M1 Carbine

30 Caliber M1 Carbine

The M1 Carbine was put into service by the U. S. Military in July, 1942. Since then millions of these rifles have been produced for various military contracts and even today the ubiquitous carbine is produced for the civilian market using original military specifications but with modern fabrication techniques and metallurgy. It should also be noted that the M1 Carbine is not just a shortened, smaller, or lighter version of the well known M1 Garand, used by the U. S. Military at approximately the same time. The Carbine is most certainly all of those things (shorter, smaller, and lighter) but the two rifles do not operate the same way and have distinct “quirks” and characteristics.

This won’t be a history lesson nor a “product evaluation” of the specific examples we’ve tested. We just want to let you know about the gun and why all of us hold it to be one of the few “most fun guns to shoot” in our respective arsenals.

“The Carbine,” as we’ve come to nickname the little beast, isn’t the “best” rifle we own or know of in any of the various common categories. It has “quirks” that some shooters would say eliminates it from consideration for ownership by them. It uses ammo not common to many other guns. There is not an abundance of gizmos and accessories to supplement, modify, or customize the rifle. The sights are “antique” and not easily changed or modified. The rifle and its ammo struggles to be deadly at distances greater than about 150 yards. However, …

Mr. Carbine is short and light, making it easy to tote around during a day in the field, or a couple of hours at the range. Its “peep sight” system is easy to use, even by folks with geezer eyes and more so than most other “iron sight” systems. There are ways to cobble a scope onto the beastie but, since we shoot it at shorter ranges than most of our other rifles, the added challenge of finding a target without the aid of magnification gives an extra measure of satisfaction to a well placed shot.

Even with full power ammo the carbine produces recoil of a magnitude well below the uncomfortable level and noise much quieter than its more powerful cousins. Speaking of noise, the carbine puts out a unique bark that’s hard to describe and recognizably different in level, tone, and duration than other rifles.  Other shooters at the range will turn their heads quizzically when Mr. Carbine lights off. The felt recoil is enough to let you know you’ve fired something much more powerful than a 22lr but not enough to inflict pain even after several rounds fired in rapid succession. This is probably due, at least partially, to the relatively robust action taking up a significant amount of the energy produced. The unique bark and relatively light bite of Mr. Carbine combine to make the shooting experience unusual and pleasant.

When one recognizes that the M1 Carbine was never intended to be an offensive weapon it begins to shine as one that completely fulfills its proposed mission - a feature not common among firearms produced.  There are far too many guns that seem to be “the answer to a question nobody ever asked” but Mr. Carbine certainly is not one of those.  The little guy is far more capable at self defense than a handgun (there’s no substitute for sight radius), and that’s exactly the question put to its designers. Its ammo produces enough energy - when used short of its designed maximum range - to inflict serious (deadly?) damage on the target. It is small and light enough to be truly portable, so that it is likely to be conveniently available when needed - instead of propped up in a corner somewhere because the “owner” grew tired of hauling it around. A 30-round magazine gives Mr. Carbine plenty of capacity for a sustained firefight, while mags of lesser capacity (15, 10, & 5) are available for hunting or range use.

Ammunition for the beastie - 30 Carbine - is certainly not common (not carried at the local Walmart) but neither is it so rare that a well-stocked gun store won’t have some. It is also not exceedingly expensive - a bit more than 5.56 (223 Rem) but less than many rifle calibers. Reloading dies and components are also readily available, allowing those of us who “roll our own” to maintain a copious inventory inexpensively. The “standard” projectile used in the 30 Carbine cartridge is .308” (7.62 mm) diameter and 110 grains in weight.  Lighter and heavier bullets are available for those who want to experiment with the ammo, and with modern gunpowders there is room in the case to accommodate a heavier bullet while maintaining an appropriate maximum overall length.

For those who like to recover their brass, Mr. Carbine does not throw it very far away nor scatter it around widely.  Replacement brass is easily available and not overly expensive but recovering spent brass is still very preferable and not having to spend a lot of time searching for it is a big plus. After firing a string it’s nice to find the brass in a nearby, relatively small, area.

Sure, there’s a bit of nostalgia involved with owning and shooting a WWII vintage rifle, but even without those feelings Mr. Carbine provides a well mannered shooting experience with enough difference from other rifles to make it interesting on its own. The ammo is unusual - straight walled instead of bottleneck (as is most common for rifle cartridges) - but provides plenty of power for short-to-mid range assignments. Mr. Carbine does not qualify for 600 yd sniper work but performs very well on coyote, other small-to-mid sized game, or zombie shots out to about 100 yds and a decent shooter with good eyesight should have no trouble making these shots using the standard iron sights of the original design.

So, Mr. Carbine provides lots of shooting fun with a gun whose design has been around a long time, has withstood the test of time, and proven itself to be reliable and effective in battle.

Respectfully Submitted
The Bunker Bunch
December, 2016