've aged, I've settled on one rifle for most of my hunting. I own more than one, just that I have a favorite. Anything else I might buy is a toy. I have toys. I have a couple of SKSs, a Hakim, an old Mauser. Put what I paid for those four milsurps together and I couldn't buy an M1 Carbine at today's prices. I'll pass. My SKSs are enough range fun.
Those are just MY reasons. Everyone has their own thoughts on any given subject. But, underlining the reasons why I've never bought an M1 Carbine are that it's pretty much useless for the things I use a rifle for, hunting. I'm an outdoorsman and tend to think in terms of what I can hunt with a given round and the M1 Carbine is pretty pathetic as a round.
I gave 115 dollars for an SKS paratrooper carbine and found a Norinco rifle for 75 bucks. Now, back then, I coulda bought a M1 Carbine for what those two rifles cost, I guess. But, at the time, you could buy a 1000 round CASE of 7.62x39 for about 80 bucks with shippiing. Yeh, those were the days. And, 7.62x39 is a fairly good round compared to .30 Carbine. So, I got off into the SKSs for toys. They're not worth a whole lot, truth be told, either, and the price of the M1 Carbine has escalated, would have been the better investment. But, you don't foresee those things. Get what you want for your own reasons, don't follow my reasoning. Everyone has their own ideas about what or what they don't like or want or think is worth buying.