The M1 Carbine is everyone's favorite little rifle from WWII. Well, maybe not everyone's. For a lot of people, it's their favorite rifle to hate. Anyway, I really like it, and today I'm going to talk about why. We'll also cover a lot of background and history of the M1 Carbine.
VIDEO HERE (12:38 minutes)
I know this. My late stepfather had a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 carbine and I was with him when he shot a deer with it at about 60 yards. That deer went over like he was hit by a truck. Knocked him off his feet and he was dead right there.
ReplyDeleteYou sure that wasn't a 9mm....
DeleteNo, it would have blown it's lungs out!
DeleteIf you like th M1 carbine you'll really like the old ruger 44 carbine. 44 magnum will take down elk or moose and it's the same handy feeling rifle.
ReplyDeleteLast elk I took was at 386 yards. I wouldn't try that with a 44 mag. Great brush gun though....
DeleteLast elk I took was 25 yards with a 50 lb. recurve bow. 5x5 and 350 lbs dressed. Real hunting is close up and personal.
DeleteForgot to mention-weight was sans head and hide. I was younger then at 69. 75 now and still hunting.
DeleteAnon at 8:15pm, real hunters use stone-tipped or fire-hardened wooden spears.
DeleteOf course, some think real hunting only happens when you can chase and drag it down and rip its throat out with your teeth.
Or, well, real hunting is any method that brings meat to the table that isn't trapping
The Ruger .44 Carbine is known in New Orleans as the ‘Mark Essex Special.’
DeleteGoogle is your friend.
If it's not your favorite rifle, you probably butt chug Bud Light.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you may be a bud light expert
DeleteDo you the rifle or just the Bud Light? Can tell you which one I have and don't have.
DeleteNo expert I profess to be but have heard there were complaints about the carbine's stopping power versus the Garand.
ReplyDelete.30-06 vs .30 carbine.
DeleteI know one person, a crusty old Korea/ Ñam vet, who’s actually used and seen the M1 Carbine in action for realsies (vs reading stuff on it). He said they were a great rifle out to about 300 yards. Kinda put my concerns about its “stopping power” to rest.
DeleteThat comes down to a failed 'experiment' that went into the field. They were running out of carbine powder and substituted rifle powder. So not all the powder burned in the shorter barrel, so some loss of power was experienced. Not an issue under 200 yards, and the carbine powder was good enough to 300-400 yards.
DeleteIf Audey Murphy could kill lots of Krauts with a carbine, then that's good enough for me.
Yeah, Whites killing other Whites is not a good thing. No more brother wars.
DeleteIt is a great home defense gun. If you need to protect your family, you can do so without worrying overly about the round going through the neighbor's wall and lodging 3 rooms over as would the Garand.
ReplyDeleteYup .. in the early 90s, Rooftop Koreans liked the carbine well enough.
DeleteThe Koreans (South Korea Koreans) make the best over-10rnd magazines for the carbine.
DeleteAudie Murphy killed a lot of Germans with his M1 carbine.
ReplyDeleteI've heard a lot of people disrespecting the carbine, but I never heard of anybody volunteering to get shot by one......
DeleteDuring an interview years after the war, Murphy rattled of the serial number of his Carbine, not his previously issued Garand, so perhaps that indicates something about his preferences. A member of Army Ordnance read the interview and searched the records. The gun turned up in inventory at Anniston Army Depot and was retrieved for restoration.
Another Carbine fan was John George, a serious pre-WWII high power rifle competitor with the M1903 Springfield who wrote his book Shots Fired in Anger about his experiences on Guadalcanal and with Merrill's Marauders in Burma, where he used the Carbine extensively. Great read if you can find it.
Jim Cirillo used to put a lot of felons down in NYC back in the day. It was his stakeout gun.
ReplyDeletePaul J
Got a Ruger revolver in .30 carbine. Probably 5K rounds of GI ammo. You have to beat the empties out of the cylinder after firing it. Buddy has one also and it's the same way. Commercial ammo is not a problem. Also have a Thompson Center Contender rifle in .30 Carbine. Lot of people think it's a puny round but in actuality it has more muzzle energy than a .44 magnum.
ReplyDeleteThe M1 like a lot of mil surp guns of the past used to be a great little carbone...still is if you can find a decent one under a thousand bucks and if you can find any ammo...and magazines. But it and ammo for it is rapr becoming unobtainum for all but the very well heeled.
ReplyDeleteThe maker 'Rockola' was the one I most wanted and I finally got one about 15 years ago. Great little guns.
ReplyDeleteEd
At 17 was enrolled at Marion (AL) Military Institute (1969-70). Had to learn to strip down & clean a M1. At 117 lbs. doing the Manual Of Arms was a challenge. Plus "Present Arms" for inspection left me with right thumb blood blisters my entire year.
ReplyDeleteIt's sorta an AK-47, IMO. Can't f it up, weathered all kinds of climate conditions.
I don't have the military pattern, but I do own a similar commercial (Universal) M1 carbine. Great for beginning shooters. Doesn't throw empty brass far, making it easier to gather empties.
ReplyDeleteI don't own an original U.S. armory model, but I do own a commercial M1 copy (Universal manufactured) that made a very similar handling rifle. It is a stainless steel version, which attracted me to it. Make a good boat gun I think.
ReplyDeleteIts like an Ruger 10/22 with more power. The two magazine 15 found kept on rifle along with rifle magazine allows 45 rounds carried onboard - Not Bad ! If for social purposes or hunting, the SP bullet is a better choice of round. I also had the Ruger 7 1/2" Blackhawk and though moderate recoil and fairly accurate and flat shooting, it was loud as Hell. Even with ears plugged up, i began to develop a flinch and I reluctantly had to sell it for that reason. Too bad - it was a good one too.
Yeah, freaking expensive to feed if looking for ammunition now. I think $40 for a box of 50 rounds is about the market, at least it was a year ago.
During my second tour of the Persian Gulf, I met my first wife in Australia. She was horrified at the guns I owned. One night by when I was on duty on the base she rang me to say some dude was on the back deck. I said "You've got a German shepherd and a 12 gauge. Ring me back." From then on, when me and mates would go to the range, she would grab the M1 and squeeze off a double tap faster than we could. Good times!
ReplyDeleteMuch more power than any pistol caliber carbine, for all those folks running 9mm rifles. When I was a kid, surplus M1's and ammo was dirt cheap, only slightly more than .22 LR. Now you're hard pressed to find a good one and the ammo. I know why, us kids shot the shit out of them in the 60's and 70's. And maintained them just like our .22's, ie spray it with some WD40 and keep shooting. Great little rifles. Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDeleteI walked into a Woolworth's 50 years ago and they had a display of about a dozen. I recall it was around $90 and it was the first firearm I purchased. I still have it and shoot it only infrequently because of ammo issues. It is not in the best of condition, but makes an appreciably good grouping at 100 yards.
ReplyDeleteI own a 1944 carbine and it is a joy to shoot. Refurbished sometime post war, most likely 47-48. They had full auto carbines in the war but did not distribute them to the troops, and a variety of manufactors made them including American Typewriter. Also visited Carbine’s display at the NC historical bldg in Raleigh. A great American rifle!
ReplyDelete