M1 Carbine price today?

[Pandaz3]

I bought a new Inland about three years or so ago, when the new company released them. Not 100% true to Mil-Spec, but close. I like mine they are not made by Iberia or Hi Point as some say, but are distributed by MKS distributing as are Hi Points

 

[Akx39]

Looks nice, WWII carbine. Take a look at the end of the barrel, on the side by the front sight. Look for the words "Blue Sky" stamped in the metal. A bunch of these were brought in from Korea back in the '80s.

Mine is a Blue Sky rifle, and has the same shade of reparkerizing. Collectors hate the Blue Sky guns so the value is less, but they can be just as good of shooters if they're in good shape. I've shot untold thousands of rounds through mine, and it's never bothered me in the slightest that it has that pesky little marking that drives the purists nuts. That's for a shooter though; I wouldn't pay collector price for one with an importer stamp on it.

I looked at it pretty thoroughly, looking specifically for any markings on it. Didn't see anything on the barrel except the P marking. I'll check again though if I see it again.

 

[Gotyoursix]

[QUOTE="AndyinEverson, post: 2402384, member: 40804"
There is a M1 Carbine in the classifieds for $600 right now , to my eye the stock looks re-finished...but that could just be the lighting...
[/QUOTE]

Can confirm, that stock is refinished. Tastefully done but indeed refinished.

 

[CLT65]

I looked at it pretty thoroughly, looking specifically for any markings on it. Didn't see anything on the barrel except the P marking. I'll check again though if I see it again.

It's probably fine. You don't see a lot of the Blue Sky guns around these days. The stamping they put on them was pretty big and noticeable, on the left side of the barrel near the muzzle. It's hard to miss. If you didn't notice it, it's probably not there.

A guy at the range looked at my gun one day and saw it was a Blue Sky gun. He started telling me how I could easily buy an original barrel without the marking to replace mine, and increase the value.

I just told him that didn't make any sense at all for me. It shoots great the way it is, and I have no intention of ever selling it. Why would I care about collector value?

 

[Akx39]

I just told him that didn't make any sense at all for me. It shoots great the way it is, and I have no intention of ever selling it. Why would I care about collector value?

For me, if the barrel was in good condition I'd prefer whichever one it originally came with or was fitted on it by the army (or whichever country was using it).

 

[Mikej]

According to your serial # this site shows that gun manufactured 1 out of 570003 in Jan '45-Aug'45. Exciting to think about huh?
USCARBINECAL30M1.com


If I were really jonesing for a REAL M1 Carbine I would do that I think. Unless there's something funky with the barrel. I'm no purist but looking at, (not owning mind you), a bunch of old wood and steel I cringe now when I see a great milsurp stock sanded smooth and all shiny like that. From what I see at the collector shows that price tag is withing reason. If that stock were untouched I think it would be more.

Beware.......You get that .30 Carbine?......Down the line you'll be jonesing for an M1 Garand

Seeing as you're in Portland make a point to go to the Oregon Arms Collector show if you get that gun. There's a gentleman named Steven that has a table 2nd row in, left end that can look at that rifle and tell you about it.

 

[bbbass]

Assuming you mean a Mil Surplus? Then the price you saw is going to be about the ball park for one that has no collector value but is still safe to shoot. They are a LOT of fun but price is getting up there for these now days. There are some new ones made along the lines of the GI models but they run as much and are getting some very mixed reviews. Many seem to get one that does not work and that's lot of cash to spend on one that will not work.

My wife had a GI issue M1 carbine that had been sporterized with a beautiful Monte Carlo stock in Tiger Eye maple... the dang thing is a beautiful rifle. Sucks to read in another post that its value is not as much as an original, but that's the way it goes.

She used the rifle for deer hunting, and then I used it for Coastal Blacktail because when I met her I didn't have any rifles due to the high cost of a recent divorce. I loved shooting it, and it was easy on the shoulder and easy to carry. Later on, I tried to use it for 3gun informal matches but it wouldn't run an extended # of rounds w/o feeding/ejection issues. That's when I got my first AR, a Bushmaster. We passed that carbine down to my wife's son... I haven't seen it in a long time.

 

[Gotyoursix]

Personally, I have no issues with a Blue Sky marked barrel. I prefer shooter grade guns and bore condition is a more important factor to me.

 

[CLT65]

It's funny how collecting goes. Some things become technically very important to serious collectors, and that tends to trickle down to the whole market. All else being equal, I would prefer an unmolested specimen that was just as our GIs carried in the war, shooting nazis.

That's pretty cool, but these old rifles had quite the long and varied history. There were 6 million GI carbines manufactured, and after the war they were used all over the world in numerous roles. They were used extensively in Korea and Vietnam. They were sent as military aid to many other countries. Surplus carbines were used here by police and prison guards. Going back to the '50s, thousands upon thousands were bought as cheap surplus and used as cheap deer rifles. A lot of them were sporterized to one degree or another. Many of the nicer vintage sporters are starting to come into their own as collectible themselves, and a nicely sporterized rifle shouldn't be looked down upon, in my opinion.

The Blue Sky stamp on the barrel of my old Underwood carbine doesn't affect functionality at all. It's still a legitimate WWII combat rifle. The importer stamp is just another part of its history. Some of the Blue Sky M1s were badly worn, with rough barrels, but the bore on mine is shiny and clean. It's no target rifle, but it's accurate enough for what it is (3-4 moa @100yds). The extractor broke a couple years ago, and even after replacing it, it was having the occasional jam even with good magazines. I bought a new spring set for it, and that made all the difference in the world! The original 75 year old springs were worn out! Now it just rattles along reliably with either ball ammo or powder-coated cast bullets. My kids like to shoot it.

It seems so ironic to me. Back in the day, the carbine was a poor man's gun. Can't afford something cool like an AR? Get a Mini14, and if you can't even afford one of those? Get an M1 Carbine. Nowadays it's the opposite. You can easily buy a couple ARs for the cost of a carbine, and carbines are desirable collectibles. I should have bought several of them back then, but then again I didn't have the money. If only I had a little time machine, I would go back in time and buy a whole bunch of... corporate stocks!

 

[Alexx1401]

It seems so ironic to me. Back in the day, the carbine was a poor man's gun. Can't afford something cool like an AR? Get a Mini14, and if you can't even afford one of those? Get an M1 Carbine. Nowadays it's the opposite. You can easily buy a couple ARs for the cost of a carbine, and carbines are desirable collectibles. I should have bought several of them back then, but then again I didn't have the money. If only I had a little time machine, I would go back in time and buy a whole bunch of... corporate stocks!

It does bring back memories of all the M1's I saw as a kid. They were very very common among people who wanted something for cheap small game and fun. They were literally everywhere then and most paid little attention to them in stores unless they were looking for something really cheap. Funny to think back on that now. Same with the Mini's. Before I finally got my first AR I had tried a couple as did some other buddies. Damn things were so nice looking and half the cost of the AR then. Problems were accuracy and mags. Ruger would not sell theirs to us and finding after market that worked was often a frustration. Funny that now the AR is half what the Mini costs now yet the Mini still has quite the following judging by what even used ones go for.

 

[CLT65]

I just thought I'd add a little anecdote to this thread. My son and I stopped by the range this afternoon, and shot the old carbine a little. My favorite load for it as of late is a powder-coated 100gr plain-base lead bullet, at about 1800fps. A little lighter than GI ball, it shoots nicely in this gun.

I put 10 shots on paper at 25 yards, from the bench in fading light in the rain. All ten went into a 3/4" center-to-center group. Not bad for an old gun like that. Then my 13 yo son shot it. I set up a Snapple bottle full of water at the 25y berm, and jokingly told him I'd give him a dollar if he could shoot the lid off on the first shot. He cut the lid clean in half on the first shot! He was pretty proud of himself for that.

 

[Oohrah]

M1 Carbine prices have increased much faster than M1 Garands. 25 years ago a good GI Carbine I purchased
for around $400. While M1 Rifles went for twice that. Today the Carbines are worth more than the Garands??
I wish I would have kept a dozen of them.
National Postal Meter
View attachment 637511

Very first was a DCM at $20 very nice like new early Winchester. Bought four various scarce manufactures I thought were expensive but were condition of reissue with a couple stocks looked pretty dented up but none cracked of damaged. None of these last ones haven't double or triple in the starting $500 in value the cheapest one cost. Two or three get lightly used. the other three stay as received in their cartons after they were inspected. I doubt if any of these carbines escaped not being arsenal rebuilt sometime in their history, at least one or more times. However, some look mighty fine! I've found all those I have used to be accurate short range reliable rifles, that seem to be just a shade more accurate with my reloads than GIs.