I thought of just taking ot to the Sherriff’s office to find this out, but never have time during the day. Here’s what I want to know. I bought an M-1 .30 carbine awhile back and can only get rudimentary history/info on it.
Now, the state I live in doesn’t require registration, so I guess there’s little chance of finding history on this particular gun, but figure it’s worth a try. Also, to properly clean it involves taking the entire bolt section apart to scrub and oil it. But right now, I’d be stuck paying a bit for a gunsmith to teach it. Anyone know of a site that shows how to do this in detail?
Thanks for any help.
Surplusrifle.com has a good section on the operation and cleaning of the M1 Carbine. (Click on ‘Maintenance’ under the picture of the carbine.)
As for more info, what markings do you have on the back of the receiver, just behind the rear sight assembly?
I love my M1. I have a post-war Inland, so I threw it in a para stock from Numrich. If you have a WW2-make, (depends on the markings on the receiver), you should, IMO, strive to keep it as-is.
Cleaning is a snap, ammo is cheap, and they are fun to shoot. Enjoy!
P.S. With a M1 carbine, more can be told about when and where it was made from the manufacture stamp than from the SN. They were spanked out during the war by several companies, but after the war, not so many. Certain manufactures carry a much higher collectors value than others. (My Inland is only worth a couple of hundred bucks, if that. A IBM or Saginaw, in good shape, can be worth some serious bucks.)
The s/n is behind the rear sight. On the action part where the cartridge is chambered I see 4 linesw:
Universal
Hialeah, FLA
Cal 30 M1
Pat. 3,382,766
Would Universal be the manufacturer? Never heard of that company.
Thanks again for the above info.
Universal is a ‘commerical’ build, not a military contract. Post-war stuff. It will be a great shooter, barring wicked mechanical faults, but not much collectors value there.
Thought that may be the case. I didn’t buy for resale, just like cool guns, and this seems fun. Thanks again for the info. The link for cleaning it was most valuable.
Some wartime manufacturers stamped the company name on the side of the barrel near the forward handgrip - my dad’s got one he bought surplus in the '50s that has “GENERAL MOTORS” stamped on it.
As an aside, we have trouble shooting anything but military brass-jacketed ball ammo through it. Tried civilian un-jacketed ammo and the receiver wouldn’t close all the way when the action was racked. Re-loaded it with the brass-jacketed stuff and it worked as well as it always does. Any ideas on why?