The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

The government transferred a bunch of foreign military assistance carbines from Italy and Germany to the Civilian Marksmanship Program several years ago. $500 got you the luck of the draw carbine in servicable condition. Some were fantastic, some not so pretty. I got two. All of the carbines were post WW2 rebuilds so you got a jumble of WW2 and later features. When I was first into shooting I thought the M1 carbine was the coolest firearm on the planet. Then after reading how ineffective they were (from non military personnel) I turned my nose up at them. When the CMP was selling them cheap I bought two and was reaquaintend with the handy little firearms. I kept the nicer of the two and sold the more worn one. I reload for it using either H110 or IMR 4227 and USGI pulled bullets. Accuracy won't win a target match but the recoil is nil and I've managed to hit a 3'x2' steel plate at 400 yds with it many times. I served with two NCOs who carried M2 (full auto) carbines in Vietnam and they felt very well armed with them.



The keeper


The missus shooting it a couple years ago


This one went to a new home



Your folks used them too!

That is one rifle I have always wanted to shoot, sadly I suspect there is no chance what so ever so it is nice to see this one, and in action as well.

Courtesy of the U.S. Government

God bless America ...

Untill not too long ago there were still some USM1 in French Army inventories but not for shooting. I carried a war time dated one on a team assault course in "Co school" (CEC). Sadly they were used more as step ladder to go over obstacle than anyting else...
Well beaten up but amazing that those weapons probably saw active service in WW2, moved on to Indochina, then Northern-Africa andThe CEC 4 was shut when we pulled out of Germany and I doubt the French Army release those WW2 weapons (there were also Sten and MAS36) to the shooting/collector market, they probably just got destroyed :cool2:

Hi Rufrdr,
Always thought that the M1 Carbine was one of the best looking Rifles produced, and you have an excellent example there.

I used to own the 22RF version made by Erma.....



But when I wanted to buy a Ruger 10/22, the Police refused to allow me to own two Semi Auto Rimfire Rifles, so I was forced to sell it.

Interestingly, IBM (Where I worked for 30Years), used to make M1 Carbines.



At one time IBM asked their employees for any interesting facts about the IBM, as they were compiling a history of the Company. I wrote and reminded them of their arms production but I was completely ignored.

Potentially more incoming from South Korea. Whitehouse initially blocked any of the rifles coming home, but has since allowed the M1 Garands back but not the M1 Carbines (because they have a detachable magazine). Maybe they'll change their minds about those too.

froggy wrote:Courtesy of the U.S. Government

God bless America ...

Untill not too long ago there were still some USM1 in French Army inventories but not for shooting. I carried a war time dated one on a team assault course in "Co school" (CEC). Sadly they were used more as step ladder to go over obstacle than anyting else...
Well beaten up but amazing that those weapons probably saw active service in WW2, moved on to Indochina, then Northern-Africa andThe CEC 4 was shut when we pulled out of Germany and I doubt the French Army release those WW2 weapons (there were also Sten and MAS36) to the shooting/collector market, they probably just got destroyed :cool2:

That is so very cool that carbines were still in service that recently! The only WW2 era small arms still in the inventory when I was in the service were the 1911A1 pistol, the M3 submachine gun, the M2 .50 machine gun, and when I first went on active duty in the 70s there were still some M1D sniper rifles held with the 3rd ID in West Germany.

Not sure if they still do, but until about 10 years ago you would occasionaly see M1s in the hands of the Israeli Civil Guard (they're a bit like a cross between the TA and Special Constables).
I always faniced asking if they had any going spare as I've always thought they are a good looking little gun.

Israeli tour guides with M1 carbines:



They were used by police as well (and may still be in limited use) but replaced by the Magal or 'Galil 30' which is a modern PDW chambered in .30 carbine:



(the Israeli army also have an interesting choice of 'less lethal' riot control weapon: A suppressed Ruger 10/22)

RUC officer holding M1 carbine fitted with (what appears to be) a SUIT scope:



Navy crewman with sawn-off M2 carbine in Vietnam:



A silenced M1 carbine:



A bubba-ed M1 carbine:



Winston Churchill shooting an M1 carbine (according to his bodgyguard, Churchill kept two rifles in addition to several handguns for self-defence during the war, one being a Steyr-Mannichler 1895 carbine, the other being an M1 carbine):



German soldiers with M1 carbines:







Many European police forces adopted surplus M1 carbines after the war, such as this Dutch national police officer:



Inventor Arthur Jones at his elephant orphanage in Africa with a sawn-off M2 carbine:



The famous image of Malcolm-X holding an M1 carbine:



Patty Hearst and members of the Symbionese Liberation Army robbed a San Francisco bank armed with sawn-off M1 carbines:

The M1 has certainly been put to a lot of use over the years , interesting .

....and will see much use in years to come according to a documentary movie I saw on TV when I was a kid