M1 Carbine - shopping advices Please

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  • josh19

    Member
    Dec 12, 2013
    63
    Hello everyone,

    After several years of debating if I should get this WWII classic, I concluded I should get one. Not getting younger anymore. As with other firearms I brought, I did my web search - gun review, visiting forum and talking with gun shop owners. But the more I dig into it, more difficult to make the choice.

    Essentially I condensed my choice to

    1. Inland 1945 model with Bayonet lug
    https://www.inland-mfg.com/Inland-Carbines/M1-1945.html or

    2. the less expensive model from Auto Ordnance
    http://www.auto-ordnance.com/firearms/auto-ordnance-aom130.asp

    Right now I incline to get the Inland as it has more history to this manufacturer. But I then learned that inland was closed for decades. The now inland was in name only and has little to do with the old manufacturer.

    The more I talked with people, the more I was told all these new production have lots of feeding issues. My best bet is to get an " GI issued" authentic WWII carbine.

    Questions as followed:

    Q1 - should I bother with the new production like inland ? and focus in getting a true piece of history.

    Q2 - Where should I look for the GI issued carbine ? ( But like used car, I have no idea what is a good GI issue M1 carbine. BTW: what does it meant to be GI issued ? I thought all these WWII rifles are made by multiple factories (IBM, Rock OLA and other strange sounding companies). Are these GI issued ?)

    Q3 - besides Inland, AO and then there is Fulton Armory. All these rifles looks the same. What is the difference of the quality.

    Guess my bottom line question is

    Should I save the money for other brand of rifle ?

    Thanks for helping
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    No carbine guy here but I have read the recently manufactured Inlands have much to be desired. Pages and pages of it some written by advanced collectors and authorities on the subject.
    I would do my homework and save my money for something specifically manufactured for the government in its entirety no matter how tempting other examples may be.
    Unless you can of course score a deal for a plinker that wont set you back considerably in the event one pops up and you can still grab it.
     

    Red1917

    Active Member
    Apr 13, 2017
    665
    Anne Arundel County
    Spend the money and get a real US government m1 carbine, lots of manufacturers were contracted to make carbines during the war, plenty of info is out there on the web about them. Your best bet might be to go to a gun show and look around at them and see what people are asking for them. My 1943 underwoood is a great shooter and for me it was worth it to get an original
     

    Trekker

    Active Member
    Oct 20, 2011
    687
    Harford County
    Q1 - should I bother with the new production like inland ? and focus in getting a true piece of history.

    Q2 - Where should I look for the GI issued carbine ? ( But like used car, I have no idea what is a good GI issue M1 carbine. BTW: what does it meant to be GI issued ? I thought all these WWII rifles are made by multiple factories (IBM, Rock OLA and other strange sounding companies). Are these GI issued ?)

    Q3 - besides Inland, AO and then there is Fulton Armory. All these rifles looks the same. What is the difference of the quality.

    Q1: I got my M1 carbine to a certain degree because it was the primary firearm my grandfather carried in ww2. So, I would say the answer to this question rests on what aspects you value. Overall, just on the dependability and value retention basis, I would recommend a GI issue M1.

    Q2: I got my M1 carbine by asking about them on MDS just as you are doing now. $700 for a great quality ww2 era M1.
     

    Reptile

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 29, 2014
    7,282
    Columbia MD
    Check out www.uscarbinecal30M1.com to get smart on GI-issued M1 carbines. That's the type I prefer because I like USGI firearms and the history revealed by the markings on them showing who made them, when they were made, by whom they were refurbished for re-issue, etc. Just studying those markings is a hobby in itself.
     

    bbrown

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 10, 2009
    3,032
    MD
    There's a guy at the Chantilly shows who has a lot of good looking GI M1 carbines for sale, by many different manufacturers, but his prices are in the $1000 range. You'll find a passel to choose from there from many different dealers.

    Go GI, nothing else.
     

    Cheesehead

    Active Member
    Jan 14, 2012
    684
    Sunny Southwest Florida
    Stick with a real GI carbine, and you will own a real piece of history, that will only increase in value. They were made by 10 different manufacturers during the war. Inland ( a division of General Motors, not the new company selling new carbines now) made the most, but they were built by companies as diverse as Winchester and Rock-Ola jukebox company. Do a little internet research and head to the gunshows. It might take a few shows, but you should be able to find a nice piece of history. Stay away from the civilian made carbines, such as Universal, Plainfield and Iver Johnson. The Universals have a reputation for unreliability, and GI parts don't interchange. The others are better, but they're still not a REAL M1 Carbine! Find a GI with a good bore and you will be happy.
     

    josh19

    Member
    Dec 12, 2013
    63
    Thanks everyone for the wealth of info. Instead of new production carbine, I will go for a real authentic WWII rifle. I checked and Dulles expo gun show is scheduled for Nov 17 -19. There is a wealth of info in the web like the www.uscarbinecal30M1.com Reptile recommended, great site !

    I will study the info more. But in a nut shell a M1 carbine is GI issued if it meets the following 2 criteria:

    - that it is a carbine made in WWII era for the GI
    - that it is made by one of these companies (Inland Manufacturing/ Winchester/ Underwood/Saginaw/National Postal Meter/Quality Hardware & Machine/IBM/ Standard/ Rock-Ola/)

    So question is: of all these companies, will that matter which of these 9 manufacturers made it? Names I heard most often are inland, Underwood, National Postal Meter. But by volume, I would guess Inland rifle probably a tad better than the rest as they made the most quantity. Anyhow I will focus in these few names.

    Also if I decide to get one from Dulles gun show, what is the law governing the buying a rifle there for a Maryland resident? Will they do the background check right there and I will just cash and carry it home ?

    Thanks again for enlightening me.
     

    Cheesehead

    Active Member
    Jan 14, 2012
    684
    Sunny Southwest Florida
    Since it's your first carbine, buy the best condition one you can find for the money you want to spend. You are correct that there were more inlands built, and Irwin-Pedersons are the rarest, as they lost there contract early in the war and Saginaw took over their Grand Rapids plant, marking the receivers S'G'. It really doesn't matter, unless you have a connection to one particular manufacturer.
     

    Reptile

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 29, 2014
    7,282
    Columbia MD
    Thanks everyone for the wealth of info. Instead of new production carbine, I will go for a real authentic WWII rifle. I checked and Dulles expo gun show is scheduled for Nov 17 -19. There is a wealth of info in the web like the www.uscarbinecal30M1.com Reptile recommended, great site !

    I will study the info more. But in a nut shell a M1 carbine is GI issued if it meets the following 2 criteria:

    - that it is a carbine made in WWII era for the GI
    - that it is made by one of these companies (Inland Manufacturing/ Winchester/ Underwood/Saginaw/National Postal Meter/Quality Hardware & Machine/IBM/ Standard/ Rock-Ola/)

    So question is: of all these companies, will that matter which of these 9 manufacturers made it? Names I heard most often are inland, Underwood, National Postal Meter. But by volume, I would guess Inland rifle probably a tad better than the rest as they made the most quantity. Anyhow I will focus in these few names.

    Also if I decide to get one from Dulles gun show, what is the law governing the buying a rifle there for a Maryland resident? Will they do the background check right there and I will just cash and carry it home ?

    Thanks again for enlightening me.

    Mine was made by Quality Hardware and it's a great shooter with a lot of character. An unexpected plus is that .30 caliber is considered a pistol caliber and most indoor ranges will let you shoot it.
     

    dreadpirate

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 7, 2010
    5,521
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    I have a GI issue M1 carbine so I cannot speak for the Inland and AO clones. But I have heard the Fulton Armory offering is very well built; probably the best non GI issue money can buy.
     

    Jimbob2.0

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 20, 2008
    16,600
    Buy a vintage USGI carbine while you can, if not 3. Over time its going to be hard to discern the rebrand Inland and Rockola's from the real deal since they are not defended copyrights like IBM. Reality is that sooner or later they will disappear into collections and be unobtanium at shooter prices, at that point the investment cast receivers are a reality. But there are still plenty of guns available in the sub $1k range. Some more common variants down to $600 or so.
     

    dreadpirate

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 7, 2010
    5,521
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    Also if I decide to get one from Dulles gun show, what is the law governing the buying a rifle there for a Maryland resident? Will they do the background check right there and I will just cash and carry it home ?

    Thanks again for enlightening me.

    Legal in Maryland and can be purchased from FFL at the show; you have to either (1) get a 10 round mag or no mag with the rifle, or, (2) buy the rifle and then buy the high cap mag separately.
     

    Rambler

    Doing the best with the worst.
    Oct 22, 2011
    2,162
    When you are looking for an M1 carbine, you will eventually encounter some of the commercially made ones from manufacturers which no longer exist. Some of these are of ok quality while others are downright dangerous junk. I found the website linked below to be useful in identifying these manufacturers carbines.


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

    airbornetrooper

    Active Member
    Nov 9, 2017
    137
    VA
    Buy a vintage USGI carbine while you can, if not 3. Over time its going to be hard to discern the rebrand Inland and Rockola's from the real deal since they are not defended copyrights like IBM. Reality is that sooner or later they will disappear into collections and be unobtanium at shooter prices, at that point the investment cast receivers are a reality. But there are still plenty of guns available in the sub $1k range. Some more common variants down to $600 or so.

    +1 Always buy the original. New production M1 carbines might work fine if you're looking for a shooter, but they will never have the value of a WWII dated example.

    Some collectors might poo-poo the Blue Sky imports, but they are probably the cheapest and best value for an original M1 carbine. I don't think we're going to be seeing any of the mythical pallets full of carbines that exist in South Korea anytime soon.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    I agree US GI.

    A great resource is the CMP Forums on carbines. Also people there that sell carbines.

    I picked mine up at a gun show in Winchester. I paid about $800, and after checking with the people on CMP forum, I got a very good deal.

    Original Inland. Came with some spare parts, a few mags, some ammo, and a bayonet.
     

    K31

    "Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 15, 2006
    35,632
    AA county
    I paid $300 for my original Inland. The guy wanted $350 but I offered him $300.
     

    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,232
    Carroll County
    ...

    Some collectors might poo-poo the Blue Sky imports, but they are probably the cheapest and best value for an original M1 carbine. I don't think we're going to be seeing any of the mythical pallets full of carbines that exist in South Korea anytime soon.

    I have a Blue Sky carbine that is just fine. Always a good shooter, and the barrel stamp is no where near as bad as the huge billboards we've come to accept on receivers. No, it doesn't deform the rifling.

    If I could get a little plutonium to recharge my flux capacitor, I'd go back and buy a truck load of those Blue Sky imports.
     

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