Check out the Big-5 M1 carbines

[dwwhite]

Just made a trip to town and stopped in the local Big-5 on a lark. They've always had M1 carbines, but they've been outrageously priced, around $1000 IIRC.

However, this week, they are on sale for $699. Still high, I know, but starting to get a little more reasonable. I asked the counter help what brands they had in the back, and was told Inland, Quality and a "Rockefeller". After a little more questioning, it turns out "maybe it could be a Rock-Ola, we'll have to check".

Long story short, it was a Quality mixmaster with a Rock-Ola barrel, however, in the back of my mind, I know there have to be some of the rarer variants floating around in stock. At $700, it might be worth a look. Also, FWIW, in my experience, the managers at the Big-5 have some pretty serious bargaining power, especially on the surplus guns, so you might be able to get a deal.

 

[Texasred]

Are there any "Big 5"'s near Houston? What kind of store is this by the way?

 

[dwwhite]

Big-5 can probably best be described as a wannabe Academy, as for locations around Houston, I don't know, but I would bet that there are some,

an internet search should turn one up

 

[Blacksmoke]

Do you think those vintage carbines at $1,000 are a better buy then the new Kahr Auto Ordinace ones at $500?

This is a real question and not a firebomb toss.

I ask becuase I am thinking of gettting one for my #1 truck and the house and wherever I am going. The last time I fired an M1 Carbine was in 1968 and it was at dead Elephant Seal on a beach in northern California. That was, eh, messy.

 

[jdh]

They are all out in west Texas. The closest one is in Abilene.

http://big5sportinggoods.shoplocal....rowsestorelocation&storeid=2503823&savezone=N

 

[bannockburn]

dwwhite

A Quality Hardware cabine would be a nice find; they made less than 6% of the total M1 carbine production, and only produced one component; the receiver itself.

 

[dwwhite]

Bannockburn,

I didn't know that about the Qualitys, the extent of my knowledge about the M1 carbines comes from an occasional perusal of the Civilian Marksmanship website. I did know, based on the prices posted there that the Rockolas were rare, plus, it just seemed cool to have a gun manucfactured by a jukebox company.

Mostly I posted this as a notice for those folks that are carbine fans.

In your opinion, would the listed price be reasonable for the Quality Hardware described, or would one be better off just ordering from the CMP?

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Do you think those vintage carbines at $1,000 are a better buy then the new Kahr Auto Ordinace ones at $500?

The answer to that theoretical question is YES, it would be.

But that is not the case. The Kahr ones are well over $600 (are they not?), not $500, whereas genuine USGI ones are $500-$800, depending on how well you buy them; maybe a little more. Their value is going to go UP. The value of the Kahrs is going to go DOWN. Any questions?

As dwwhite suggests, if you have a big 5 in your area, it may pay to do research and check their shelves - likely a few $699 ones will trickle out that are worth quite a bit more. Some worth about that, and some a bit less.

Dontchaknow there were ONLY THREE made at the "Rockefeller" plant, and they are extremely valuable - they come with some cavier, a bottle of grey poupon, some platinum-tipped ammo, and a Bentley.

 

[nathan]

The .30 carbine ammo has also skyrocketed tremendously . But a joy to shoot bec of its low recoil.

 

[Blacksmoke]

I wa wrong about the price for the Auto Ordinance/Kahr version. Their base price is $655.

 

[blkbrd666]

Quality Hardware didn't make carbine barrels, they got most of their barrels from Rock-Ola. This is likely the original configuration as far as barrel and receiver.

 

[Tarvis]

Big 5 is a joke. They may have bargaining power, but $200 for a "high quality heavy duty wwII service rifle" a.k.a. a mosin nagant is ridiculous and borderline insulting. They play to the non-gun enthusiast types that don't know the difference and a ignorant enough to spend the extra cash.

 

[ambidextrous1]

Mosins have been selling for $79 at the Big 5 here for the past year.

 

[rondog]

Mosins at Big 5 are ~$79, on sale, but the "regular" price is outrageous. I "might" buy a carbine from them, if they'd let me paw through all they had, and gave me a decent price on it. NFW I'd go for their $999 sale prices, and $699 is too high too, for me. But I don't need more guns right now, I need more storage for them and my growing ammo stash.

 

[Meeteetse]

FYI. . . There is a Big 5 in Midland, TX, but the last time I was there (6 mo.) they had very few guns of any kind. That's why I don't go there very often.

 

[nathan]

ABilene, Tx has a nice branch along the business loop.