[451 Detonics]

First before anyone goes all ballistic this carbine can be returned to original condition in about 20 minutes, it was not permanently altered in any way.

I have several M1 Carbines and I shoot them more than my ARs these days it seems like. When I was a kid in the 60's I remember seeing loads of sporterized carbines on tables at gun shows and I decided I wanted one for the old school nostalgia factor. The key was keeping it old school...I didn't want to build a modern sporter but instead wanted to use all period components. This required almost 6 months of watching gunbroker and ebay for the right parts.

The stock is a vintage 60's Bishop chunk of wood. It has a longer LOP than the military stock and does fit me better as well. It also added some needed eye relief for the scope. It didn't show any signs of having a gun in it but did have a vew little dings and handling marks.

The scope mount is an older steel S&K mount with the pinned in rings. The scope is an El Paso Weaver K-2.5 with crosshair and post.

I started this using my most accurate carbine, when it arrived from the CMP there was a handwritten notes simply stating "nice muzzle" on it and this is the most accurate carbine I have ever seen with 5 shot 1 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards with the iron sights. I put every thing together, had to do a little fitting of the stock and receiver. Mounted the scope and the results are a very nice old school sporter...

At the range it will hold right at MOA at 100 yards and with the low power scope snap shooting is a breeze. BTW...notice how that scope resembles today's Designated Marksman Scopes? What comes around goes around as they say. I know this type of rifle is not everyone's cup of tea but I do like old school and it suits me and my needs very well.

 

[Snake45]

Kinda cool, especially since it can be restored to GI at any time.

When I was a kid, I used to check a book called M1 Carbine Handbook or something of the kind, by Paul Wahl, out of the library on a regular basis. It had a chapter or two on carbine sporterizing. Couple years ago I tracked down and bought a copy of this old book on abebooks.com. There are sections on converting it to a "straight pull bolt action" and even "pump" operation.

I prefer the straight GI look myself but there's nothing wrong with having a little fun with one every now and then, especially if you haven't altered anything permanently.

 

[shep854]

If you want to do something permanent, just hunt up one of the "commercial" copies.
Wikipedia lists over two dozen non-military makers of M1 carbine clones
M1 carbine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Scroll down to "Commercial copies"
Be aware that quality can vary widely.

 

[451 Detonics]

Why do anything permanent...the stock is a great fit both to me and on the rifle, the scope mount is rock solid...no need to alter the rifle.

I sold enough of the copies btw to know the good from the bad. Sadly there are a lot of GI carbines out there that are junk too...many are stamped "Blue Sky" on the barrel.

 

[shep854]

I like your style, and respect for a firearm. One thing this thread brought to mind; a carbine with a Mannlicher stock uoght to look really sharp, and shouldn't require permanent changes.

 

[Snake45]

I like your style, and respect for a firearm. One thing this thread brought to mind; a carbine with a Mannlicher stock uoght to look really sharp, and shouldn't require permanent changes.

Tommy Blish did one in one of his gunsmithing books. But he removed the rear sight and its base, replacing it with something else, and the stock had ugly basket-weave "checkering" (actually, carving), and the whole thing looked like ass IMHO. Looked like something Savage or Marlin might have cranked out in the early '60s for sale under the J.C. Higgins name. A sad end for a pround warrior.

 

[451 Detonics]

I would have loved to find a mannlicher stock for mine but never saw one come up for auction or sale anywhere. I did miss out on a couple thunbholes and the was one I really liked but the starting price was way too high at $275.00 for the stock alone. I am still watching for one, if I can find a mannlicher stock I will probably go ahead and buy it and swap out the Bishop stock.

I did replace the rear sight with the mount I am using, getting it off was the hardest part of all this...darn thing was triple staked in place! I was expecting the front sight to be the nasty one but I will be able to even re-use the locking key. Of course having the proper sight tools does help and I do have them.

The more I shoot this rifle and scope combo the more I like it, I shot the rifle in a competition that included targets from 25 to 100 yards offhand and it was a breeze with this rifle.