M1 Carbine help!

[Jbsheepdog]

I found a M1 for sale. I've always wanted one but wondering how practical it would be with the state of firearms and ammunition right now. It would be another caliber that I would need to acquire. Not to mention wanting to return it to an original stock and function.
Question #1 how difficult/expensive would it be to get a decent stock set to "UN- sportarise" it.

#2 How much is ammo/magazines for the rifle usaually? (Not covid prices) and what are they now?

#3 would it be a good candidate to reload for?

#4 is this rifle worth my time and money?
(It's an inland which I've heard mixed things about???)

I think I can get it for about $500 but idk if it works. Comes with one mag. The action seems pretty smooth. And the trigger functioned alright.
#5 If I did get it, get a stock for it and clean it up a bit. IF I didn't like the gun after all would I be able to get my money out of it.

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[homeuser6]

read the receiver. it is a universal. it is junk.

 

[WAW44]

That's not an inland. That's a commercial Universal Firearms carbine.

M1 carbine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I know nothing about them, but based on serial number you can determine if it's a gun made with USGI parts or a later one, which has little in common with a USGI carbine.

 

[wolfcreed]

Looks like this is a Universal M1 Carbine and not USGI. Personally, I would save my money for a USGI and keep looking. It will cost you 300-600 more, but worth every penny.

Check out this link: http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbine_universal.html

Best mags are USGI and can be found on this site and many others. Expect to pay around $15 - $25 per mag and some more than that.

Ammo is "or was" readily available. Pre-pandemic it was around .35 per round and now it goes for close to .70 cents per round the last I checked online.

Good luck in your searches

 

[drstrangelove]

Don't buy it. Universal is garbage. I've seen this very gun in person. More of a novelty. No value to trying to put lipstick on this one.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

Inlands are still decent guns, just not as good as some of the others. Are you sure that isn't a universal? If so, I'd walk away. They aren't known for their quality.

I personally love the M1 Carbine. It's still one of the best PCCs ever made. Way more punch than a 9mm and lighter than most 9mm offerings out there. Mags are a definite downside, as the good ones are not cheap ($50-$80), and the cheap ones are not good. Ammo is similar to .357 mag prices, so middle of the road in price comparatively.

Reloading, for me, is a must if you're wanting to really shoot it a lot.

Stocks are not super expensive, and there are many on ebay and gunbroker.

M1 Carbines are demanding a premium right now. In many cases, they are more expensive than the Garand, and easily eclipse the $1000 mark.

 

[Jbsheepdog]

Don't buy it. Universal is garbage. I've seen this very gun in person. More of a novelty. No value to trying to put lipstick on this one.

Bummer but thank you!

 

[Jbsheepdog]

I greatly value all your knowledge here on this site thank you all!

 

[Pandaz3]

And there are two Inland's the old company of WWII and the new one that currently makes them. Old ones are collectors or shooters or both, new ones are good shooters, but not 100% USGI.
I have a new one with bayonet lug an Italian made bayonet did not work but a new USGI did, Mine shoots well.

 

[wolfcreed]

Check the CMP forum for private sales too. I see mags posted every week or so and M1's nearly as often. As others mentioned, they are going for a premium right now, but they really are fun to shoot and easy to handle.

M1 Carbine - CMP Forums (thecmp.org)

 

[gmerkt]

DO NOT BUY. For reasons stated above.

It sounds like you want a .30 US Carbine for semi-collectible purposes, or at least in part because of historical significance. Which means you want it to look like the real thing. If you have to start buying a stock and furniture, that adds to the price. Having done this, in this case, you have a post-war copy that still doesn't look like the real thing. Better to save your money and buy the best authentic thing you can afford later. Paying one price up front. Which applies to any number of firearms, not just the Carbine in this matter.

I got over the Carbine disease decades ago. In my experience, the fun wore off reasonably quickly. I never developed an abiding interest in shooting them long term as I have other rifles. Like the M1 Rifle, the AR's and M1A. When I had Carbines, I reloaded for them. Which wasn't always as trouble-free as loading pistol cartridges. Which the .30 Carbine basically is.

Not long ago, my pal in NM acquired an M1 Carbine and he was looking into the question of "do I reload or buy factory ammo." His conclusion was he was going to buy a case of cheap, foreign-made factory ammo for it. Like Tulammo. Just now, I've looked and even in Covid times it's available for $18 for 50 rounds. Steel case, you don't have to hunt in the weeds for those to reload.

These days, there aren't any cheap components for .30 Carbine, and they can be difficult to find.

 

[WAW44]

Yes, tread carefully ! M1s are addictive ....

 

[ron]

I reload for the M1 carbine. Easy to reload for it is a straight wall case like a 357 or 44. I use H110
a 357 and 44 magnum pistol powder. CMP had great deals on .30 carbine.

 

[WAW44]

I just saw this carbine Saturday. It's an early Universal with USGI parts. It's less than 600, could be negotiated down. If you want a shooter, it may not be that bad. I have a usable USGI stock if anybody gets this. There is a Inland carbine in a Pawn Shop nearby to this one , Inland, in a non usgi stock. It's nice, but $1299 I think.

A shooter inland can be had for about 800 - 900 on CMP forums if you keep looking. Ammo is not that difficult to get .

You can also get a shake and bake one : ) https://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=273126

 

[CountryGent]

I'm not going to bother denying it; if I had the opportunity to pickup a Mannlicher-stocked M1 carbine at that price, I'd be all over it.

But, as mentioned, OP wants the real deal and this it ain't. Apples, oranges.

 

[jim97701]

The serial on that one clearly places it in the ones made with GI surplus parts (you don't show the right side of the slide but the slide lock button on top tells the story). You can look at this site for further info on them Universal Firearms (m1carbinesinc.com) I have a Universal that was my grandfathers carry rifle while out alone in the desert rock hounding and while not a war era gun it is a very fine weapon made with surplus parts. It was their later produced M1s that were made with parts of their own manufacture that were of questionable quality. As with everything online you will get lots of opinions from many that have never owned or even touched what they are supposed authorities on. Do your own research and make decisions based on your own findings.

 

[Jbsheepdog]

The serial on that one clearly places it in the ones made with GI surplus parts (you don't show the right side of the slide but the slide lock button on top tells the story). You can look at this site for further info on them Universal Firearms (m1carbinesinc.com) I have a Universal that was my grandfathers carry rifle while out alone in the desert rock hounding and while not a war era gun it is a very fine weapon made with surplus parts. It was their later produced M1s that were made with parts of their own manufacture that were of questionable quality. As with everything online you will get lots of opinions from many that have never owned or even touched what they are supposed authorities on. Do your own research and make decisions based on your own findings.

What do you mean the slide lock tells the story? It does have that button. Can you tell me more?

 

[WAW44]

Read this: http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbine_universal2.html

Bottom line is that this is not a USGI carbine, but an early Universal, one made from parts that are interchangeable with USGI.

So, if you want a carbine that feels like a real M1 carbine then you can get this and put in in a USGI stock and have one. I think it's $599, right? So another $100 for a decent stock+handguard. I have a usable Inland marked stock if you want to buy it. You would need a handguard thou.

If you want a real USGI carbine, then this is not it.

 

[jbett98]

I had a Universal and never did get it to run right.

 

[Mikej]

Before I really knew about the "Real Deal" MI Carbine I saw The Inland new model. Fell in love with it just because of the article. I bought it. It's worked perfectly though several hundred round of Armscor ammo. The early inland models apparently had a few issues. Those issues were resolved by the time i got mine. The gun was close to $1000.00. The claim was that it was virtually identical to the real thing. Supposedly to the point that original parts would interchange. So, having said that, I love the gun, but the real thing speaks to me when I've fondled them at the Oregon Arms Collector shows. The real thing will run you in the neighborhood of $900.00-$1,200.00. Depending on condition. As I understand, most of those MIs have been through a rebuild, or 2-3 rebuilds. Getting an original, or close to all the same manufacturer parts, will be up $2,000.00 +. I hope to have The "Real Deal" one day too.