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Finaly shot my Plainfield M1 Carbine

6K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  RGPM1A 
#1 ·
So I got this gun about a year ago at the local Cabela's. It was in the used bin and seemed in good shape. The only defect I could see is that some Bubba gunsmith ground off the protective wings on the front sight. I picked it up for under $300 ($274 I think) and got some 10 round mags (Triple K was all they had) and ammo as well. Today the wife left me home alone with the dog and I figured it would be a good day to finally test her out. I took her out of the safe and did a basic field strip, wiped her down with CLP and dry rag and smeared some wheel bearing grease on all the guide rails that showed wear. Grabbed two 50 round boxes of Prvi Partisan 110 gr JSP ammo and headed for the range.

I went to an indoor range with a 25 yard max distance, I figured this would be enough to test the gun and do a basic sight setting. At first I had some trouble getting my gun to feed, I figured it was just waking up from all the years of storage. I did notice that she was grouping left of POA so I started to crank the rear sight to the right. It took a bit of windage, I figure the same Bubba who ground of the front sight wings may have accidentally canted the sight at the same time. It did center out though and I think there is a bit of windage left. When I took my time the group was one ragged 5 shot hole albeit a bit low. I tried pushing the rear sight all the way forward but it was still shooing about 2" bellow POA. I was tired of playing around so I put up a BT-5 silhouette and did some off hand shooting at 25 yards. Rifle ran like a champ and soon the scoring inner zone was a ragged hole. All good hits.

I was surprised at how light the whole set up is and how quickly it handles. The trigger is a bit heavy but not too much so. I did notice a bit of muzzle climb at each shot, but nothing too bad. I only had the one magazine with me and I figure the few feed issues I had were due to the JSP ammo I was using. Several times the soft lead nose would catch on the feed ramp. Next time I will take some S&B 110 gr FMJ I have. I did note it still shoots about 2" low and wonder if this is due to the short distance to the target. I plan to buy a replacement front sight set from Fulton Armory and have a local smith switch out the Bubbafied one. Hopefully this will also fix the windage and elevation issue.

Anyway, I had fun playing with this toy for an hour or so ( I did shoot some other guns too). I think it is a heck of a find for the price I paid. It has all the military features including the evil bayonette lug. So what if it is not "Genuine GI", it was made with GI parts and cost a lot less then Kahr/Autordnance or a CMP gun. Still a nice piece for my WWII gun collection.
 
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#3 ·
I've had a few Plainfields and they all worked out well for me. Wish I'd kept one or two of them, especially a Paratrooper or an Enforcer. Mine were all USGI except for the the receiver. That was back in the 70's and 80's so I imagine that many of these fine weapons have been 'bubbafied'.
 
#4 ·
No need to pay a gunsmith to swap the front sight. There's a roll pin driven sideways across the sight. Punch that out and you can drive the site forward and off the barrel with a soft (rubber, plastic, leather, etc) mallet. There's a key that sits in a recess in the barrel and a matching cut in the sight. Line up the slot on the new sight and tap it back on. Put the roll pin back in to hold it in place.

Carbines with intact front sights shoot low. You have to file down the sight to get them on target. Just be sure what range you want to shoot at before you start cutting. 50 to 100 yards should be fine.

These little guys are lots of fun to shoot. They're like 10/22s for big kids.
 
#7 ·
If you do go this route, I highly recommend purchasing or borrowing a Carbine front sight removal tool. It will keep you from adding a bunch of dough to the swear jar.
 
#5 ·
Great comment on how to fix the Point of Impact by filing the front sight down. I have similar problem with my 4 x M1 (USGI) Carbines. I did some research a while back and the M1s were sighted in at the factory and they filed the front sights down before shipping. I will try to fnd the book and reply later with its name.

D
 
#6 ·
Great comment on how to fix the Point of Impact by filing the front sight down. I have similar problem with my 4 x M1 (USGI) Carbines. I did some research a while back and the M1s were sighted in at the factory and they filed the front sights down before shipping. D
Both of my GI carbines shoot WAY high with the rear sights all the way forward. I wonder if the factory got a bit enthusiastic with the file. RNGR1
 
#10 ·
762 I have a Plainfield too. Its a great little gun made back in 1961. Mine is a Deluxe Sporter version that I put a rail and a red dot on and use in local bowling pin shoots and rifle action matches. Photo attached with original walnut barrel heat shield. If you want a copy of the original manual in pdf format PM me.

I found this gun in a LGS with a broken trigger group and got it for a song. Because the trigger group didn't work I don't believe anyone ever fired it before I got it as it was coated with wax/grease everywhere including inside the barrel. I cleaned it up, lubed it and it works great - 1.5 " groups@100yards off a rest. BTW I had to file quite a bit off the front sight to get it to zero at 100 yards. Here is a link to help calculate how much to file off:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=13186/guntechdetail/Sight_Height_Calculator
 
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