M1 Carbine advice please

[eka]

The m1 Carbine bug has just never bit me, even though in the back of my mind I always felt like I needed one because I'm a huge WWII buff. That being said, I know next to nothing about them. A buddy of mine has an Inland he wants to sell. I looked it over and it does not appear to have an original stock due to the absence of cartouches. The barrel does not have a bayonet lug, nor does it have a date or any other lettering other than the letter P. It is not import marked and is government marked. He says according to the serial number, it was made in 1943. I haven't confirmed that. The barrel is in good shape and overall the metal rates probably 70%. The things that were a concern to me were, of course, the after market stock. I would have to hunt down an original. If they are not too hard to find and too expensive. Another thing that concerned me is the absence of any markings on the barrel other than the P and also the absence of the bayonet lug. However, I have seen original WWII rifles without the lug come to think about it. Could probably get the rifle for $300. Does this rifle sound like it's anything worth entertaining.

Keith

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Keith,

That's an excellent price for the gun, snatch it up. The stocks are fairly easy to get and there's a good chance someone on the board has one they can sell you. Inland made a lot of those rifles. The lack of a bayonette means the metal has possibly not gone through a depot rebuild, as original WWII carbines did not have one.

If the metal is in good shape and not pitted to death, the finish and stock are not that hard to get replaced. If you're concerned about costs, offer him $250.00 and then try to go to the next gunshow and find just the metal for that price.

regards,

Dave

[Niner]

If you want some proof, take a look at this CMP listing. Read the discriptions before you look at the price tags.

http://www.odcmp.com/rifles/carbine.htm

[opentop]

Buy it! Don't beat around the bush!!

WWII carbines didn't have bayonet lugs!!

[dmftoy1]

+1 on the buy it immediately at that price.

I felt the same way about them and got one from CMP purely because I'm trying to build up a collection of WWII "shooters". After shooting it a bit I really enjoyed it. As a matter of fact I'm planning an afternoon with mine tomorrow. :)

Have a good one,
Dave

[garandsrus]

Eka,

The price is good for any decent Inland carbine....

Based on what you wrote, I don't think the barrel is original. I believe that all the barrels had the flaming bomb and the manufacture date near the front sight. Does the barrel you looked at have it?

The lack of a bayonet lug is not a concern as you mentioned. The stock could be original but refinished. There are many (most?) original Garand and Carbine stocks out there without a cartouche. It was commonly sanded away when refinished. Does the stock have any markings where the sling oiler goes? That could help identify it an original stock.

John

[corvette8n]

Buy it. I walked into a gun store I had never been in before and gave the guy a copy of my C&R FFL for his files, and the first thng he asked me was did I have am M1 carbine for sale. I told him I had one but not for sale (hence the collectors license), anyway he told me he had a lot of customers looking for carbines. At a recent gun show in my area there were probably about 50 or so carbines for sale from various dealers and they were all priced around $750-$800. I didnt see anyone buying them though.

[eka]

Alright already, you twisted my arm. :mrgreen: That didn't take much did it. I got it for 3 bills. The serial number is in the 585,000 series, which according to my research puts it about midway through the first production run for Inland. It was produced in late 1942 or early 1943. I has the safety on the trigger guard. Did only the early models have that, or did I just dream that up? Anyway, either the stock has been restored and all the markings sanded off, or its a replacement. It's certainly not a newly replaced stock and looks to have been around awhile. The bore is very strong and like John said, it may have been re-barreled after the war, because it does not have the flaming bomb. It only has the letter P, at least the part of it I can see. Anyway, from what little I know about them from reading over the past day and what you guys have said, it looks like I done alright.

Keith

[garandsrus]

Keith,

Congratulations!

Unfortunatley, you missed out on the .30 Carbine mold Group Buy we had a while ago :( I would be willing to send you some boolits to try though...

John

[eka]

Thanks John, I've got to get some dies, brass and the like. When I get some of that stuff rounded up I'll give you a shout. That's mighty nice of you to offer me a few.

Keith

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

"That didn't take much did it. I got it for 3 bills."

Ya done good.

"The serial number is in the 585,000 series, which according to my research puts it about midway through the first production run for Inland. It was produced in late 1942 or early 1943."

Which would mean it would be correct not to have a bayonette lug, which was a late/after war upgrade and generally done at the depot on rebuilds.


"It has the safety on the trigger guard. Did only the early models have that, or did I just dream that up?"

All models have the safety on the trigger guard. The original is a pushbutton and the later/upgrade is a flip type.

"Anyway, either the stock has been restored and all the markings sanded off, or its a replacement. It's certainly not a newly replaced stock and looks to have been around awhile."

It happens. You can always scrounge up an era appropriate stock, clean it up, get all the oil out, steam the dents, refinish it and have a really nice rifle.

"The bore is very strong and like John said, it may have been re-barreled after the war, because it does not have the flaming bomb. It only has the letter P, at least the part of it I can see."

You may have to pull it apart and do a better inspection before you find any markings that'll tell you what's been done. But many many of those rifles were rebarreled during and after the war, as armorers repaired/reworked them and sent them back to combat. I certainly wouldn't sweat a new or different barrel from the original. If you decide you would like a "correct" new barrel, it's easy to replace them using only a 5" vice and a wrench. You will need to rent a pull through chambering reamer though.

That said, I wouldn't, as the barrel on it is just as much a part of it's history as the original. I like them mixed. Tells me they've likely "been there and seen that."

"Anyway, from what little I know about them from reading over the past day and what you guys have said, it looks like I done alright."

Sounds to me like you did great. Hang on it, as it's not only a fun rifle, it's a nice slice of our history.

Regards,

Dave

[chevyiron420]

i bought my winchester carbine some years ago from woolworth dept store. i think i paid about 125.00 for it. lately my son got the bug for one and wanted to buy it. i started checking on what they are going for and about fell over. i decided to keep it. it keeps my garand company.-phil:castmine:

[Newtire]

We have a sporting good store chain out in Kalifornistan called "Big-5". Went in there last week to check out hte Steyr's for $90 & they had one in the rack. $99.50? Nope! $995.00

It had a bayonet lug.

I picked up a Plainfield version for cheap a few years ago and while not a military version, it's made like a military one I understand. It's not a Universal.

Get a gas nut wrench and a spare gas nut.

Buy a 311359 mould and some Winchester 296 or H-4227 and have at it. The Lee round-nose 120 grain does great also. The Lee 130 grainer works great too but is a pain as it's only a single cavity.

My 2¢ worth.

[Ricochet]

One of the surplus vendors like I.O. Inc. or J.G. Sales had an M2 Carbine stock in their E-mail flyer a week or three ago...

[jlb300]

You did good. Around here the average M-1 carbine runs just about 600.00 I saw a good looking one the other day for 650.00 and really looked hard to talk myself out of it. nice pick up