Fun Gun, M1 Carbine

Just a few "History Channel"-ish firearm pictures for your lazy Saturday afternoon crowd. It's one of my little gems I acquired a few years back. Just took some pictures for fun and get feedback from M1 Carbine collectors.





It's, near as I can tell, an original WWII-era (mfg circa 1943), unaltered, Saginaw M1 Carbine, made by Saginaw Steering Gear Division of General Motors. Even the sling is original-WWII production.

The .30 Carbine caliber is also a forerunner of the current generation of "tactical MP-5 type" armament. Ballisticially, its a akin to a .357 Magnum.

Cool, huh?

[ QUOTE ]
guncollector said:
Just a few "History Channel"-ish firearm pictures for your lazy Saturday afternoon crowd.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just got done watching "Band of Brothers" myself! Great photos - it appears in fantastic condition. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

I have a Saginaw also, though not that nice. Won it in a CRPA raffle years ago.

Larry

AWESOME looking gun Ron!!!

All I need in this life is a lottery win (BIG one!).

That's a prime example of an M1 Carbine, and a Saginaw to boot. Very hard to find an M1 Carbine with all those parts made by the same manufacturer. Then trying to get the owner to part with it, well, that's even more difficult. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Very very nice. Please tell me you have shot it and got the full enjoyment out of owning it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I never could stand to handle a gun and not shoot it at least one time.

Real nice, must have been put up in reserve to look that good. Looks like a keeper to me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif
I hope you shot it a few times at least.
Topper /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cool? VERY! Those are some great pictures of a very nice M1. I have had my carbine for about 18 years now and every time I go to the range with it, I come back with a very big smile on my face. Pistol priced ammo, not much kick, not too loud, fairly accurate, 30 round magazines, parts and knowledge easily available, .357 magnum power level, short and light, strips and cleans easily, great sights, folding stock (M1A1 paratrooper), 2 15 round magazines in buttstock pouch, it irritates liberals: all this makes M1 Carbines great rifles. Out to 100 yards, if I can see it I can hit it. It is more comforting than my old teddy bear on a spooky night, or day.

Gun Collector, I think you have helped me to fall in love all over again. Thanks for the pictures.

Here's the story behind this puppy...

The seller, a family member and retired Police Chief of a local jurisdiction, acquired it from a widow who's husband "had brought it back from the Service". When her husband passed, she "didn't want it in the house anymore". Says it routinely happened, and unfortunately he was never really interested in many offered to him--but this one he liked from his days in the Army.

I traded it for a brand new H&K USP40 I had, and seriously I thought I was doing him a favor at the time--because he was family and my on-and-off fishing partner! Guess it turned out to be the other way around, huh?

As an aside, his MO has always been to trade in his "old guns" (I call'em classics) for new. When he became chief of his department in the late '1970's, he traded in a rack of 1930's era Tommy Guns for then "high-tech AR-15's". I think the dealer again got the better end of the deal!

Anyway, I'm not really an M1 Carbine collector, and today 03-FFL collector (like myself) made me an obscene offer for it--so she may be getting a new home next week. In which case, I'll take a fraction of the money and acquire a mix-and-match, shooter-grade carbine. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

PS While I have shot carbines before, I've never shot this one.

I used to have two carbines /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Now my wife and daughter each have one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

My wife's is a paratrooper model that belonged to a local police chief. He sold some of his guns to pay for his daughters wedding. It seems he had three daughters get married in the same year.

My daughters carbine is just a plain old carbine. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I'm jealous. Really I am.

I guess I must be comforted by the SKS in my safe. It is a complete gun, although Chinese rather than Russian. It shoots straighter than my buddies Russian, and another guys ??? (Yugoslavian? Romanian?) so at least I got a good shooter!

I've always read, over and over, that an M1 Carbine makes a nice defense weapon. I've just never had the bucks for one when I saw one.

To be truly honest however, the Remington 870 with an 18" barrel and #4 Buckshot is my teddy bear!

I've got an old folding paratrooper M-1 carbine seems like forever. Took it to the last gun show and had folks chasing me for it. Didn't realized it had become collectable.

Wow... that is a beautiful gun. Thanks for sharing those pictures.

-Mike

I am so jealous. I could never find one that was in both decent condition, and with a reasonable price tag. I am thinking about one of the ones refurbished by IAI, if I'm not getting the company mixed up, they do a lot old gns, M1 Carbines, Garands, 1903's.

An excellent post and gun. The M1 carbine was the first firearm I ever owned. I paid £95 (19 years ago)for it. It was covered in solid grease and wrapped in brown oiled paper and had never been used. I got it home and stripped it completely, it took nearly 2 days to remove the grease which had turned into a hard wax. The following weekend I was at the range with it. Beautifull gun to fire, as mentioned above, no recoil and no problems hitting targets at 100 yds.
During the time I had it, I refinished the woodwork using a gun stock kit from "Outers", I was rewarded with a beautifull grain and pattern, indeed it looked better than the wood on my Browning shotgun. I also had the receiver tapped for scope mounts and fitted a Nikko Stirling 6x40 scope. It looked awsome in this configuration. I wish I still had it, but it was made illegal in the UK about 15 years ago. I miss it.

I hope everyone pays special attention to the last line in Quazars post. Don't think it can't happen here. Support the NRA.

I wish we had an NRA type of organization back then.