New Production M1 Carbines?

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I'm Just astonished that with modern manufacturing techniques and tooling that they apparently cannot build something that works as well as something designed to be simple and easy to build, produced 75 years ago rushed out by several outfits that had never made a gun before.

Actually they can. You wouldn't want to see the price after all of that machining required to get a receiver to a finished product from bar stock. The beauty of MIM is the part comes out pretty close to the required dimensions and very little machining is necessary. Huge cost savings in labor. The war started at the end of a depression and 15% of the workforce was unemployed. Those people went to work for defense contractors. The gov't provided the machinery to the contractors to build those rifles. Basically, the gov't built those rifles and inspected every one of them. The taxpayer footed the bill. Like FoMoCo, quality was job one.;)
 
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I normally shoot one of my many GI carbines my favorite being a 1942 Inland in the 58000 range. My friend has a Kahr that he purchased a year ago and it has not skipped a beat using GI mags...looks and shoots like my WWII models. His has had less than a thousand rounds through it, i cannot even imagine how many have gone down the tube of old 58,000 but it still groups within 2" at fifty yards.
The article in Gun Tests magazine does a good job.
 
There may be a new supply of GI carbines soon. The ban on all the ones sitting in Korea may get lifted.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...eaked-atf-memo-reveals-planned-pro-gun-moves/

Waiting for an import would be my move right now if I didn't have one. They would be less than a new one (or a CMP) and the import mark won't affect how it shoots. You will have to know how to inspect one tho to get a good one. Get a muzzle erosion gauge right now if you expect to be in that market.
 
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I normally shoot one of my many GI carbines my favorite being a 1942 Inland in the 58000 range. My friend has a Kahr that he purchased a year ago and it has not skipped a beat using GI mags...looks and shoots like my WWII models. His has had less than a thousand rounds through it, i cannot even imagine how many have gone down the tube of old 58,000 but it still groups within 2" at fifty yards.
The article in Gun Tests magazine does a good job.

That's a very early Inland as I'm sure you know. I have one of the early 6 digit Inlands with a Winny barrel. Rearsenaled I would imagine, like most. Almost certainly used in combat.
 
I have a 5-ish year old Auto Ordinance (Kahr) that has been great. The factory mag jammed a bit, but GI magazines work perfectly. My sling and oiler will not go onto it, the stock cutout is different from GI. I treated the stock with BLO, it was dry and pretty featureless out of the box.

It is reliable still after about 2k rounds, and keeps up with my SG in the accuracy department.

I also have a five or six-ish year old Kahr carbine, but mine is a Paratrooper version with the folding stock. (I figured it was the only way I could afford one.:))

My experience is about the same as maxxhavoc's. Mine is a little picky with magazines but shoots as well as my GI carbines with a good magazine.

I kind of remember changing out the magazine follower on some new magazines and it helped their operation. I changed them from the ones with the bolt hold open cut-out to the standard GI version without the cut out. But, I'll admit, I've slept since then so I may not be remembering it properly.

The steel hoop butt stock is not shoulder friendly. Got to admire the paratroopers that fought with one.
 
I have a Quality Hardware Carbine and a Black Hawk Caliber .30 Carbine. I have cast bullets for these guns for many years. These are "Fun" guns to just shoot.:thumbup:
 
Very nice report Ctran 49, During WWII the haste to provide weapons was paramount. The finish was not an issue. They were funtional and popular with our Military.
The Nazi Troops captured and used the "War Babies" when ever possible.:(

Well what the intent was back then was to give tankers a weapon other than the 1911.
Pressed into issue in the Pacific Theater as a small, short range weapon, they served well.
There are MANY carbine calibers now. Back then not so much. US Carbine, Winchester were some of the best.
Singer, as in sewing machine, made the very best.

Nostalgia is good and they did the job "island hoppin'" I would have wanted something better.
We have two in our family. A Winchester and a Singer. Extended family has one US (universal). It's a shooter too..

Some of the more modern carbines are way more powerful, about half the money.. A 9MM Para is close, .40 S&W even better.

Don't get me wrong, The lil'.30 is not very powerful, if you want one and have the cash, by all means.. They are fun to shoot!
 
the carbine was issued to men who had jobs other than direct front line combat. where the m-1 garand would be to heavy or get in the way of their duties. it was also better than a .45 pistol for men to be able to shoot better and farther, if they did come into contact with the enemy. but there are many stories of front line men useing them to good effect. we issued many to the hamlet defence forces in vietnam as the m-1 garands were just to big for them and they made good use of cabines when needed. eastbank.
 
I just can't get behind the new manufacturers unless they offer something you're looking for that's different (I thought about getting an Inland Advisor to SBR with a paratrooper stock before finally deciding that it wasn't worth it). Most have proven to be of questionable reliability and some downright dangerous (more on that latter). The investment cast receivers wouldn't scare me away (as mentioned by others there are good ones out there, just look at the Mini-14/30 and M1A) it's the lack of proper functioning that dissuades me. If they were cheap (and they aren't) then it would be a different story, but as it stands now you can get a commonplace USGI without paying too much more...the rare ones (like my Union Switch & Signal built Nat. Postal Meter that I lucked into) is a different story...but any of them have more history and collectibility than the new models. Also a USGI will only go up in value, whereas the new models are likely to only decrease as time progresses.

All that having been said, if you can pick up a first or even a second generation Universal Carbine on the cheap, then do it. They're decent little rifles (a 1st gen. copy is pretty much just as good as a USGI from a functionality standpoint). Just leave the 3rd. gen. (easily spotted with its BHO switch to the bottom/right of rear sight) where it sits. They are dangerous (I have a friend that had one blow up on him due to a fire out of battery) and therefore worthless IMO. Unfortunately they built more of these than gen. 1 & 2 combined, so you really have to watch what you're buying.

One last thing, and it pains me to say it because I love my USGI carbine, but I question whether I would buy another M1-Carbine just because of ammo. It's a great rifle and a pretty good cartridge, but it can be difficult to find at times and reasonably costly as well. For this reason my carbine sits in the safe far more than it makes trips to the range. Honestly a Mini-14/30 is probably a better choice (particularly for someone looking at purchasing a reproduction) unless the added weight is a big issue. That said, mine will likely never get sold (unless of course someone comes up with a fair offer, then adds a zero...everything has a price :D).
 
the carbine was issued to men who had jobs other than direct front line combat. where the m-1 garand would be to heavy or get in the way of their duties. it was also better than a .45 pistol for men to be able to shoot better and farther, if they did come into contact with the enemy. but there are many stories of front line men useing them to good effect. we issued many to the hamlet defence forces in vietnam as the m-1 garands were just to big for them and they made good use of cabines when needed. eastbank.

Yup truck drivers, radio guys....anyone who had a job that was not fighting.
 
Honestly a Mini-14/30 is probably a better choice (particularly for someone looking at purchasing a reproduction) unless the added weight is a big issue.

Good advice. Ammo can be a problem. It seems to come and go. Even the brass is hard to find sometimes. If you're looking for an honest military service rifle and don't mind the hassles associated with a USGI, then buy one. If a carbine is all you want I would stay away. Just buy a Mini 14 or 30, you would be much happier. I hear so many complaints about M1 carbines, new and old, that it's apparent to me that they aren't for everyone. I've spent a great deal of time with mine learning how to maintain and tune it. It can be a challenge. Just tore mine down yesterday because a round jammed in the chamber. Probably a case that slipped by the sizing die. :cuss:
 
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Coaltrain49 wrote:
A good question to ask yourself is would you buy a Ruger Mini 14 with a MIM receiver?

I own a 181-series Mini-14 with an investment cast receiver. It is now 38 years old. Thousands of rounds through it. Zero problems. I anticipate using it as my principal .223 rifle for the rest of my life.

I also own an Iver Johnson 5.7mm Johnson Carbine with an investment cast receiver. I bought it used so I'm not sure of the age, but I've owned it for 35 years. Again, Zero problems. I anticipate spending a big part of my retirement continuing to load for and shoot this rifle.

I don't have experience with injection molded receivers, but if a major manufacturer, like Ruger as you suggest, believed the process appropriate to make their receivers, I would have no concern about buying one.
 
the carbine was issued to men who had jobs other than direct front line combat. where the m-1 garand would be to heavy or get in the way of their duties. it was also better than a .45 pistol for men to be able to shoot better and farther, if they did come into contact with the enemy. but there are many stories of front line men useing them to good effect. we issued many to the hamlet defence forces in vietnam as the m-1 garands were just to big for them and they made good use of cabines when needed. eastbank.

We transported hundreds of M-1 Garands from the Navy Weapons center, Crane NAD in Indiana. These had drop in .308 chamber reducers sealed in with Loctite. The butt stocks were shortened to fit the Vietnamese. Damn, that was a long time ago.:thumbup:
 
Waiting for an import would be my move right now if I didn't have one. They would be less than a new one (or a CMP) and the import mark won't affect how it shoots. You will have to know how to inspect one tho to get a good one. Get a muzzle erosion gauge right now if you expect to be in that market.

Don't know for sure, but reports have it that those Korean imports are pretty much used up.... :(
 
Well what the intent was back then was to give tankers a weapon other than the 1911.
Pressed into issue in the Pacific Theater as a small, short range weapon, they served well.
There are MANY carbine calibers now. Back then not so much. US Carbine, Winchester were some of the best.
Singer, as in sewing machine, made the very best.

Nostalgia is good and they did the job "island hoppin'" I would have wanted something better.
We have two in our family. A Winchester and a Singer. Extended family has one US (universal). It's a shooter too..

Some of the more modern carbines are way more powerful, about half the money.. A 9MM Para is close, .40 S&W even better.

Don't get me wrong, The lil'.30 is not very powerful, if you want one and have the cash, by all means.. They are fun to shoot!


The .30 Carbine has more energy than a 9mm Para by a long shot. Some loads are above a .357 Mag.
 
The .30 Carbine has more energy than a 9mm Para by a long shot. Some loads are above a .357 Mag.

Ballistically speaking it's a nice little cartridge. It would be a nice package in something like a semi MP-5 or Colt SMG. :DI would buy one if they were ever produced. But I think it's more or less a dead cartridge. I have more brass than I need because it has been hard to find in the past. Just going to have to be satisfied with my USGI I guess.
 
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fgpt72

Yup truck drivers, radio guys....anyone who had a job that was not fighting.

That's why my Dad volunteered to go to radio school; he really didn't want to lug around that M1 Rifle on those little 20 mile hikes they use take. When he didn't get to be a radioman he did the next best thing; traded a couple of packs of smokes to borrow one of the cook's M1 Carbine.
 
Ballistically speaking it's a nice little cartridge. It would be a nice package in something like a semi MP-5 or Colt SMG. :DI would buy one if they were ever produced. But I think it's more or less a dead cartridge. I have more brass than I need because it has been hard to find in the past. Just going to have to be satisfied with my USGI I guess.
I would love to see it in a PS-90 personally...it is darn near the same OAL, fairly straight-walled and reasonably small so it would fit the magazine with new feedlips and probably still hold 40ish rounds (it would not function in the puny blowback action though). I love my PS-90, but hate the 5.7x28mmFN cartridge. I still kind of want a Automag III, despite it serving almost no purpose. I really like the 7.62x25mmTok. for similar reasons. I wish more new rifles were chambered for both cartridges...then they'd be cheaper and easier to find components/cartridges for. Both are, unfortunately, on their way to becoming defunct cartridges though.

fgpt72



That's why my Dad volunteered to go to radio school; he really didn't want to lug around that M1 Rifle on those little 20 mile hikes they use take. When he didn't get to be a radioman he did the next best thing; traded a couple of packs of smokes to borrow one of the cook's M1 Carbine.
My father was a radio operator (in the USAF, so needless to say he didn't carry anything) and trained using the M1C. My grandfather was a amphibious truck driver and was issued one. Neither had any complaints regarding the M1 Carbine or it's ammunition, my father liking it enough to purchase one later on. I'd love to know if my copy was handled by either, but unfortunately there's no way to know. I do, however, like to think that the chip in the heel of my stock was caused by conking a Jerry over the head rather than being dropped from the rack at the armory though. :D
 
NutnFancy was not impressed; InRangeTV was not impressed; the ones I've seen at gun shows did not impress, either--spotty finishing, clearly dyed stocks, way too many casting seams left exposed.
Nothing that said, hey this is a bargain for $1200. (Fulton Armory is running $1400)
Not when GI are going for $850-900.

One of the worst things that happened to me during the Second Depression was having to sell my Inland. Never jammed, fedd all the ammo I put in int, never balked at a magazine; stock was deep, dark, and full of BLO. Only got $350 for a gun I spent $400 on, and would now be worth double that. Sigh.
 
OP, if you buy one, here's a magazine recommendation. Lots of talk here about poor results with aftermarket magazines. I've had results equaling my GI 15 rounders, which is to say flawless, with 30 round Korean mags from AIM Surplus. They work and fit great in my GI Underwood, and at $13 are a bargain.

AIM almost always has ammo, best buy right now is reloadable brass Privi (PPU) for $19 a box of 50. Sportsman's Guide also always has ammo for the Carbine.
 
I'll echo Speedo66 regarding the magazines...either stick with USGI or Korean. I have both 15rnd and 30rnd Korean magazines and they have been reliable, durable and despite the lackluster finish they haven't been prone to rust.
 
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