Poll: Carbine Continuation Conundrum

[CountryGent]

So, there is no denying the reoccurring fetish for pistol caliber carbines and submachine-guns. Be they lever-guns, semi-autos, or select-fire; love'em. Light, handy, and uses pistol/revolver calibers we keep. Some are surprisingly accurate. Others not, but aim low, squeeze, and a string of boolits rips through a target in blink of the eye. All bring a smile or even a gregarious laugh.

With this penchant in mind, holy space pickles, so digging the sporterized M1 Carbine. Much like the Model 29, I found myself thinking "where the hell have you been all this time?" Which brings me to my question: I look to experiment more with the whole .30 Carbine thing, but more gonzo. And since there is now magazines and ammo, no concern about logistics of feeding said. (I'm now really picky about adding calibers, so this was done grudgingly. I may dump a caliber to keep in balance. Or forget about it and wander off. Who knows.)

Considering:

1. Iver Johnson Enforcer: just straight up silliness. But there may be something more practical in number two. (I've been warned off the Universal builds in the same vein. And the Universals, at least to my eyes, look like mierda compared to the other.)
2. The aforementioned, but stamped, and SBRed.
3. Contemporary Inland Advisor, then stamped. As above, but newer. (AO ruined me on bothering with anything non-military M1 Carbine, but I've been wrong before. Once bitten twice shy type thing.)
4. M2 Carbine: This is the one that I'm strongly leaning towards. However, lamentably, it is easily the most expensive and obnoxious to obtain. But full-auto M1 Carbine — ah yah. (And Esposita authorized said, so one hurdle already done.)
5. M3 Carbine: That was given as option to vote as a joke. They do turn up from time to time on auctions, but it really doesn't make sense for my purposes. (Or as Dr. Jones, circa 1989, might have said "belongs in a museum".)
6. Ruger Deerfield: Wait, what? Well, it is not an M1, but is in the same form factor. And there is a gorgeous example with aftermarket stock I'm eyeing on GB. Since I know the 10-round magazines works, even better: carbine upgraded to .44 Magnum goodness!

What say you?

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[2Wheels4Ever]

Come on now... A bunch of gun nuts like us are always going to choose to rock and roll. Period correct, full auto, and the wife's on board? M2 and don't look back.

 

[Phred]

I think I read that you don't reload. Feeding an M2 with current factory priced ammo would be pretty expensive. So I'd go for this with a folding stock and shortend barrel. It's the conservative side of me speaking...Kind of.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

In Korea my dad carried a Rock-OLA M2 Carbine...
I'd love one of those.

I've shot one...its kinda fun shooting a full auto Carbine..and with it being made by Rock-OLA...the Jukebox company...
Its really was "Rock and Roll"....

M1 / M2 Carbines are fun shooters for sure.
Andy

 

[Stomper]

I wouldn't call my enthusiasm for firearms a….. "fetish". People may wonder why the blueing is worn on some of my guns.

 

[CountryGent]

Circling back to this, despite my lamentable choice of expression, I'm back to snooping around with the surprising result.

The seller of best option would not get back to me and now appears to be sold. But I've found such goodness as:

• At least one other M2.
• Converted (legally) M1 with trigger pack that can be swapped to other carbines.
• Not one, but two, legally converted Enforcers. One an Iver (bueno), the other Universal (no sé). Regardless, split the different? Who knows, but the machine-pistol/machine-carbine interest together at last sounds wacky, so maybe pre-86 Iver and slap a real stock on it.

I've had too much cray-cray professionally and familiar to push things forward. (More happily, I/we have the most wonderful of plans this weekend coming up that fills me with such radiant joy.) The noise (good and bad) aside, I think it is time to come back to this project this week or thereabouts to move forward.

Well wishes my friends, on this cold, wet evening.

 

[CountryGent]

Opted to not to waste time with the Enforcers and just bought an original M2. (If I care to go the former route, just buy a stock set and then saw it down appropriately. Good enough. Or don't bother.)

 

[Phred]

Good luck with the M2. I have an old friend who carried one in the Korean War. He was a bazooka man, but also picked up an M2 for when he was out of rockets. Sound like a load, but he was 19 and a big strong country boy. He said you couldn't control the thing very well, but it kept their heads down.

 

[Alexx1401]

If I ever were to hit the lotto I would move to where I could own FA again. A couple guns I would quickly lay in are an M3 and an M2. They were both just too much damn fun in the day.
The buddy who had a papered M2 was great at sharing. It was amazing how many people "just knew" they were impossible to control" and other such bunk. When they would see someone like my Wife blast through a mag then hand them the rifle to try they would soon grin from ear to ear in amazement that what they had been "told" for years was not the way these little rifles really worked.

 

[Phred]

Medal Of Honor recipient interview with Marine machine gunner in Korea. Mentions the M2, dies at 89 after rolling onto a grenade 69 years earlier. Makes you proud to just live in the same country.

MSN

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