Universal M1 Carbine?

[TooTaxed]

I've been offered a M1 Carbine made by Universal in new condition. Looking it over, I notice there's no detent pin in the bolt assy to hold the action open. Why? Any other differences from the military carbines? Are the parts interchangable? I'm primarily interested in shooting, not collector value... What is the approximate value of this little rifle?

 

[Trebor]

I'd pass on the Universal carbine if I were you. The early guns will interchange some parts with the GI guns. The later guns will not. There are also some safety issues to consider. Due to the redesign of the bolt the Universal guns are much more likely to fire out of battery then GI guns.

Read this thread from Jouster.com for more info.

http://www.jouster.com/cgi-bin/carbi...e.pl?read=7965

 

[Mauserguy]

I have a Universal and enjoy it very much. It is reliable and accurate. I don't expect to be able to replace many of the parts cheaply, but as long as nothing breaks, I will be happy. All, and all, it's a good gun. If you decide to buy it, just be sure that you get it at a discount from GI carbine prices. It should not command a premium price.
Mauserguy

 

[mnrivrat]

I agree with Mauserguy here - the Universal carbine is not a Mil Spec gun and the quality is not up to the standards of the military carbines.

Some parts can be adapted or interchanged, but mostly not. In short, it is a cheap copy of the M1 carbine built to sell on the civilian market. It is not worth near as much as the Military guns, but they can be fun and can work OK. Most of the problems I have seen with them was the looser tolerances causing the magazine to not lock in real tight - this can cause feed problems.

 

[Spiggy]

my freind has one and is happy with it. At range trips, it'll use whatever mags, chew whatever crappy (wolf) ammo, and spit the casings and bullets in the correct directions. No messes. Also, it will not take GI furniture without massive work grinding- we learned that with a repro parastock.

Overall, not too bad for something for $300

 

[dfariswheel]

There are actually TWO Universal Carbines.

The early Universals were more or less interchangeable with USGI Carbines, and the very early models were 100% USGI parts assembled with a commercial cast receiver.

As time went on and the supply of GI parts dried up, Universal began making more and more of the parts from castings.

Finally, in the early 1970's, Universal did a complete redesign of the rifle and it became more of a Carbine "look-alike".
Among the changes were major changes to the gas system, a change to a double recoil spring, and changing the op rod assembly to a stamped and welded part.
You can ID these later rifles by the stamped op rod with a cut-out over the bolt cam surface through which you can see the bolt lug.

It's these later "look-alike" rifles that have a bad reputation, and parts for them are difficult to find.

 

[Jubjub]

I have two Universals, both the "bad" dual spring models. Both have been 100% reliable with various commercial FMJ loads and with Remington soft points, using both GI 15 round mags and the 30 round commercial mags they came with. Both are plenty accurate for defensive carbines, though they certainly aren't varmint rifles.

One of my Universals stays in a soft case in the trunk of my car, unloaded, cased, and utterly legal, with two mags full of soft point ammo in a carrier on the stock and another mag in a pocket on the case. Another resides at an undisclosed location in my house. If 45 rounds of .30 soft points can't solve my immediate problem, I've obviously wandered into the wrong zombie movie.

 

[Eightball]

One of my buddies had a few Universals; he tried several different combos so far as setups go, but none of them were decently accurate. He saw me shooting the Inland I got from the CMP, and was decently impressed with the accuracy as compared to his old universals.

If you just want an expensive-to-feed, semi-auto .357 mag-type-ammunition blaster, go for it; if you want a good M1 Carbine, get a GI.

 

[Monty]

Timely thread, just ran across one today in a pawn shot for $399. Looked to be in super shape. This thread ended my temptation.

Thanks, Monty

 

[MassMark]

Tale Of Two Universals....

I had not one, but two Universal M1 Carbines...Calling it an M1 Carbine is blasphemy, so I'll correct myself and say I had two Universal Carbine Attempts - forever known as UCA's....

One was extremely accurate - neither functioned reliably - despite attempts to tweak them. I have heard stories of perfectly functioning Universals - neither of them were mine. Never again....

 

[enfield]

I've owned my late-model Universal for 30+ years. It's never failed to fire, and gives adequate accuracy. It's a fun plinker and my wife loves it.