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Quality of the Plainfield and Universal M1 carbines

26K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  normannewguy 
#1 ·
Could a few owners possibly comment on the quality of these 2 remakes of the M1 carbine? They are so damn cheap and would make a great house gun, imho. After all- if it's good enought for the Equalizer- it should be good enough for me!
 
#2 ·
I have a Plainfield M1 Carbine and its well made and has USGI parts aside from the receiver and stock. I am sure it will hold up well as a rifle for the revolution if things deteriorate that badly.
I am probably going to sell mine since I can't shoot it at Camp Perry, only USGI rifles are allowed in their M1 Carbine matches.
 
#5 ·
I am probably going to sell mine since I can't shoot it at Camp Perry, only USGI rifles are allowed in their M1 Carbine matches.
I guess too many people would be upset when the commercial carbines stomp out the GI ones. I've just never had a good GI carbine that was all that accurate. Not that there isn't, but they must be few and far between. I'd keep it. I sold my prestine Winchester M1 simply because it sucked and kept the Universal because it rocked. Maybe Gus knows something about them? The best ones I've found in USGI have been Underwoods. Particularly the one that came back from Bavaria have shot pretty true.
 
#4 ·
I lucked out and got a nice Universal. It isn't even considered the best of it's brand. However it looks nice, never malfunctions and is very accurate. In a CQB action shooting course I'd do better with it vs the M4 and that is no lie. I hardly ever shoot it so it will probably last forever and it is not worth enough for any financial gain, so it's mine till I die. I guess there is worst things in life than owning a good rifle that is unpopular.
 
#6 ·
Its unfortunate that the prices for USGI Carbines has gotten so out of hand. There's no real shortage of them but they seem to be commanding some heavy price tags. Sorry I didn't grab one when I had the opportunity to buy one years back when they were cheaper.
 
#7 ·
I've got Dad's (or Granddads???) Universal s/n 25, that was new in ~'62.

I've been around it during it's entire life, and I don't imagine it's got 100 rounds through it.

On the odd occasion that I've had it out, it always works.

Clearly, I can't speak to it's long term reliability :)
 
#9 ·
If you can find a working universal, it's good to go. But Mine just happens to be a total junker. On top of that, not many aftermarket parts will fit the gun either.
 
#10 ·
I stopped accepting either maker of these carbines for repair years ago. It is extremely difficult to almost impossible to find repair parts for Universals. Yeah, I know Plainfield CLAIMED G.I. parts would work in all their carbines, but I found MANY where that was not true. Sometimes you have to go through a pile of G.I. parts to get one that works.

Sure, a working Plainfield or Universal will shoot better than a worn out G.I. Carbine, but they are no more accurate than a good G.I. Carbine with a good barrel, tight stock, etc. The only reason some of the civilian made carbines shoot better than some G.I. carbines is Plainfields and Universals were never shot as much, on average.

Oh, very much agree that many Plainfield Carbines had REAL problems with their gas systems.
 
#11 ·
I have a fairly early Plainfield Deluxe Sporter and it is a great rifle. When I got it it had an incorrectly assembled trigger group that didn't work. It also was very tight at first and jammed a lot until I fired about 500 or 600 rounds through it. Very accurate for an M1 Carbine with hand loads (110 grain Remington JSP/15 grains of H110) - 1.5 inch groups off a rest. BTW I found that all parts (springs, hammer , sear, rail. extractor) from Fulton Armory fit in the rifle.

Photo in this thread:

http://m14forum.com/steel-wood/100461-finaly-shot-my-plainfield-m1-carbine.html
 
#12 ·
I have an Inland USGI M1 carbine with new wood and new front sight blade that holds a 1.5 group at 100 yrds off the bench. Agree with Gus most USGI carbines have had the wee shot out of them and need new barrells and wood and they work just fine. Check out CMP website there are a few M1 carbines for sale by owners and they aren't that pricey.
 
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