M1 Carbine experts - help please!

[absolute0]

Hi fellows,

Long time lurker here (and TFL before) but this is my first post. I've wanted a shooter M1 carbine for quite some time and happened accross one at local pawn shop for $250 - seemingly a good enough deal to grab since the rifle is in good overall shape and I'm looking primarily for a shooter.

However, I'm having a tough time identifying exactly what I've got here. I'm guessing it's of the post-war civilian ilk due to it's lack of familiar M1 carbine manufacturers trade marks and low (12,XXX) serial number. Other distingushing characteristics as follows:

Gloss finished (Beachwood?) stock with no upper - either wood or perforated barrel shroud

usual "US Carbine Cal .30 M1" in front of the bolt

"I.R CO." stamped on the right rear sight aperture guard

Serial number 12,XXX stamped on the reciever in front of the rear sight assembly

What looks to be the manufacturers stamp of "NAT***ORD INC" partially obscured by the rear sight assembly at the back of the receiver.

Many thanks for any info or informed guesses!

Kurt

 

[AZ Jeff]

You have a commercial copy of the M1 Carbine manufactured by the National Ordnance company. According to Larry Ruth's book "War Baby Comes Home", National Ordnance manufactured M1 Carbines for about 15 years beginning in 1960, producing a total of about 50K carbines over this time.

The recievers were made by themselves, and surplus military parts were attached to those recievers to make complete guns.

The marking "I.R. Co." on the rear sight is the abbreviation for the International Register Company, of Chicago, Illinois. They supplied sights to Quality Hardware, one of the wartime makers of M1 Carbines.