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30 cal carbine

2K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  Ratfink2u 
#1 ·
took in on a loan a 30 cal carbine ammo revolver in like new condition even if ammo is costly the owning it is worth not ever fireing it it is a piece of our history that goes back to the mi carbine made by Winchester while the grand wasmade by enfield and soringfield I own 56 hand guns all are unique and I never fire them I m possessed as I look at them almost every day
 
#4 ·
strikes me as a fellow that doesn't know a lot about guns- in fact VERY little- ie grand for GARAND, 30 caliber carbine ammo- probably a ruger Blackhawk in 30- don't recollect anybody else making a revolver in that caliber- and a part of us history is questionable- granted if it was a carbine yes, but a revolver- ?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Am new to this forum. Am a great admirer of the 30m1 Carbine. While at present do not have one, if I were to find a good buy would get one. The 30m1 in my opinion is a very versatile firearm. Having read a large group of comments in the forum about the carbine, would say that many are uninformed and a few are well educated on the subject. Here is what I've learned over the years. Sorry if any of this is redundant.

The 30m1 Carbine was the weapon of choice for Che Guavera (a mass murderer and a man I despise). Why did he choose this small rifle, well obviously because it was light, reliable and was effective in combat. This little rifle was pivotal in the taking of Normandy on D-Day and that was largely because the paratroopers who scaled cliff and beach possessed a weapon that did not load them down, and had enough punch to take anybody within a hundred yards out of action, whether KIA or wounded.

Furthermore, the 30m1 was used early in Vietnam(before the m16) and I'll bet you that many who were there early in combat would attest to it's effectiveness in stopping the opposition. As a defensive firearm, it is a very effective weapon. The M16 was not as well loved, though in time it proved to be a good weapon after they worked out the bugs.

The 30m1 also had a feature that made it very effective and that was the 30m2, which had a selector switch for fully automatic operation. A 3 shot burst was devastating. Why?

If you look up the ballistic characteristics of the round, you will find that it is fairly equivalent to the 44 magnum inside of 100 yards. Whether fmj or soft point the round is more powerful than a Thompson and therefore in full auto mode will overcome almost all obstacles.

As a hunting round, I would agree that it is largely unreliable on deer, elk or other larger game. If you are within 100 yards though, it will deliver a very substantial punch. In my opinion it would blow a rabbit to pieces, kill a mountain goat on first shot as well as a bighorn. Furthermore, many people I've known have called it an ideal round for wild boar and havolina.

Back in the 90's, I had the distinct pleasure of firing a 15 round magazine of 30m1 carbine fmj's into an 8 inch tree trunk and felled the tree. The jackets were flattened upon exit, but the power of the round was impressive. I consider this round to be a very
good self defense weapon, as well as an effective hunting round if you are wanting small game.

The weapon is proven effective and fun to shoot as well. Cheers
 
#6 ·
30m1 Carbine Pro's

The sheer number of posts speaks to the greatness of this rifle (or I should say very long pistol)

If you own one, count yourself lucky. They fetch a rather high price in Las Vegas if you have one in good condition.

Several years ago, I worked for a guy that had a mint condition Erwin-Pederson mfg model that at that time, in the 90's, was worth about 1500 as a collector, even though it was not the best made. Look for a Winchester, Saganau, Underwood, IBM or Universal and enjoy!
 
#8 ·
...Erwin-Pederson [sic].... Look for a Winchester, Saganau [sic], Underwood, IBM or Universal and enjoy!
Winchester and IBM, having great "name recognition" and brand loyalty, are among the most desirable carbines and demand the highest prices. Same now goes for Rock-Ola, because Rock-Ola made jukeboxes and who doesn't love jukebox music (of some era or another)?

As to Universal, I do believe they made the finest Moderately Priced M1 Carbine Lookalike Wallhanging Replica ever, many of which were also suitable for occasional use, at least until the nonstandard stamped operating rod broke. (I wouldn't trust one as a survival gun on a weekend camping trip unless I could also back it up with something more substantial, such as a Ruger Bearcat.)

Your enthusiasm is obvious and commendable, but keep in mind that you're talking here to many people who have owned and shot M1 (and M2) carbines for decades, who have carried them on duty and in harm's way, who have instructed on them, repaired them, rebuilt them, assembled them from bare receivers and parts, and so forth. ;)
 
#9 · (Edited)
Snake45; ALL,

Do any of you offhand have a laundry list of all the companies that made M1 & M2 carbines and major parts, at various times?

In addition to:
BERETTA, INC.
BREDA
DANISH ROYAL ARSENAL (VAR reportedly made every part except receivers.)
IBM,
HOWA of Japan, (Relicas)
INLAND Division of General Motors (OMMITTED by accident. = Mea culpa!)
ISRAELI MILITARY INDUSTRIES,
IVER JOHNSON, (Made US parts & Commercial replicas)
KAHR/AUTO-ORDNANCE (Replica carbines)
NATIONAL CASH REGISTER, (Never sold on US contract, to my knowledge - Reportedly made "some" carbines for Nigeria.)
NATIONAL ORDNANCE, (Commercial replicas)
NATIONAL POSTAGE METER,
PLAINFIELD INC (Commercial replicas)
QUALITY HARDWARE,
ROCKOLA,
ROYAL ARMOURY of GREECE, (Parts only)
ROYAL ARSENAL of INDONESIA, (Parts only)
SINGER SEWING MACHINE CO., (Exported parts to Taiwan)
SAGANAW GEAR WORKS,
SOUTHERN AIR TRANSPORT (Reportedly made parts for RVN & the CIA)
TRW, (Parts only)
UNDERWOOD,
UNIVERSAL (Commercial replicas)
and
WINCHESTER

yours, sw

.
 
#10 ·
Snake45; ALL,

Do any of you offhand have a laundry list of all the companies that made M1 & M2 carbines and major parts, at various times?

NATIONAL ORDANCE [sic], (Commercial replicas)

SAGANAW [sic] GEAR WORKS
National Ordnance, AKA Federal Ordnance, AKA Fed Ord, made cast receivers and assembed them with common, cheap GI parts into complete carbines.

I've usually seen Saginaw referred to as Saginaw Steering Gear division of GM.

Carbine parts are still being manufactured today, by whom I have no idea. Very nice repro sights, barrel bands, buttplates, and more are commonly available from places like Numrich and Sarco.

I just noticed you left Inland division of GM off your list. I believe they actually made more WWII carbines than any other contractor.
 
#11 ·
30m1 mfr's

Always and ever appreciate being corrected as my posts are definitely in an extemporaneous mode. All my literature is in storage.

My experience with shooting the 30m1 was substantial in the 90's and reloaded a large sum of rounds as well. Probably about 10,000. I had on the order of 8 models, as well as a good number of spare parts. Really, was just a collector of WWII vintage Carbines and Garands. Never have owned any aftermarket carbines or parts. Since that time have sold all of them for obvious economic reasons. Average price was about 600. My recollection of manufacturers in the collection were Underwood, IBM, Saginaw and Inland. Through thousands of rounds fired, had one incident of a slide snapping in half. Otherwise never a worry. I reloaded most rounds hot, as never really cared much about accuracy beyond 100 yds. Had a friend who reloaded as well who had a reliably accurate load and could hit a golf ball at 150 yards every time, though it was a light load. All shooting was bare sites.

The aforementioned treecutting event was with a friend's M2 in full automatic. As I recall, the 30 round mag was unreliable, while 15's never jammed.

Reloading was interesting as some brass couldn't stand up to hot loads. Preferred Winchester, Norma and CCI brass. Some brass would blow out at the base and send shrapnel. Not good. A lesson I learned the hard way and was fortunate to be wearing eye protection as it layed open my right cheek. Stupidness is what I called it then and now.
 
#13 ·
Kahr/Auto Ordnance is the current maker of new carbines (I doubt if any original WWII parts are still being used at this point). I wouldn't be surprised to learn they were using some of the former Iver Johnson ex-Plainfield tooling.
 
#14 ·
Snake45; All,

I mentioned this "laundry list" in an email to an old boarding-school chum last night & he just told me by return message that the Royal Armoury of Greece made a lot of carbine parts for local rebuilds.

yours, sw
 
#15 ·
To the OP, as Snake pointed out...paratroopers didn't land on the beaches. While there were a couple who did end up climbing the bluffs, it was only a couple who were mis-dropped and actually landed in the channel. Infantry landed on the beaches, and paratroopers were dropped (quiet poorly) inland to secure roadways the Germans could use to reinforce the beaches, or use for counter-attacks.

In my reading, some of the first guys up the cliffs did have carbines, and many had Thompsons. But the vast majority had the Garand. (Those that didn't drop them in the channel)
 
#19 ·
My carbine (Underwood) is by far my favorite piece of my collection of some 25 battle rifles. It's in flawless and pristine condition. I paid dearly for it but it was vacuum sealed for over 35 years so it's mint. No rust or scratches on the receiver or the stock. Made in 1944, it looks new.
Wish ammo were more available and affordable. :(
 
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