[harvey]

I recently purchased a Plainfield Machine M-1 Carbine in almost new condition. The box it came in had a Railway Express shipping label from Century Arms, dated 1968.

I'm not very familiar with Plainfield Machine, but most of the parts seem to be GI, other than the barrel which is unmarked. I bought it as a shooter, and the investment was pretty small. Are there any negatives about Plainfield Machine Carbines I should know about? Any and all comments will be appreciated.

Harvey

 

[JR]

There will be other, real Carbine experts along soon, but I can say that you have probably the best of the commercially made Carbines. Plainfield is true to the original weapons, to the point that virtually all of the parts interchange with USGI.

 

[harvey]

JR:

Thanks for your response, and I look forward to hearing from others. From the little research I have done on my Plainfield Carbine, I found that some of the parts are Rockola. I'm still wondering who made the barrel.

Harvey

 

[jimb16]

About the only "negatives" you will hear about Plainfields are 1. that they aren't USGI and 2 that they won't appreciate in value as fast as a GI carbine. With that said, they are good shooters and are usually well worth the money, provided you didn't pay too much to begin with. With all the GI parts in them, you generally don't have to worry if they break down because parts are readily interchangeable with other GI parts.

 

[harvey]

Jimb:

Thanks for your thoughts. I bought the Plainfield Carbine for a shooter, so I have no problems with price appreciation or depreciation, and I didn't pay much for it. It looks as if it hasn't been shot much, and the wood and blue finish are in great shape.

Any idea of who made the barrels for Plainfield? I can't find any GI markings on it, so I have to think it is an aftermarket product, or Plainfield made their own.?

Harvey

 

[jimb16]

Plainfield used GI barrels on their earlier carbines, but I believe they manufactured their own as time went on. That was one of the things that ended up putting them out of business. The manufacture of new GI spec parts was far more expensive than using surplus parts.

 

[harvey]

Jimb:

Thanks for the input. Since the barrel is unmarked, I'll have to believe it was made by Plainfield rather than GI Surplus.

Harvey