M1 CARBINE INFO

[42769vette]

i have a friend who has a m1 carbine it says its a underwood but on the barrel it says general motors who also made some m1s the serial number is 295xxxx i i was hoping someone here could give me some more info on it

also i know the imports from post ? mabye 67 where marked does anyone know where its marked at. the gun is pretty well beat up but how does this model/brand perform

 

[kedie]

I'm sure somebody here can get you squared away, but if not check out the CMP forums.

CMP Home

Those folks know it all when it comes to Garands and Carbines.

 

[IndyBeerman]

i have a friend who has a m1 carbine it says its a underwood but on the barrel it says general motors who also made some m1s the serial number is 2958491 i i was hoping someone here could give me some more info on it

also i know the imports from post ? mabye 67 where marked does anyone know where its marked at. the gun is pretty well beat up but how does this model/brand perform

Based on that serial, Inland - GM 2,912,520 to 3,212,519, sure he does not have it backwards, Inland receiver with a Underwood bbl?

I have a Underwood and my serial is in the 2765### with the flaming bomb date of 10-43.

BTW, it's always a good idea to never post the full serial incase someone tries to report it stolen, then you have a heck of a time proving it is yours unless you have a bill of sale with the serial on it from a reputable dealer/person.

 

[CandRFan]

Underwood made their own barrels. Your friend's carbine has an Inland barrel on it which wouldn't be "correct" if that sort of thing matters to him. Underwood built 545,616 carbines, or 8.9% of total production.

The serial has me slightly stumped...one of the assigned blocks of serials for Underwood carbines was 2,352,520 - 2,912,519 with these carbines being produced from July '43 to Feb '44...the next block begins at 4,010,00 for production starting in mid Feb '44. The serial you posted would fall into an assigned Inland serial block, with production in late Sept. '43 or early Oct. '43. The dates are estimated.

Are there any cartouches on the stock? Post them if you want and I'll try to tell you about them.

I'm a big fan of the little M1 carbine (see my avatar, the top carbine is a QHMC the bottom is an Inland.) There really aren't any GI carbines produced by the various manufacturers that are of better quality than the others so depending on the carbine's condition I would expect that your friend's carbine to be a fun and fine shooting carbine.

 

[mettle]

I'd love a USGI M1 carbine for sure. .30 cal, mag fed, small and light...yahoo!

 

[42769vette]

Underwood made their own barrels. Your friend's carbine has an Inland barrel on it which wouldn't be "correct" if that sort of thing matters to him. Underwood built 545,616 carbines, or 8.9% of total production.

The serial has me slightly stumped...one of the assigned blocks of serials for Underwood carbines was 2,352,520 - 2,912,519 with these carbines being produced from July '43 to Feb '44...the next block begins at 4,010,00 for production starting in mid Feb '44. The serial you posted would fall into an assigned Inland serial block, with production in late Sept. '43 or early Oct. '43. The dates are estimated.

Are there any cartouches on the stock? Post them if you want and I'll try to tell you about them.

I'm a big fan of the little M1 carbine (see my avatar, the top carbine is a QHMC the bottom is an Inland.) There really aren't any GI carbines produced by the various manufacturers that are of better quality than the others so depending on the carbine's condition I would expect that your friend's carbine to be a fun and fine shooting carbine.

the serial number is what has me stumped aswell. i know on the barrel under the front site (bottom of the barrel) it says gen motors. i know its beat up pretty bad. he ask me what it was worth, and i know very little about m1s, so im looking all over the web and cant find anything to really compare it to. i never knew there was so much to the m1 until today

 

[CandRFan]

the serial number is what has me stumped aswell. i know on the barrel under the front site (bottom of the barrel) it says gen motors. i know its beat up pretty bad. he ask me what it was worth, and i know very little about m1s, so im looking all over the web and cant find anything to really compare it to. i never knew there was so much to the m1 until today

What else does it say? I guess now that I think about it, it could also be a Saginaw barrel.

Inland barrels are stamped Inland Mfg. Div above General Motors with the barrel manufacture date under that.

Saginaw barrels are stamped Saginaw S.G. Div. above General Motors.

Is it import marked? When you say it's pretty beat up, are you talking just the stock or is the metal in bad shape?

 

[42769vette]

i havent seen the gun in a few months im just saying what i remember. i will be seing it tomorow so i can give more details

i will look for the manufacture above the gen motors

where will i find a import stamp on it if it has one i think i read that it could be anywhere but im not sure

by pretty beat up i mean the wood is beat up the metal has the blueing worn of some but is ok as far as pits or rust

 

[CandRFan]

i havent seen the gun in a few months im just saying what i remember. i will be seing it tomorow so i can give more details

i will look for the manufacture above the gen motors

where will i find a import stamp on it if it has one i think i read that it could be anywhere but im not sure

by pretty beat up i mean the wood is beat up the metal has the blueing worn of some but is ok as far as pits or rust

The import mark will probably be somewhere on the barrel or maybe on the receiver. Make sure the receiver is an Underwood too. Also, if you want, check the stock to see if you can find any stampings in the wood. Look forward of the oiler slot and in the sling well, and on the bottom of the pistol grip.

Part of the fun, for me at least, of collecting US WWII weapons is that almost every part is stamped with something. And with the carbine, you have lots of other things, high wood or low wood stock, I cut oiler slot, 3 kinds of rear sights, 4 types of barrel bands, several different mag catches, 4 different safeties, etc. etc. etc. Having a carbine that is "correct" is worth a lot more money than a carbine with mixed parts.

Of course, the thing is that most of these guns have been arsenal refurbished anyway at one time or another anyway. Add to that an importer just adding parts to import guns to replace anything broke or missing too.

But, like I said, having an Underwood carbine with an Underwood stock as well as other "correct" parts just adds to the value.

Even if that carbine is just a parts gun, I'd say it's worth minimum $450 though. A purist might turn his nose up at it, but someone wanting a nice shooter would definetly jump on it.

 

[Flintlock]

If it's beat up like you say, I'd say worth more around $400-$450. That's based on CMP prices though and you would be much more likely to get a higher price at a gunshow. I think you may have just been confused on the maker of the receiver as it IS indeed in the Inland block of serials. Let us know what you see when you look at it tomorrow.