WWII US M1 Carbine

Sorry to be doing my weekly post late this week. The M1 carbine is not from the period I normally collect. It’s so much fun to shoot, that I couldn’t let it go when I started to specialize in an earlier era.

After the M1 rifle was adopted, the army realized that it was unwieldy for certain troops - paratroops, tankers, engineers, support troops, etc. By 1941, firearms designers were competing to create a weapon that would have better range than a pistol and be lighter than the Tommy gun that was then in service. Winchester won with the design that would become the M1 Carbine. The action looks a lot like the M1 rifle, as it does use a Garand-style rotating bolt and operating rod. The difference in how it functions is due to a short-stroke gas piston created by an unlikely fellow named David Marshall Williams, who designed it while in prison for murder. (The warden recognized William’s engineering genius, and he was given unusual latitude for a prisoner, having full use of the machine shop, doing gunsmithing work on the guard’s weapons, and designing and building four different semi-automatic rifles while behind bars).

Beginning in 1942, and produced until 1945, the M1 Carbine would serve in all theaters of WWII, as well as the Korean War and Vietnam War. Although it’s diminutive .30 carbine ammo is frequently criticized for lack of stopping power and penetration, the little carbine is what it was designed to be – not a main combat rifle but a small, lightweight weapon with better reach than a pistol.

The M1 Carbine was made by many manufacturers that were not usually involved with firearms. Mine was made by the National Postal Meter Company of Rochester NY, probably in 1943. This company produced less than 7% of all M1 carbines.

It’s displayed with its original issue 15 round detachable magazine, with two additional magazines stored in a 1943 dated pouch on the stock. The pouch was originally intended for wear on a belt, but soldiers figured out how to fit them onto a stock and the practice spread. The original issue sling is held in place through the stock by a metal tube that also serves as an oiler. My carbine also comes with a bayonet lug. The M1 didn’t come with this option until 1944, but by the Korean War it was standard. As these carbines were reconditioned, parts were changed out and the stock on my carbine is milled out for the M2 (full auto version) select-fire switch. No switch or M2 sear, but the slot is there.

Ammo: The original .30 carbine cartridge fired a 110 grain jacketed round nose bullet at a velocity of 1,970 fps. As I mentioned at the start, it’s a fun little weapon to shoot, mostly plinking with cheap, readily available ammo that I’ve used without feeding problems. When I do bother to make reloads, I use 110 grain Remington jacketed round nose bullets backed by 15 grains of IMR 4227.

WARNING: Load data is provided for information only. Many vintage firearms are unsafe to shoot and I do not advise use of this load data for other firearms since I do not know the specific firearm that may be involved or its condition.