M1 carbine

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4t5
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M1 carbine

Post by 4t5 »

Am interested in a new M1 carbine , maybe an Inland or Auto Ordinance, if anyone here has one please offer input, or if you have shot one of a friends, input welcome, internet reviews are mixed, would like real experiences, thanks in advance.
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Sixgun
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by Sixgun »

4T5,
I've shot lots of them over the past 50 years...in fact, the very first rifle I ever shot was a carbine that my dad bought for $20 in 1960 when I was 6 years old.

My experience with all of the carbines, military and aftermarket ones, including full auto M-2's, is that they are reliable. Sometimes the 30 round mags can be troublesome. The aftermarket carbines I've shot and owned are ones from the 1960's....all in excellent to like new condition. The military ones were Inlands, Winchesters, Postal Meter etc.....some were like new, some were Korean junk that we gave them after the war.

One thing for sure, they are not tackdrivers, even when I installed a scope on them. Most of the time you will get 3-4 shots in 2-4" and the 4th and fifth shot will blow out 6" away from the rest of the group.

They are fun...fun...fun to shoot. Mine would also eat up cheap cast bullets for a day of shooting for pennies. Brass is somewhat expensive nowadays and you lose a lot as they are little and hard to see in the grass.

I owned probably a dozen of them over the years and currently own none...they make excellent trade material and will sell fast if you price them right.-----6
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JerryB
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by JerryB »

My grandson has a Universal M1 carbine he bought several years ago. It shot real good for awhile then started messing up. I talked to my gunsmith about it. He said to bring him the gun and all the magazines, he said that the lips get bent and cause the miss feeding. When we picked it up that little carbine ran like a house afire. If it was not so far back in the safe I would grab it instead of a 30-30.
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2ndovc
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by 2ndovc »

I've had quite a few including several Korean re-imports. All of them have worked quite well. The only one I have left is a very early production Winchester CMP carbine. It often goes to my cabin in PA with me. Just plain fun to shoot like Jack says.

jb 8)
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by JerryB »

I believe I remember that Jim Cirrillo carried a S&W 38 special and a M1 carbine as a stake out cop in New York City, and made great use of both of them. I didn't spell his name right but most of you know who he is.
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Chuck 100 yd
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by Chuck 100 yd »

I just read the latest issue of the fouling shot. There is a good write up on the .30 carbine and both jacketed and cast loads.
The author said his Ruger BlackHawk will outshoot , group wise at 100 yd ,than any old or new carbine he has tested.
A good read. I have owned a couple over the years and still have the loading dies just in case I run into a deal on a Ruger BH.
Some may not know that the new model Ruger .30 carbine will work well with .32-20 brass that allows larger diameter cast bullets to be used.
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OldWin
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by OldWin »

I like the M1 carbine and feel it has been way underrated.
I've had 2 GI carbines and my dad has an early Universal. They all run well.
Most that complain about reliability are using carbines with 1: quality magazines that are worn out or damaged. 2: garbage aftermarket magazines. 3: carbines with worn out springs. This will fix 90% of carbine issues. The best magazines for use are the surplus Korean examples. They are excellent, and could be had for 6 bucks a few years ago.
Collectors go crazy for early featured examples but the best shooters are those with later parts. Mostly, the wide front band with bayonet lug, and the M2 mag catch. The front band and how the front of the rifle mates to the stock is the biggest accuracy control.
I had an old Underwood re-import that I used for a jeep/4 wheeler rifle. Looked like it had seen constant hard use. It grouped 12" left at 25yd from muzzle damage and had a cracked receiver bridge. I faced 3/32 off the crown and used it as is for years. Ran great.
Today, the carbine suffers from it's own value. They are worth too much to be used in the manner they are intended. I have a minty Inland that languishes. Sorry for rambling.
Good carbine tips and info at ODCMP forum.
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by M. M. Wright »

I've owned a couple but most of my experience was with the ones Uncle Sam issued me. While at Ft. Hood it was a Winchester M-2. They actually let me check it out and take it with me while camping, hunting and playing cowboy. I could go to post AMU and get all the ammo I wanted. It came in magazines with the little rubber cover on them. I would just flip it off, shoot up the ammo and release the magazine to fall on the ground. Seldom picked them up. Armadillos would really jump when hit or even a near miss would get a flip out of one.
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KWK
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by KWK »

An indoor range in this area had an Auto Ordnance. It had a crude feel about it and was prone to jamming. However, that range doesn't take the best care of its rentals, mostly just squirt in more oil, so perhaps neglect was as much a problem as manufacture. Frankly, an 1892 Win or 1894 Marlin is more fun to shoot and hardly any slower to cycle. The M1's only advantage is speed of reloading, and that assumes you already have another magazine loaded and ready, otherwise it's a toss. I'd thought I could be tempted to own one, but the experience just reminded me that autoloaders aren't worth the hassle.
MrMurphy
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by MrMurphy »

The NEW built Inlands seem to run ok, have spoken to several owners with lots of M1/M2 experience who seem pleased. Those owners had combat experience during the general festivities north of the 38th parallel and in the 1950-1970 Southeast Asian War Games, so i think its safe to say they know the subject matter.
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jeepnik
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by jeepnik »

I've got one a Winchester. Never bothered to investigate it's history, but it shoots reliably and with fairly good accuracy. Honestly, if I didn't grab my Scout Squat, I'd grab it before my Stag AR15, if push came to shove.
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Rusty
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by Rusty »

I have been researching them both for some time as well. I have found more positive about the Inland than I have the Auto Ordnance. In fact if you check into the high power match shooter types that shoot in the carbine class some of those guys are shooting the inland with a match grade Criterion barrel and doing well with them.
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4t5
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by 4t5 »

Maybe I'll wait to see if RUGER makes a 30 PC carbine!
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by 4t5 »

Blue steel and walnut of course!
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by Rusty »

They have the Blackhawk in .30 Carbine. I wouldn't hold my breath for a carbine. I'd say everyone out there considers the cartridge dead, but we know better. :D
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by piller »

An Uncle had one. I shot it once out at Grandma's farm. It was fun, and didn't jam. The Uncle who owned it was the rocket scientist who designed the Trident nuclear missile and helped design the Tomahawk cruise missile. He bought it not long after WWII because he liked it and he had been issued one as a clerk/typist when the rear operations were moved from England over to France. He never saw combat. His 2 older brothers saw enough combat each to have nightmares for the next 72 years.
I only fired the 30 carbine that one day, but it was fun and accurate enough. We were shooting at an old Zerex antifreeze empty gallon jug filled with sand at approximately 50 yards. We were just standing and having a good time. I don't remember the carbine being inaccurate. We never missed the jug, and no one was really trying too hard for accuracy. Not that a gallon size antifreeze jug is hard to hit at 50 yards or anything.
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by 1894c »

one of the guys I go shooting with just picked up an Inland four weeks ago. He has put 300+ rnds through it. So far it's been a good shooter, we did sight it in at 25 yards using paper targets and it seemed accurate at that distance. It's well built, reliable, he fed the M1 American Eagle, Russian made stuff (Tulua?), and Winchester....I like it a lot... :)
RustyJr
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by RustyJr »

I have one of the original Inland's 1943 or 44 I think. I'm guessing it was rebuilt by an armorer at some point due to it having the bayonet lug and rear adjustable peep sight. It isn't the most accurate, maybe 4-6" at 100 yards but I reckon thats good enough for what it was intended. Only had malfunction issues with after market mags. USGI metal mags are fine. Also have issue with the top forearm wood popping off after several rounds. Will probably replace the stock with new wood and a metal top forearm piece at some point. I'd say out to 100 yards it would do fine for defense work (yes I know that were rated out to 300 but I wouldn't want to push it when I have better tools for that).

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Re: M1 carbine

Post by DaveInPA »

I cannot speak to the new manufacture Inlands but I have experience with GI Carbines going back to the 1980s. I currently own a 1943 Underwood and 1944 Rock Ola. Get a copy of the GI manual and clean a lube according to the instructions it contains. If you really want to learn the ins and outs of the Carbine, get Jerry Kuhnhausen's "The U.S. .30 Caliber Carbines, A Shop Manual."

I recommend getting a gas plug wrench but only to tighten it up if necessary. The gas plug should be staked in place and is not removed for normal cleaning. This is why all USGI .30 Carbine ammo had noncorrosive primers from day one.

Modern commercial ammo from American Eagle, Winchester, Remington, Prvi Partizan, or Magtech is fine. I tried some Tula-manufactured Wolf steel case several years ago and noticed that it dirtied up the chamber much more than brass cased ammo. The steel cases don't expand and seal the chamber as well as the softer brass cases. When I changed over to brass cased ammo in that shooting session, I had several failures to extract until I cleaned the chamber.

I've had good results with USGI 15 round and 30 round magazines, as well as the more recently produced Korean magazines.

Not all M1 Carbines will feed soft points or hollow points without a little polishing of the feed ramp. I'm lucky in that both mine will feed Remington 110 grain JSPs well even without tweaking.
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by Rusty »

I have always wondered if some of these old carbines wouldn't show much greater accuracy if they were loaded with properly fitted cast bullets. Properly fitted is the key issue. The ballistics of the .30 carbine cartridge seem to fit right in line with what is doable with a cast bullet.
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6pt-sika
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by 6pt-sika »

I have a pair of the WWII guns that were refitted for Korea and later sold by the NRA . Ones an Inland and the others a Winchester . I also have the paperwork when they got them in 1962 thru the NRA at a cost of $12.50 each plus I think it was $2.50 for shipping from the Tobyhanna Army Depot i Tobyhanna PA to central VA where we live .

My pop recieved the WIN and my grandfather the Inland . That Inland killed several turkey for my grandfather over the years with military hardball of Korean War vintage . I think I still have a 1/3-1/4 of the ammo can of ammo someone gave my grandfather years ago .
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by spurgon »

Sixgun wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2018 6:12 pm 4T5,
I've shot lots of them over the past 50 years...in fact, the very first rifle I ever shot was a carbine that my dad bought for $20 in 1960 when I was 6 years old.

My experience with all of the carbines, military and aftermarket ones, including full auto M-2's, is that they are reliable. Sometimes the 30 round mags can be troublesome. The aftermarket carbines I've shot and owned are ones from the 1960's....all in excellent to like new condition. The military ones were Inlands, Winchesters, Postal Meter etc.....some were like new, some were Korean junk that we gave them after the war.

One thing for sure, they are not tackdrivers, even when I installed a scope on them. Most of the time you will get 3-4 shots in 2-4" and the 4th and fifth shot will blow out 6" away from the rest of the group.

They are fun...fun...fun to shoot. Mine would also eat up cheap cast bullets for a day of shooting for pennies. Brass is somewhat expensive nowadays and you lose a lot as they are little and hard to see in the grass.

I owned probably a dozen of them over the years and currently own none...they make excellent trade material and will sell fast if you price them right.-----6
Sixgun,
The M1 carbine accuracy sounds like that which is complained about by owners of the Ruger Mini 14.
That's interesting to note. I never have heard that comparison made before, but it sure is logical to do so.
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by wecsoger »

The M1 carbine accuracy sounds like that which is complained about by owners of the Ruger Mini 14.
That's interesting to note. I never have heard that comparison made before, but it sure is logical to do so.


Not the first to make a logical comparison:

--------------M1 Mini14
length --- 35.6" --- 37.25"
barrel ------18" ----- 18.5"
weight ---- 5.2 ----- 6.4 lb
765x53
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by 765x53 »

4t5 wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:48 pm Blue steel and walnut of course!
If you are a lever gunner, look for a Marlin model 62.
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6pt-sika
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Re: M1 carbine

Post by 6pt-sika »

765x53 wrote: Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:06 pm
4t5 wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:48 pm Blue steel and walnut of course!
If you are a lever gunner, look for a Marlin model 62.
Been there done that and was not impressed with the 62 be it a 30 Carbine or the 256 Win Mag .
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
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