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Post by trooper on Jun 5, 2017 21:33:26 GMT -5
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Post by huntershooter on Jun 6, 2017 4:34:41 GMT -5
Very nice.
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Post by Carolinaman on Jun 6, 2017 7:54:15 GMT -5
Hello Trooper, First and fore most Welcome to the Forum! That you for sharing your M-1 Carbine. It just looks pristine and really out classes the couple that I have seen down at the local gun shop here. The stock refinishing that you did really looks very, very nice! (Actually, I am quite jealous)... Best, Chris
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Post by CXM on Jun 6, 2017 8:35:02 GMT -5
That is one nice carbine... I wish mine looked that good...
Did you use the Boyt stock? Did you stain it before finishing it?
Thanks
CHuck
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Post by sistema1927 on Jun 6, 2017 9:19:48 GMT -5
Very nice. The wife's home defense weapon is a Quality Hardware M1 Carbine. I have tried the 30 round mags, but have yet to find one that is 100% reliable so she has a GI 15 round mag in the mag well and two more in a butt pouch. The mag in the weapon is loaded with soft points and the spares carry GI ball. Her having this available makes me feel much better when I need to travel and leave her at home.
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Post by trooper on Jun 6, 2017 9:40:41 GMT -5
That is one nice carbine... I wish mine looked that good... Did you use the Boyt stock? Did you stain it before finishing it? Thanks CHuck Indeed I did, I used a Boyds stock that I purchased unfinished from Fulton Armory. I debated on a paratrooper stock but decided on the standard configuration with this one. The stain is Lancaster Maple, from Laurel Mountain Forge. I first used it on a 1903 rebuild a few years ago. It does an excellent job of recreating that reddish color found on so many of these old rifle stocks of the period (the result of logwood stain being used during manufacture). About eight coats of Boiled Linseed Oil later and there you go. After the oil has cured, I give it a coat of Renaissance Wax. This seals the wood without leaving a glossy finish. I used a Dupage stock on the aforementioned '03 and that was a nightmare. Fortunately, other than a little sanding here and there the stock fit on this one was good to go. A local shop got in half a dozen of these from an estate. They were all in about the same condition, from various manufacturers. Mrs. Awesome was out of town for the weekend and I had to wait for her return before I snatched one, just to ensure I wouldn't be causing any undue strife in the casa. By the time she got home they had two left. The price wasn't outstanding, but about the going rate these days and the metal is in excellent condition. I've looked at these for years and wasn't willing to pay the asking price. In the end, they aren't going to get any cheaper and I decided I'd better snap one up before they hit a grand. Mrs. awesome likes shooting it too.
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Post by CXM on Jun 6, 2017 10:16:41 GMT -5
Mine would benefit from a new stock... and some BLO... I really like a BLO finish... takes some work but well worht it IMHO.... Here are a couple of pix of one of the S&Ws that had the awful orange colored stocks S&W managed to make in the late 1980s... to make matters worse it had had varnish glopped over the original finish... After removing the yukk finish I stained with mahogany stain and then applied BLO.. with a 0000 steel wool rub down between the first five coats. After the first five I rubbed the next five coats in with my fingers old Army style... I was pleased with the result... and the BLO finish is extremely easy to maintain. Thanks for sharing your M1... I need to get motivated on mine... though getting is harder when your wife has taken over your rifle for her use... V/r CHuck
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Post by Carolinaman on Jun 6, 2017 10:21:32 GMT -5
Hello Trooper,
Given the fact that today June 6th is the anniversary of "D-Day", I can't think of anyway better of commemorating than your posting of your nice M-1 Carbine. Thank you for explaining the stock finishing process!
Best,
Chris
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Post by gt40doc on Jun 6, 2017 14:55:00 GMT -5
That looks to be one dandy M1 carbine. You did a great job on the new stock. I have two M1 carbines (IBM-Alpine) that I purchased back in the early 1970s. I refinished both of the stocks on them, but don't remember exactly what I used back then. I think that I used to have a memory, but can't remember where I left it. I used to enjoy shooting mine, and I handloaded for them. Now I shoot at an indoor range, and they don't allow any rifle calibers to be fired there. I can understand that, but a 30 carbine round is pretty much just a 357Mag round.....their range, their rules.
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Post by trooper on Jun 6, 2017 17:43:33 GMT -5
Thank you gentlemen, I'm pretty happy with the way it came out. The one difficulty I've had with these old military stocks is stopping before it gets too nice. The indoor range I shoot at allows everything short of a .50 cal. and I have shot the carbine in there several times, mainly for function testing since I think shooting any long gun at 25 yards is a waste of ammunition. I see it all the time though with AR15 owners.
Speaking of D-Day, I spent time on the rifle range shooting my M1 Garand today. I guess I was commemorating the event and didn't even realize it.
Chuck, pretty good rehab on those grips.
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Post by trooper on Jun 6, 2017 21:54:31 GMT -5
Range report.
Well, the bore's in great shape so that isn't a hindrance. It'll turn in a four inch group at one hundred yards with off the shelf ammo. I might be able to shrink that a bit with some handloads, but that's really all you should expect from these little guns as they weren't made with accuracy as a top priority. So it shoots about as well as you can expect it to. The trigger breaks at an even five pounds with a little creep, not bad at all for an old military gun. That's good since there really isn't much to be done to slick up the trigger on these.
I've read that the range markings on the rear sight were just for nice and I can confirm that. Mine shoots POA from 0 to 100 at the 250 yard setting. With the original two apperture flip sight, the front sight was left tall, to be filed down as a means of zeroing the weapon. Rather than provide more precise elevation, I suspect the later sight type was introduced to make zeroing quicker rather than to really provide more adjustment. The Type 3 barrel band, with bayonet lug, while being less desirable to collectors actually benefits accuracy. The lug actually helps anchor the band in place, whereas the Types 1 and 2 constantly shift around, causing a corresponding wander of the POI.
This ones original stock has an Italian inspection cartouche. About ten years ago the CMP got a load of them back from Italy that had been used by the Carabinieri, essentially the Italian State Police. I'm assuming this is one of those. Given the excellent condition of the weapons bore and all the other metal parts, I'd guess it was overhauled prior to being sent overseas, or sometime soon thereafter. European police forces hardly shoot their weapons compared to their US counterparts and this carbine bears that out, with signs of being carried a lot and hardly fired over the last few decades. So in the end, you can't blame any lack of accuracy on the weapons conditions, only on the limits of its mechanics and the ability of the shooter.
I've only fired about three hundred rounds through it so far and it's been one hundred percent reliable. I've only used GI 15 round magazines instead of the aftermarket variety. 110 grain Armscore FMJ has been the ammo used thus far. The weapons light weight has been the biggest detriment to accuracy, as I'm used to shooting far heavier long guns with a bit of weight to hold them down. A good firm grip is really required to keep this one from jumping around, when shooting for accuracy at distance.
Max effective range is stated as 300 yards. Honestly, I think that's a bit optimistic with good effective range probably being half that. At ranges of 25 to 50 yards it's a nail driver. If you judge it in the proper context and keep in mind what it was originally meant for, I think it's a dandy weapon. This is especially true with modern soft point or hollow point ammunition. Jim Cirillo, of the NYPD Stake Out Unit, stated that the M1 Carbine was the units favored weapon. He said it never failed to put a man down as long as something other than FMJ ammo was used. I have tested it against an example of the body armor commonly worn by those of us in law enforcement and it will zip right through, so I don't give much credence to the old Korean War era sea stories of it not penetrating a Chinamans winter coat. I don't know if it would have been my first choice if i was jumping over France or hitting a beach in the South Pacific. On the other hand, if I was in need of a weapon in the here and now and it was all I had to hand? I'd grab it and do Gods work without much concern.
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