IJ M1 Carbine 22 LR

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friscolatchi

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I would like to get my young son a M1 carbine in 22 lr. There is one for sale privately for 450. I think I can probably get it for 400. The owner tells me it's 96 to 98 %. He shot it little and hasn't used it for a few years. He bought it from a 70 year old gent who just liked the gun. He says the blue book value is 750 and a relative of mine who is a gunsmith priced it at 150 from a 6 year old blue book. Can anyone shed some light on this? I read some old posts and the gun seems to get good reviews from their owners. The posts however are a few years old and read that some folks paid 300 for theirs.


You should see my kid shoot his cricket bolt action. He can really reload quickly and is careful handling the rifle. I can trust him with a semi auto. He's also a WWII buff and has talked me into getting a WWII vintage M1 Carbine as well.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks for the info.
 
Not sure how much help I'll be. But, I received one when I was 15 (1986). And while I will catch heck for saying this, it was an improvement over the 10/22 I traded for it. I loved that little carbine and it accounted for many birds and tree rats, as well as as a couple wood chucks. I still have it, and I'm keeping for my son when he reaches age. I recently had it repaired and found a new replacement magazine for it (lost it during a move).

I don't really know if $400 is a fair price. I will say that I believe it is worth much more than $150. I remember I had it priced by a pawn broker in 1994, and they told me is was worth over $200 then. It might have something to do with the year it was made, and where it was made. Mine was made in Germany in the 80's. Maybe a later version isn't worth quite as much. It is a great little 22. I stopped worrying about 'great deals' in this gun market. I get what I want, when I want it and can afford it, regardless of price. It sounds like a perfect match for your boy.
 
LGJ,

Thanks for your response. I know what you mean. Some things cannot be evaluated by cost. I feel much better paying a little more for something when I hear testamonials like yours and others in old posts that I have reviewed. My son is 8 and is a WWII junkie and loves the carbine. Any investment that we have made in the area of military memorabelia will pay off in the future for him and I'm sure that this will be the same as well - not that profit is a motive.

His enthusiasm for that time in our country's history continually reminds me of our fathers contribution to our freedom. If this small gun continues to fuel this, then the cost is not in the equasion.

I"m glad that you will be able to pass your carbine to your son as well.

Frisco
 
These IJ M-1s are neat looking rifles!

There are a few of these available on Gunbroker.com. The opening
bids are starting at around $300 and some of these gun have issues (cracked stock, missing sight, etc.) but it might be worthwhile for you to use as a comparison.

Of course w/ online purchases you have to add in the FFL and sjhipping fees
so your private party transaction might be a better value in the long run.

If you son was older I'd recommend a real M-1 for its historical value, from the CMP program or other source.
 
Pretty sure ALL of those IJ rifles were made by Erma in W. Germany. They were only imported by IJ for three years 1985-88. Erma sold them here as well under their own brand name starting in 1966.

The price seems a little high if it's not in really pristine condition. Parts can be hard to come by if something breaks. Gun parts Corp has replacement magazines but they are pricey at $54 each.
 
friscolatchi,

Sorry I can't help on current value. I bought mine new in '72 at a K-Mart for about $80 to eradicate jack rabbits on a grape vineyard where I worked at the time. It's a good little rifle & did it's job very well.

Parts are getting harder to find, but are still available. Original rear sights, if taken off to mount a scope & mis-placed by the previous owner, can be a little tough to find & are dayum expensive. Original mags are in the same catagory, especially at gun shows.

Here is a link to the history of these ERMA made guns, imported by several companies over the years. There is also detailed disassebbly instructions with pics & links to parts sources.

http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbine_em1.html

Regards, Hud
 
I just picked one up in a trade and really like it. That price does seem a tab bit high, if it came with the original rear sight and more than one magazine it might be worth it though. Parts are hard to find and expensive when you do find them.
 
There are too many times in my gun collecting life, where I passed up something that caught my eye. I've been able to fix most of those mistakes as my income increased and I matured, but some I won't be able to fix. Like a year ago when I was at the CMP store with a terrific Garand in one hand and a Carbine in the other. Even though the wife gave me clearance for both, I put the carbine down thinking I could get one down the road. Now I'm screwed.

Many of the points brought up are valid; kinda pricey, expensive and rare spare parts, etc. But what's the worse to come from this? You pay maybe $150 more than its worth, your son gets a few years of fun out of a great 22, and it becomes a safe queen when an irreplaceable part breaks. I think seeing the boy open it up on Xmas and watching his eyes light up (if you celebrate the holiday) is worth it, and you have memories that last a life time. And a son that realizes and never forgets that Dad went the extra mile to mate the perfect 22 to my current passion. I say go for it, providing the firearm is excellent working order. Sure, you could get him what I feel to be the best .22, a Marlin model 60, for way cheaper, but somethings just don't have a price tag. Just know the rarity and price of the parts. Gun Parts Corp has them, but who knows how long.
 
I like the 10/22 option. You can put the money saved toward a real M-1 Carbine for him. Just think how he'll feel when you hand him a magazine loaded with .30 carbine ammo and let him go to work!
 
I went the route hso suggested, and I'm very pleased with it:Same here!

But the M1 carbine replicas from IJ and Erma seem nice, I passed on one a while back assuming I could never find magazines for it, sometimes I wonder if that was wise.
 
i had one for a long time. i bought it at wallymart in the mid-late 80's

it was fantastic as far as accuracy was concerned and i loved it, but the op rod broke. i took it back to walmart and they didnt carry them anymore but said they could send it back to the maker for repairs. 6 months later i still didnt have it back so i bought a 1022.

the 1022 wasnt as accurate but i came to enjoy it. a few months after i got the ruger i got the iver johnson back. i shot it for years after that with no problems.

it was a weird deal all the way around.
 
Gents,

Great options all around. That 10/22 with the carbine stock really looks great. I have until Sunday to think about it. The seller will hold the rifle for me. The kid shot an M1 with blanks at a WWII reenactment last spring and he's hooked. I even bought him an old stock from cheaper than dirt to play army with. He has a good eye for WWII memorabelia. The accuracy of the IJ intrigues me though.

Thanks to all for your advice.

HUD,

I just checked out the website that you provided above. It sounds as if this gun has quite an interesting history. Intriguing.....
 
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A friend of mine has one of these M1s in .22.

It's a neat gun, but not all that reliable.

Also, the only magazine she has for it is the one that came with it. If you want extra magazines, when they can be found, they are around $50.

They're neat guns and great conversation pieces. But if you want something that's a bit more practical, consider getting the 10/22 and putting it in the lookalike kit.
 
The IJ is a little high unless it is in near mint condition, if was a .22 mag it would be a steal. If the gun was for my little one I would go the 10/22 route too, parts would be much cheaper and if they ever get bored with it they can change the gun into whatever they want like an AR style, heavy barrel sporter, even a MG 42, or bull pup the 10/22 is literally the 55 chevy of the gun world.
 
Dr.Rob, I saw a mock-up somewhere at one point, I think it was a junked M1 carbine mag body with a non-Ruger stick magazine built into it, the hot lips mags would do the trick, the hard part would be to get it to drop with the 10/22 mag catch.
 
Hi,
I just recently came into a erma werke mod. e 22 cal. carbine
markings: nitro powder proof
munich office of bombardment
66
I've not shoot it as yet, did dry fire once, so it's operational. Would like to sell.
If interested email me, [email protected] and i'll send you pics.
 
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