M1 Carbine - Are They Worth The $$$

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

I'd definitely be in on one for $20. Not $2000 though. What's $20 from 1960 worth today?

Edit: after a quick google search it's about $200 today still a good deal on any gun.

$189.95 or 849.7%. The M1 Carbine sure beat inflation. People should have invested in Carbine futures in the mid-’60s…they would have done quite well.

 

[Biggfoot44]

" Worth it " ? Two different contexts .

As a collectible/ investment ?

As a handy , fun shooter of mid power .30 caliber ?

For strictly the latter , the new mfg Carbines from Khar Arms .

 

[joppaj]

As I've often opined, I think Ruger could make a killing on a high quality new version. Between the 10/22 and Mini-14, they do a nice job with wood stock, mag fed carbines.

 

[temccoy]

Hello - I own several GI carbines that I paid anywhere from $900 to $2,000 for them. I would rather pay $1,500 for an authentic GI Carbine than $2,600 for a commercial rebuild. Fulton Armory does great work, and are very pleasant to work with, but you can buy carbines for less than that. If you are looking for a practical defensive rifle / carbine, than an AR-15 is a much better choice. If you want to have fun with a piece of history, I would not hesitate to buy a carbine. I shoot mine all the time, it does not damage or wear them out. The last time I walked into United Guns in Rockville, they had a nice carbine on the wall for sale.

Good luck!

 

[Tomcat]

I don’t consider my Fulton Armory a repo. It’s a WWII USGI Winchester receiver, bolt, op rod and trigger assembly. Yes it has a new barrel and stock and misc small parts but so do the CMP Rack Special and Expert Grade Garands and I don’t consider them repos. It’s not a Collectors Grade nor is it an all original, numbers matching gun but IMHO I don’t consider it a repo.

But speaking of repos, I forgot I actually have three M1 Carbines.

In addition to the Inland and the Fulton Winchester, I have an Auto Ordnance repo. It’s fun and I don’t have to worry about banging up a more valuable piece of history. I got it NIB for a fraction of the cost of a USGI M1.

I guess I got lucky because I haven’t had any issues with it providing I use surplus USGI magazines. I shoot all three but I don’t worry about the AO getting banged up. That’s the one I hand to friends when we go shooting and I shoot the other two.

I am always on the lookout for a Rock-Ola to add to the collection. Not sure why, but I really want one.

Top down: CMP Inland Bavarian Rural Police, Fulton Armory Winchester, Auto Ordnance Repo
View attachment 405305

You're in luck, they have one https://www.royaltigerimports.com/product/original-rock-ola-m1-carbine-good-to-very-good-condition/

 

[ken792]

I'd definitely be in on one for $20. Not $2000 though. What's $20 from 1960 worth today?

Edit: after a quick google search it's about $200 today still a good deal on any gun.

$189.95 or 849.7%. The M1 Carbine sure beat inflation. People should have invested in Carbine futures in the mid-’60s…they would have done quite well.

That’s what they cost from the DCM after jumping through the hoops for the one per person, but open market retail for an actual GI one was closer to $50-80. A 94 year old guy I know still has his he bought at the Modell’s near NYC city hall in 1963 for somewhere in that price range.

Period ads here.

U.S. Carbines in Germany and Austria

The U.S. Carbines in Germany and Austria

www.bavarianm1carbines.com

I lucked into my Arlington Ordnance import Saginaw in 2019 for what was basically happens to be the original 80s retail price after inflation. After I sold the beat up WWII wood and replaced it with postwar wood matching the postwar features, I got about 2/3 of it back.

 

[calicojack]

Dusted mine off and took my daughter shooting. Its comfortable to and fun to shoot. Nice to give it some range time.

I LOVE that stock. My FIL (who has since passed) had one like that that he practically gave away. It was some law enforcement model that the Capital Police were using at the time. Not sure of the manufacturer.

 

[Threeband]

It was only about 12 years ago I bought my field grade Inland from the CMP for $435.

I wish now I'd bought a dozen.

How about a group buy on some plutonium to charge up my flux capacitor so we can go back and load up?

 

[K31]

It was only about 12 years ago I bought my field grade Inland from the CMP for $435.

I wish now I'd bought a dozen.

How about a group buy on some plutonium to charge up my flux capacitor so we can go back and load up?

If you can go back to the 70's and the Frederick Woolworth's, deal.

 

[davlan1879]

Interesting question, nice piece of history and for that reason in would be cool to own and shoot. The gun is not really practical, not that accurate, powerful, good for hunting and ammo is expensive. Having said that, I had a boss that had a M2 that he let me shoot, which was a hoot, though not easy to control. I personally wish I would have picked one up years ago when they were $500.

 

[Allen65]

Interesting question, nice piece of history and for that reason in would be cool to own and shoot. The gun is not really practical, not that accurate, powerful, good for hunting and ammo is expensive. Having said that, I had a boss that had a M2 that he let me shoot, which was a hoot, though not easy to control. I personally wish I would have picked one up years ago when they were $500.

It's good for its intended purpose, as a personal defense carbine. The real weakness with the M1 Carbine for self-defense is the standard ball ammunition. It just doesn't have good terminal ballistics necessary for quickly ending a threat, even if there's no problem with penetration.

Hornady makes a nice Flex-Tip personal defense load for the M1 that fixes the shortcomings of standard ball ammo, and makes the M1 Carbine a handy personal defense weapon. It gives terminal ballistics a bit better than a 357 Mag, with the controllability and ability to do quick follow-up shots of a rifle.

 

[ken792]

Interesting question, nice piece of history and for that reason in would be cool to own and shoot. The gun is not really practical, not that accurate, powerful, good for hunting and ammo is expensive. Having said that, I had a boss that had a M2 that he let me shoot, which was a hoot, though not easy to control. I personally wish I would have picked one up years ago when they were $500.

Accuracy is comparable to, if not better in some cases than, 9mm PCCs that are popular now. At under 6lb, the M1 Carbine is also lighter than the Henry Homesteader, Ruger PC Carbine, 16” Scorpion, 16” PTR MP5, and 16” MPX. The .30 Carbine is certainly more powerful and the locked breech makes the M1 cycle less violently than the straight blowback offerings. Aside from ammo cost, and in some cases, mag cost, the M1 Carbine can’t really be considered less practical than such things that are popular now.

It still fulfills the original goal of being more accurate and harder hitting than a handgun while still lighter and more accurate than an open bolt, straight blowback SMG. It’s still lighter than many Cold War SMGs.

 

[RRomig]

I don’t consider my Fulton Armory a repo. It’s a WWII USGI Winchester receiver, bolt, op rod and trigger assembly. Yes it has a new barrel and stock and misc small parts but so do the CMP Rack Special and Expert Grade Garands and I don’t consider them repos. It’s not a Collectors Grade nor is it an all original, numbers matching gun but IMHO I don’t consider it a repo.

But speaking of repos, I forgot I actually have three M1 Carbines.

In addition to the Inland and the Fulton Winchester, I have an Auto Ordnance repo. It’s fun and I don’t have to worry about banging up a more valuable piece of history. I got it NIB for a fraction of the cost of a USGI M1.

I guess I got lucky because I haven’t had any issues with it providing I use surplus USGI magazines. I shoot all three but I don’t worry about the AO getting banged up. That’s the one I hand to friends when we go shooting and I shoot the other two.

I am always on the lookout for a Rock-Ola to add to the collection. Not sure why, but I really want one.

Top down: CMP Inland Bavarian Rural Police, Fulton Armory Winchester, Auto Ordnance Repo
View attachment 405305

Years back I asked for a carbine for Christmas. I always thought they were cool little guns. So when I received a rock ola I was shocked.

 

[Bullfrog]

As I've often opined, I think Ruger could make a killing on a high quality new version. Between the 10/22 and Mini-14, they do a nice job with wood stock, mag fed carbines.

The real weakness with the M1 Carbine for self-defense is the standard ball ammunition.

Accuracy is comparable to, if not better in some cases than, 9mm PCCs that are popular now. At under 6lb, the M1 Carbine is also lighter than the Henry Homesteader, Ruger PC Carbine, 16” Scorpion, 16” PTR MP5, and 16” MPX.

The .30 Carbine is certainly more powerful and the locked breech makes the M1 cycle less violently than the straight blowback offerings. Aside from ammo cost ...

Reading all of these comments in a row make me think it might be great if Ruger or another company made a modern version that was as alike as possible, but used a more commonly available ammo with a wider variety of bullets for hunting, hd/pd, etc. Maybe in 10mm?

 

[joppaj]

Reading all of these comments in a row make me think it might be great if Ruger or another company made a modern version that was as alike as possible, but used a more commonly available ammo with a wider variety of bullets for hunting, hd/pd, etc. Maybe in 10mm?

Shame that their mag fed .44s never worked out as well as hoped. Agreed that a 10mm version, even a .357 Sig would be a lot of fun.

 

[Threeband]

View attachment 405618
Years back I asked for a carbine for Christmas. I always thought they were cool little guns. So when I received a rock ola I was shocked.

Nice jukebox!

You should get an oiler and install your sling correctly.

 

[RRomig]

Nice jukebox!

You should get an oiler and install your sling correctly.

Yeah unfortunately it’s wasted on me. That’s how it came and I don’t know much about it. Send me a picture and I’ll gladly install it correctly.
Thanks

 

[ken792]

Reading all of these comments in a row make me think it might be great if Ruger or another company made a modern version that was as alike as possible, but used a more commonly available ammo with a wider variety of bullets for hunting, hd/pd, etc. Maybe in 10mm?

But having it straight blowback, like the Chiapas 9mm M1 Carbine lookalike, will negate those advantages of the M1 Carbine and designing a brand new locked breech platform drives up the cost significantly.

Hi Point makes a 10mm straight blowback PCC. It’s heavier and cycles more violently than an M1 Carbine. Delayed blowback 10mm like the CMMG Banshee or the Dakota 10mm MP5 are options, but are way more expensive (and aren’t 16”).

 

[Allen65]

Reading all of these comments in a row make me think it might be great if Ruger or another company made a modern version that was as alike as possible, but used a more commonly available ammo with a wider variety of bullets for hunting, hd/pd, etc. Maybe in 10mm?

The Hornady FTX rounds solve the terminal ballistics problem without making any changes to the gun. Alternatively, there are soft-point 110gr 30 Carbine rounds, but they don't feed reliably in some rifle/magazine combinations, usually due to worn lugs on the magazines.

 

[johnkn]

Any enthusiast needs a couple Carbines. I think my full collection was 14 when I downsized to only 2 large safes a couple years ago and kept only 3-4. It’s quite interesting all the companies who tooled up to build them....

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