OT: Missed it by THAT much!

[awp101]

All the carbine talk over the past couple of weeks finally got to me. Saw a National Ordnance Sunday afternoon but not knowing anything about them I decided to do some research. That lead me to Gunbroker and I decided to check out the listings for Universal carbines as well. Missed this one by $5...



There's no way I'm going to sporterize a GI carbine and the stock and scope mount on this one spoke to me. C'est la guerre, maybe something will jump out in the future. We'll see....

[2ndovc]

Some of them work some don't.
Kind of a stuff shoot.

There's plenty of GI sporters out there too.

jb

[awp101]

Some of them work some don't.
Kind of a stuff shoot.

That's why I didn't get wound up over it. I figured $250-ish was fair but I wasn't interested enough to go full bore after it.

[Stan in SC]

It is an anemic crappy little cartridge and the ammunition is like $38 a box of 50.

Stan in SC

[2ndovc]

Yeah, but it's fun!

Besides I think I've knocked off just as many varmints with
my carbines as my .32-20s and haven't noticed any difference in
how dead they were.

No offense Stan!!

jb

[shawn_c992001]

My dad still totes a 30 carbine in the woods during some of buck season. He killed his first buck with a carbine too. I would love to have an upper for an AR-15 chambered in .30 carbine.

[awp101]

Yeah, but it's fun!

Besides I think I've knocked off just as many varmints with
my carbines as my .32-20s and haven't noticed any difference in
how dead they were.

No offense Stan!!

jb

Varmints? I wanna hunt BEARS with it!

[2ndovc]

Yeah, but it's fun!

Besides I think I've knocked off just as many varmints with
my carbines as my .32-20s and haven't noticed any difference in
how dead they were.

No offense Stan!!

jb

Varmints? I wanna hunt BEARS with it!

Been nice knowin' ya Andrew!

jb

[awp101]

C'mon, koalas and gummis can't be THAT mean...

[crs]

awp101,
A Ruger .44 mag carbine might be more appropriate for bear. A nice one will usually run way over $250 though.

[mescalero1]

I have actually fought with one,
I am able to type this,
worked for me.

[COSteve]

Deleted

[gak]

C0Steve, looks like you only need a bayo lug to complete the pic as you've got yours configured! Great gun.

As to the:

It is an anemic crappy little cartridge and the ammunition is like $38 a box of 50.

Stan in SC

...Check this out.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot36.htm

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot8_3.htm

There's another, similar test on this "anemic crappy little cartridge's" potency and penetration cabilities I'm searching out as well...that basically describes the above wood/water/block set up more--amazing. My 45 year experience with the M1 has been there's pretty decent punch to this neat little critter and a better close-in HD gun (rifle format) I can't imagine. <150 ballistics in line (+/-) with a lever .357 ain't bad--have seldom heard anyone (really) debunk that gun unless comparing to a .30-30 downrange on deer--plus that fast reload/rapid firepower advantage over most lever formats for such (HD) duty.
Lots of LEOs and the Israeli agencies have really liked the M1 Carbine as well. Not known to issue c*** to their folks.

As to the cost, yes the over-the-counter charletains* are (still) commanding a pretty penny, but while still not "cheap," I just paid $25 or so with Georgia Arms for their ball ammo--not bad, given "these days."

*Before the flames start from the retailers amongst us that there's more to it than that--that things are lousy and $$ all around these days ammo wise--I know that, but there also seems to be a lot of "taking advantage..." behavior amongst *some* (retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers).

[Rusty]

If you want a carbine I'd stay away from Universal. They appear to be G.I. on the outside but they aren't on the inside. They CAN be OK but I've seen more than one that were jamomatics. Some of the Universals in the early years were G.I. but you'll need to do a full strip on it to find out where you stand. The Later Universals had stamped rather than milled parts and G.I. parts won't interchange with them.

[CaptainFinn]

If you want a carbine I'd stay away from Universal. They appear to be G.I. on the outside but they aren't on the inside. They CAN be OK but I've seen more than one that were jamomatics. Some of the Universals in the early years were G.I. but you'll need to do a full strip on it to find out where you stand. The Later Universals had stamped rather than milled parts and G.I. parts won't interchange with them.

+ 1 on avoiding the Universals. The later models have an open cam-shaped hole thru the operating rod hump, the bolt itself is visible thru this hole. Instead of the bolt hold-open button atop the operating rod hump, there is a funky little knurled pivoting post sticking out of the rear of the operating rod channel alongside the receiver, towards the rear, below the rear sight. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, about as reliable as the changing breeze.

Now, as my grandad once said to me, "the bullet don't know what it been fired out of." A 110-graun softpoint at 1900 fps is gonna hit with the same amount of energy wheither it's out of a Universal or an Inland or a Winchester.

[Ben_Rumson]

For all pratical intents and purposes the M1 Carbine has never been out of production....Something must be right about it.. For a 60 some odd year old design its hanging in there!..
http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbine_plainfield.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... _74033105/

[COSteve]

C0Steve, looks like you only need a bayo lug to complete the pic as you've got yours configured! Great gun.

Actually, it had a bayo lug on it when I got it but I switched the front band for an earlier version without the lug. WWII carbines weren't equipped with a bayo lug. Those were added after the war when they were rebuilt.

I like the look of it that way and use it as my home defense longgun. Here in Colorado having a bayonet on your HD weapon isn't legal. I took off the bayo lug both to return it to the original WWII look and also to ensure that, should the worst happen, the cops couldn't try to say I used my bayonet illegally.

So I just keep it ready with the 30rd mag and two backup 15rd mags in the stock pouch and I'm good to go. Besides it being much more compact than my ARs, its also much lighter and easier for the wife to use. Recoil is about the same and the muzzle flash and sound is much less than the ARs.

Finally, at HD ranges, the Speer HPs I have it loaded with are actually more effective than my 55grn FMJ .223 ammo and they also don't penetrate through walls as easily either.

[awp101]

I'll keep an eye out at the shows and just see what's out there. I'm pretty sure I've never seen a sporterized GI around here though. It seems they get put back in original configuration before being resold at a much higher price.

I'll also read up on the commercial jobs just because. If I can find an older one that used mainly GI parts at a decent price, I may jump.

[COSteve]

For all practical intents and purposes the M1 Carbine has never been out of production....Something must be right about it.. For a 60 some odd year old design its hanging in there!..

And don't forget the Ruger 10-22 and 44 carbines. Its clear that they were patterned after the M1 carbines. It's a classic design much like the '92/'94 Winchesters.