M1 carbine search tips?

I recommend you do some research via some excellent reference books like "War Baby". Most carbines have been through an arsenal overall at least once, some several times. This is why most have a bayonet lug and adjustable rear sight. When originally manufactured the majority had no bayonet lug and a flip up rear sight. So do you want one for collecting or for a shooter? The price you mention of $795 isn't bad if the carbine is in excellent condition and with the looming AWB prices are only going to go up. There is a dedicated forum for the M1 Carbine you may well want to check out also.

Considering that little carbine was only made for a few years, there is a HUGE variety- high wood/ low wood, flat bolt/ round bolt, slide sight/ flip sight, lug/ no lug- as well as the different makers.

DO read up on them- and sadly, price is not out of line for a VG specimen. Some makers only turned out a few, and they will demand higher $$$. And some names like Rock-ola are going to go for more because.... well, would YOU not like a rifle that says Rock-ola ?

c3shooter said:

Considering that little carbine was only made for a few years, there is a HUGE variety- high wood/ low wood, flat bolt/ round bolt, slide sight/ flip sight, lug/ no lug- as well as the different makers.

DO read up on them- and sadly, price is not out of line for a VG specimen. Some makers only turned out a few, and they will demand higher $$$. And some names like Rock-ola are going to go for more because.... well, would YOU not like a rifle that says Rock-ola ?

Click to expand...

Personally, I would prefer it to say GM..

There have also been many civilian ones made- they sell for quite a bit less. I believe it was Iver Johnson that made one 9mm, I would really like one of them.

I paid $750 for my General motors M1 carbine about 3-4 years ago.

They are great little rifles. I cast a 120 grs. gas checked WW/Linotype with SPG lube. These bullets pushed up to 1,900 fps with Win 296 are very accurate.
The little "War Baby" is just a fun little shooting toy.

nitestalker said:

They are great little rifles. I cast a 120 grs. gas checked WW/Linotype with SPG lube. These bullets pushed up to 1,900 fps with Win 296 are very accurate.
The little "War Baby" is just a fun little shooting toy.

Click to expand...

Yes they are, I love mine. That price seems pretty reasonable to me but finding the ammo at a decent price is a bit of a battle lately. Saw it go anywhere from 25 to 35 bucks a box at the gunshow I went to last week. Only two vendors at the entire show had any left.

The civilian models go for MUCH less- frequently for good reason. When Universal first started making carbines, they were using surplus GI parts. When those ran out, they changed the desgn and started making a carbine that parts did not interchange with the GI carbines. And besides the IJ version, I think Kahr is making one now- and IMI probably made one as well.

And as long as we are drooling over guns we do not have, I would like a .22 Johnson Spitfire. Melvin Johnson modified the carbine to fire a bottlenecked round- 30 carbine necked to .22 caliber. Yowzah!

Here's a great resource on the M1 carbine

http://www.bavarianm1carbines.com/rifles.html

C3 you have to be an "Old" timer to recall the "Spitfire". I know your Grandpa told you about it. The "War Baby" can eat up a pile of ammo on a Plinking Afternoon. Learn to reload and cast. The little M1 is a natural for cast bullets. My cost for .30 Carb reloads is $6 bucks per hundred. The cost goes up and down depending on the cost of gas checks and primers.

Say I find one with the later adjustable rear sight, would it be easily changed back to the flip sight?

I realize that with the rearsenaling that I'm not getting an I cut stock or a flip sight and not likely to get a type 1 or 2 barrel band. But I want to make it as close to a 1944 issue as I can while still being cost effective.

Donn said:

Was at a show last weekend and there were several M1 Carbines of all makes for sale. The average price was around $800, some less, (not much), some a lot more. Since it's on "The List," prices won't be going down any time soon. As others have mentioned, ammo can be pricey and hard to find. Even if you load your own, brass and primers can be scarce.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I'm pretty used to expensive ammo. As you can see the list of my chamberings in my signature.

The .22lr the 9mm and the 54r are about all that get range time anymore.

Trez said:

Personally, I would prefer it to say GM..

Click to expand...

That's what mine says

check with cmp last time in anaston thay had bavarien police

I picked up a Plainsfield carbine for 400 and feel like I got a deal. Yes, it is a commercial but from what you find about them in researching and my experience with mine, they are great rifles. It also is interchangeable with all GI parts, and I do believe its the only commercial carbine that is like that.

I have to go with the one i own was handed to me from my uncle who was a marine.its a winchester,he firmly beleived they were the best of all of them as far as the .30 m1s go.and i havent had a chance to fire many of the other models. The win m1 i have is awesome and pretty damn accurate ,great fun to shoot rifle but yea ammo is getting scarce. far as price they seem to keep climbing in value , all the mil contract ones anyway's

I have seen several civilian models selling from $410 to $480 in the last couple of weeks. Average condition.