How do you like your M1 carbine?

[whiskeytangofoxtrot]

I'm heading to Camp Perry (CMP) on Friday morning to pick me up another Garand and BS with everyone up there.

I've never owned one, so I ask, what made you buy one? and how do you like it?

I may pick one up while I am over there. I'd just like to know the pros and cons.

Thanks.

PS. Anyone want to head over with me?

 

[Barry in IN]

Mine didn't come through the CMP (at least this go-round) but I do have one.
I got mine in the late 80's when they were selling truckloads of the "Blue Sky" re-imports of US Carbines that had been on loan to Korea. It was made by Winchester.

I like it. I sure wish I had bought more back then.

I often hear that they are inaccurate, but I seldom hear that from people that own one. They aren't match rifles, but seem to do OK. There are some tips and tricks to getting the most accuracy out of them by manipulating or swapping barrel bands and recoil plates. One article on this is on the CMP's website in PDF form. A link is on their Carbine page.
I think some .30 Carbine ammo is loaded without much care, so that may contribute to reports of inaccuracy.

Mine works great with FMJ ammo loaded to military spec. Some of the commercial FMJ stuff is loaded just a little weak. If I use that, it will malf sometimes unless I keep it well-oiled. I chrono'd some "real" Carbine ammo and got 1980 FPS. Some Winchester USA I had ran around 1870 FPS. It must be loaded just enough lighter to make a difference when dirty or dry.

Some will feed soft point or JHP ammo, and some won't. Mine will take the SPs, but not the JHP (it's a tiny little HP). People say they don't take much feedramp polishing to make them feed this ammo, but I have chosen not to alter mine in any permanant way.
According to ballistician Gary K Roberts: the Remington SPs work pretty well: "Expand .54"-.58", penetrate 13"-16" in bare gelatin, works through auto windshields...this is as good as the best .223s".
The Win JHP works "reasonably well" but Fed SP "acts like ball"- no expansion.
He wrote that before CorBon came out with their .30 Carbine DPX load. I was eagerly awaiting that ammo, hoping it would improve performance AND feed better than the JHPs, but I still haven't tried any. Either I can't find it in stock, or when I do- I balk at spending that much on ammo for a gun that has failed to feed some JHPs.

I think an M1 Carbine with good ammuniton would be a fine home defense or car/truck gun. With a "stock pouch" on the gun with a pair of 15-rd mags in it, you can grab the gun and have a decent carbine with 30 rounds onboard. I've kept mine in the van inside a softball bat case. That case might throw off potential thieves, and holds the carbine and stock pouch, some snap-on-the-belt Kydex mag pouches, and some loose mags. Its a handy grab and go bag.

I've used mine in a couple of 3-gun matches and it handled really well. It was as short and handy as anything else being used there, and probably weighed less, so it was quick-handling. I didn't have to fight with a high bore-line/sight-line differential on close targets. I probably could have used some 30-rd mags, but did not otherwise feel handicapped by using an M1 Carbine.

I almost used it in an off-site Gunsite Carbine class a couple of years ago. I went as far as taking the gun, mags, and ammo with me, but stayed with an AR15. One student did use a pure-GI carbine throughout the class, and did very well. I'm sure he didn't feel like he was handicapped by it.

Magazines can be tricky because there are a lot of counterfeit "GI" 30-rd mags out there. I think there is another article on those on the CMP Carbine page. I don't even own a 30-rd mag. The 15-rd mags were only around three bucks when I was buying them, so that's what I bought.
If you do get some 30-rd mags, make sure you have the right mag catch installed. They changed the mag catch because the originals wouldn't always support the heavier 30-rd mag and the mag would sometimes fall out of the gun while in use. The correct 30-rd mag catch has an extra "tooth" to hold the mag and is marked with an underlined "M" on it's "button". If it has an "M" that isn't underlined, it isn't the right one- that's the type before.

I wouldn't go too crazy looking for matching parts. No single contractor made every single part for the Carbine, so while there are "correct" Carbines, there should be no "all matching" Carbines (possibly excepting the early Winchester prototypes).
While that should make things simpler, it doesn't. In a lot of cases, a prime manufacturer used a couple of subcontractors for certain parts. So now if you want the gun to be "correct", you would have to remember what manufacturer used what sub(s) for each and every part, and how that sub marked their parts. With more manufacturers and many more subcontractors, it's not as easy as with a Garand for example.

I would make the suggestion to just make sure the receiver and barrel matched, but a mis-matched barrel/receiver doesn't always mean it's wrong.
Saginaw Steering Gear used barrels from IBM, Underwood, Inland, Buffalo Arms, and their own. Quality Hardware used barrels from seven different sources, Irwin Pedersen from four sources, etc.

You can check all of the parts for correctness if you want, but if doing that- I'd take a book and take my time to check the parts in detail, or I wouldn't bother at all.
When I got my "re-import", I just went through a couple of racks of Carbines and picked the one with the best bore. That's what I'd do if doing it again.

So yes, I like them. The AR15 may be a little more ergonomic, but not much. The M1 Carbine is simple, rugged, and usually accurate enough for it's range and sometimes surprisingly accurate. It's about the size, and maybe slightly heavier than, a Ruger 10-22...but with more power. Nothing wrong with that.