GUNS Magazine The M1 Carbine American Classic

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Born and bred in World War II, over six million M1-, M1A1-, M2- and M3-carbines were made in total from 1942 to 1945. It was the most widely produced American military arm of the era, even surpassing M1 rifle production by at least half a million and not one was made in a U.S. Army Ordnance Department arsenal. Ten private factories produced the majority of them (mostly semi-auto M1s) in a fury of wartime production. Serious carbine collectors usually won’t rest until they have at least one example from each firm.

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A typical WWII setup for the M1 Carbine — standard issue two-pocket magazine pouch snugged
over the carbine buttstock and M3 fighting knife, the basis for the carbine’s later M4 bayonet.

Purpose-Built

Intended for issue to support troops to provide them with greater firepower and range than a .45 ACP pistol, the M1 carbine’s light weight, quick handling, low recoil and 15-shot magazine, represented a tremendous improvement. However, it never had the range or power of the rifle and was never intended to be a front-line infantryman’s weapon. It wasn’t even equipped with a bayonet until nearly the end of the war. In fact, the Table-of-Organization (TOE) for an Infantry platoon included only one carbine for issue to the platoon leader. Lots of carbines eventually made their way to the sharp end of the spear, usually in the hands of non-commissioned officers whose leadership responsibilities required mobility more than long-range engagement of the enemy.

Good marksman could hit targets at 200 yards, but the fast shooting, controllable carbine came into its own at 50 yards or less. American airborne divisions issued carbines more widely at the platoon level, even to enlisted men, and a special folding-stock version, designated the M1A1, was made specifically for paratrooper use.

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Decades Of Service

M1, and select-fire M2, carbines were in continuous use by American forces through the Vietnam War and also widely distributed to our allies. An old friend of mine who was a security dog handler in Vietnam loved the carbine because he could carry and shoot it with one hand while on patrol. Even with two hands, he found his issue M14 rifle impossible to control in full-auto fire. After securing an M2 carbine from an ARVN soldier, he relinquished his M14 for the duration of his tour.

Since the notion of arming support troops with carbines was already a couple hundred years old when the M1 Carbine came on the scene, why was the M1 series such a standout among its military peers? First off, at a time when most military carbines were just shorter-barreled versions of full-power military bolt-action rifles, the M1 Carbine was semi-automatic and chambered in mild mannered .30 Carbine (ballistically similar to the .357 Magnum pistol cartridge). If you’ve ever fired a 7.62 x 54R through a 20″ barreled Russian M44 Mosin Nagant carbine, you’ll understand how punishing similar carbines are to shoot in terms of recoil and muzzle blast. The mild recoiling M1 Carbine is a delight to shoot and no small part of the gun’s popularity.

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All carbines had a simple push-pin in their slide handle to lock the bolt open. The name of
the manufacturers is always stamped on the heel of the receiver.

Close-up of the gas block on the bottom of the barrel with the tappet fully seated in its bore.

Piston Rods

In addition, the carbine was the first successful semi-auto to use a tappet (short piston) operated, short-stroke gas system. High pressure gas is tapped from the barrel close to the chamber and used to drive a small gas piston a short distance (less than 0.25") at a very high velocity. When fired, the carbine’s tiny gas piston slaps the inner face of the operating slide hard enough to drive it rearward, unlock the bolt and extract the fired cartridge case from the chamber.

Then, a return spring on the slide drives it forward to strip a fresh round from the magazine, chamber it, lock the bolt in battery and finally depress the little piston in its gas block again. The major advantage of the carbine’s tappet gas system was a lighter overall weight for the weapon (about 5.5 lbs loaded) achieved through shortening the action’s operating parts. The modern SCAR uses the same short-tappet gas system.

Carbines were continuously updated. The upper carbine has an early push-button safety and improved
milled rear sight while the lower has a late war rotating safety and an early two-leaf, flip rear sight.

On The Ground

Though I never met anyone who didn’t enjoy shooting the carbine, its combat performance record wasn’t all accolades. Three common criticisms leveled were it had trouble holding its zero, its thin sheet-metal magazine was easily damaged and it lacked stopping power. On two of the three counts, it’s clearly guilty as charged. The entire barreled action is secured to the stock by a hook at the rear of the receiver and a band at the front of the handguard — nobody’s definition of rock-solid tight. The magazines are thin and easily dented or bent if dropped. The battlefield solution to this was to discard used magazines whenever new ones could be had.

Was the .30 carbine really a poor man-stopper and brush-bucker as some soldiers claimed? Extreme cold diminished the performance of its ammunition to a degree and you also have to hit the target to stop it, though it’s not too hard to miss with a carbine at longer ranges. Combine a wandering zero with what is essentially a pistol cartridge whose bullet drops a foot at 200 yards — almost four feet at 300 yards — and you can see why the carbine tended to shine at 50 yards or less. Finally, military FMJ bullets are meant to pass cleanly through the body so they aren’t the most efficient killers.

The carbine lacked the brute power of a full-size rifle cartridge to compensate for its 110-gr. FMJ bullet. It’s this last point where I think the complaints about the carbine’s stopping power originate. In my opinion, the .30 carbine cartridge suffered from standing in the shadow of the awesome overkill of the U.S. Army’s M2 ball cartridge, known to us civilians as the .30-06 Springfield — it’s an impossible act to follow!

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Hornady Critical Defense FTX hollow-point, here compared to GI-issue ball and .357 Magnum,

A Better Load

Loaded with modern soft-point bullets, or better yet hollow-points like Hornady’s Critical Defense 110-gr. FTX, the M1 Carbine is a highly effective weapon for self-defense. It delivers .357 Magnum type performance and terrific firepower, especially loaded with a 30-round magazine, in a platform a youngster could handle. While highly collectible and increasingly expensive these days, there’s no reason a vintage M1 carbine in good condition can’t still do the work it was intended for. Shoot one and you’ll soon see it has a lot more going for it than most contemporary pistol caliber carbines.

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The M1 Carbine American Classic

Purpose-Built

Decades Of Service

Piston Rods

On The Ground

A Better Load

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