Finding and pricing a M1 carbine

gunbanshee said:

You can get a shooter anywhere from $400 up if you check the internet. The first thing you need to ask is what you prefer. Do you want it as a collector,
a shooter or both. Do you want a military or a commercial version. Parts are a problem with the commercials as the military parts do not all fit depending
on who made the carbine. There is a site on the internet by German /Austrianguy that offers a bevy of info on M1 carbine that covers almost everything.
If you buy a military version you are better off because all of the military M1sare built to one spec making the parts interchangable. There is no such thing
as a carbine with matching numbers because of the methods that was used to mass produce them. You might find one that has all the parts made by the same contractor but that is as close as you are going to get. The Ser. # is on the end of the reciever and thats the only place. You'll find numbers onthe other parts
but they are from the parts suppliers. About 7-9 vendors made these weapons during WW II but all traded parts to keep up the quotas.There were approximetly 8 million made by the end of the war. The condition of the Gun is another factor, if it looks new it's probably been refinished. If you are an experianced shooter look it over very good. One of the reply to your post reccomended a bore gauge which is a very good idea. When it doubt have it checked out. The commercial versions usually work well but they are quirky depending on how well the mag fits the well, the ammo used, feed issues and other things. You ought to see the gun in person, which you can't do over the internet, which is my personal reccomendation. A gun show is probably the best place and your best bet. There are dealers that specializein M1 carbines only and ones that sell Carbines and M1 Garands. Since you own a garand you can see how competent they answer questions about the garand and gauge what kind of answers you will get about the carbine. At the shows you have all kinds of people offering an opinion or facts about this gun and also you can get parts, accessories and manuals. If you've done any kind of smithing you my find a cheap "Beater" that shoots well and just redo it. Usually an old one will have the parkerizing worn off and the commercials are usually blued. Check out the reputation of the ones built new such as Auto Ordnance. If you are in Maryland from what I've heard and seen Fulton Armory in Savage Md. builds an excellant military spec. version for about$1,500. Finally, for a shooter, this is only a medium range rifle made for 300 yards and under. Most states will not let you hunt deer with it. Its power ranges from somewhere over a .44 magnum to a little less than 7.62X45 (AR15). Its Light. Loud, Fun and Accurate at the right range. I know this is a lot to consider. I shot one of these when I was about 11 and have not stopped since, I'll be 62 next week. I've owned 8 of them and my buddy and I have refinished about 25 of them. They area very pleasurable weapon to own. Hope this helps you out.

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