Does anyone know if anyone sells the M1 Carbine platform in .357 Magnum...or if anyone has ever done a conversion? It looks doable to me, and it would be pretty cool to own and shoot one. I would definitely buy one to add to my gun safe. :D
Kev
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Does anyone know if anyone sells the M1 Carbine platform in .357 Magnum...or if anyone has ever done a conversion? It looks doable to me, and it would be pretty cool to own and shoot one. I would definitely buy one to add to my gun safe. :D
Kev
I had a M1 in .256 Winchester many years ago.
It was great.
I always thought about making one in a .357.
But I was afraid that the rifle action would not hold up to the chamber pressure.
It might handle most loads , but if it couldn't handle ALL .357's it could become a safety hazzard if someone put in too hot of loads.
But I never did any Real calculations.
I figured , that if it was doable , the factory would have jumped on it.
But the .256 worked good and shows that the Bolt can be modified to fit the .357 case.
I use to make my .256 cases out of .357 cases rather than buying the factory ammo.
I have owned one (kinda still do, my BIL has had it for several years). It was done by a gunsmith in south central Nebraska. It's definitely fun, but tends to run a little rough - several stovepipes and failure to eject. Actually runs better with 38 special +P than 357 magnum. I believe there is a fella that put his example on YouTube also.
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This has been done many times, and was kind of in style for awhile. I think Geo. Nonte was involved with .357 conversions, so you could seek out and read some of his books and magazine articles. The obvious problem, of course, besides having to re-barrel for the larger caliber is converting it to work properly with the rimmed .357 Mag. cartridge, rather that the original rimless .30 Carbine round.
Sounds like a legend of some kind might be the thing. There is plenty of 223 brass to cut down.
I always wanted a .30 carbine with the semi-auto pistol chambered for the same round.
What about a 10mm? Too big?
If you have a .30 Carbine that you're just dying to convert to something, consider the 9mm Winchester Mag. The case dimensions, though not identical, are similar. The 9mm WM case is shorter, and operates at a high pressure, so moderation in reloading would be a consideration. Just a thought.
Somebody, I think it was AMT, made a .30 Carbine semi-auto pistol. Buying one of them would give you the pistol/carbine same ammo, and save a carbine re-barreling.Quote:
Originally Posted by charlie b
I would think the rimmed .357 Magnum round would give grief to idea of reliable feeding and chambering.
If those in government had half of a brain to share among them - I know unlikely then unthinkable now - all M1s would be in the slightly more potent than .357 .351WSL. The .32WSL was their jumping off point for designing the .30 Carbine cartridge. How the morons overlooked the existing and much superior .351WSL is only something that those in government could do, and I bet that it took a committee of even them to do so.
My local gunsmith did one in 44 Auto mag many years back, no it did not survive test firing. Regards Stephen
I know alot of folks give the small 30 grief about being puny but it does operate at true magnum pressures and was designed to stop humans and it does that pretty well. My father shot a violent drunk with a factory round in the thigh. That guy about bled to death before they could get him to a ambulance. Seen multiple deer get taken out with em. As far as the 357s in a clip look into how the 45-70s were chambered into the lee enfields might give ya some ideas
Wasn't aware this had been done, it would be interesting to see photos of one.
The magazine would have to be slanted so the last cartridge inserted into the magazine would have it's rim in front of the prior one.
Mauser did it with their sland box version. The Lee Speed in 303 was another. The Mannlicher straight pulls also were slanted.
Just can't picture the 30 carbine straight magazines being an easy conversion.
Converting one would be kind of like beating your head on a wall.
Why beat your head on a wall you ask? Because it feels so good when you stop[smilie=s:
But I've been wrong before, pretty sure I'll be wrong about something tomorrow (unless I don't wake up).
But then the mother-in-law will find something I did wrong in 1987.
If one wants to try it, please use a Universal, Plainfield, or some other commercial type instead of ruining a genuine GI model. I have used both cartridges in carbines and there's not much power difference- so why mess up the design of the legendary M1 Carbine?
And Winchester was the lead company in development- they probably shot their own blowback .351 out of the saddle the first week.
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Tim Legendre (LeMag Firearms) did them in 10mm, 45 WinMag and 50AE.
I saw one years ago in 44 magnum. I don't remember if it was the rimmed or auto-mag version. It didn't have the gas port or piston you pumped it like a shotgun. I didn't get the chance to fire it so I have no idea how well it worked.
I know of them, but, from what I knew they were not that reliable. Ruger made a single action as well for a while.Quote:
Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager
I think the issue of using the .30 round was the length being a bit too long for a comfortable grip and required a 'long throw' on the slide. So the pistol ends up being a bit 'oversize' as a companion piece.
PS when going down this 'rabbit hole' you can always 'step up' a little and just get a ruger mini30 :)
Thank you, JSnover. I remember they sent one in .45 WM to Finn Aagard for a write up; it blew out at the action. Luckily he wasn’t injured, but the article was canceled. .50AE is even more scary due to the metal that would have to be removed to accommodate that wide round.
Universal made a .30 carbine pistol called the "enforcer" that used 30 carbine mags. Looked like a shortened 30 carbine with a pistol grip. AMT made one and Ruger has their Blackhawk in 30 carbine.
I worked with an M1 carbine converted to 357 magnum back in the early '70s; Barrel bored/reamed out and rifled with 18" twist and bolt face opened up. As I recall only 4 or maybe 6 rounds could be used in a 15 round mag as the rims had to be loaded in front of each other. Capacity was determined by oal of the cartridge. Even then reliability wasn't assured because the rounds were canted in the magazines. Ballistically, only the 110 and 125 gr jacketed 357 loads could come close to 30 Carbine performance. Heavier 140 - 158 gr bullets just didn't improve anything.
The 30 Carbine with 90 - 110 gr bullets in the M1 Carbine outperforms the 9mms and the 357 magnum in any semi-auto they may be in.