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Something you need to know about M1 Carbines

8K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  Gus Fisher 
#1 ·
Folks, here is something VERY important to know about Carbines.

Look on the receiver bridge and HOPEFULLY it will be marked with the Maker and then, CAL 30M1 as in this photo.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2879708920072995975QpPkGk

IF it is marked, "CAL 30M2" and even if there are NO full auto parts on it, it is classified as a machine gun. If you don't have BATF approved paperwork and a tax stamp, it ain't legal. This was not a big deal until in the 80's or 90's until BATF determined the MARKING alone made it a machine gun.

The reason I mention this is because Carbines sometimes came up for sale where someone has ground the "2" off the receiver, and or restamped it with a "1" to try to cover the fact it is not legal. If you are interested in buying a Carbine, look to snisure it is stamped, "CAL 30M1" to ensure you are getting a legal gun.
 
#2 ·
M1 Carbine

Gus is 100% on the money.. I found a M1 Carbine(Winchester) in a Pawn Shop here in Texas. Without much looking, I had them hold it for me as I was going out of town.. When I returned to pick up the weapon, I fully instected it. There on the bridge, plain as day, was M2. The Pawn Shop manager called ATF at my urging.. ATF picked up the Carbine and was going after the guy that pawned the gun. I checked, as did the ATF agent, there were no full auto parts.. But they still consider it a machine gun only my the markings.

Stay safe and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all.

grunt0321
USMC-1
 
#3 ·
Thanks Gus. This is something that I know I would have never considered when picking up a carbine. It is kinda sad that the stamp alone requires the ATF to come down and confiscate/ prosecute. Its a shame that people have to get the jitters everytime they try to make a purchase.
 
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#8 ·
Maybe...Since You Feel The Need To Turn Every EDUCATIONAL Post Into A
POLITICAL STATEMENT...

YOU...Should REALLY Make A Political Statement...
BUY ONE With M2 On It...
And Be A TEST CASE !!!
(We will all contribute to your Defense Fund!)

GI3GI2GI5

CAVman in WYoming
 
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#9 ·
I for one wouldnt have any full auto m1 carbine as the weapon is poor at best in combat...my uncle had a long story on how ineffective it was...he was with the USMC in the South Pacific. As far as the ATF goes....well ...I have as much use helping them as I do the IRS...I have ran across several rewelds over the years...worked ok as a last stand weapon, a reweld is ok but it could fail mid-cycle. Folks have them...its their business. I find a automatic Rem 1100 with extended mag better to 50 yds then any sub machinegun cal weapon.
 
#10 ·
CAVman; Maybe...Since You Feel The Need To Turn Every EDUCATIONAL Post Into A
POLITICAL STATEMENT...

YOU...Should REALLY Make A Political Statement...
BUY ONE With M2 On It...
And Be A TEST CASE !!!
(We will all contribute to your Defense Fund!)

GI3GI2GI5

CAVman in WYoming,

There you go, trying to bust my balls again, you only seem to get bent out of shape when someone starts talking about the law of the land, and the One those laws emanate from. But when countless other post present some of the many thousands of no count laws and statutes on the books, it doesn't seem to bother you as much.

Maybe you like writing your Congressmen, or trying to vote in your favorite politician, or maybe you get a good feeling when you pay a land tax, believing the money goes to run gov't. or maybe you just like listening to NPR.

CAVman, we are all different, and look at situations from different educational perspectives, if what I say about any given subject is wrong, show me where, because I can give an answer or explanation to any statements I make.

But know this, the truth doesn't always sit well with everyone.

PS; I don't care for M1 or 2 carbines.
 
#11 ·
What The Hell Are You Talking About ?
GI1
I Agree 100% That The 2nd Amendment Has Been Violated...
So please don't start talking about the Truth, etc..
MY Point Above Is:
This is Not the 'Politics' or the 'Reality Check' or 'Gun Rights' Forum.
This is the 'Steel and Wood' Section of the 'Rifle Forum'.
Gus Fisher, someone we can all learn from, began this Thread with an important warning about 'M1 Carbines'...
Then the Thread got 'Hijacked'...
It became a 2nd Amendment Thread...
There is a place for that discussion, but it isn't in this particular thread.
When Educational and Informational Threads on the Nuts and Bolts of U.S.G.I. Rifles here on the Forum get side-tracked by Political Discussions...
That Very Much Tends To Stop Them! We are starting to see it over and over here on the Forum.

THAT WAS MY POINT!!!

Oh, and thanks very much for sharing in Gus' Thread on M1's/M2's...
That YOU Don't Like Them!!!
Very Mature!

GI9

CAVman in WYoming
 
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#15 ·
Yup, same reason "M1A's" are marked "M1A" because the designation M-14 is denoting full auto.
 
#16 ·
I had heard from somewhere that the ATF rather dislikes the M1/M2 carbine as well. Something about all of the parts that make a M1 into an M2 being bolt on parts, and the only outward sign that it's a "M2" is the selector lever..

Personally, I like them, but just because they're fun to shoot! It's a shame that ammo isn't cheaper for them.

On an interesting (to me anyhow) note, my grandpa carried one through Europe, when the Germans were being rather poor neighbors in the 40's. Seemed to serve him just fine. After talking to a Korea vet at a gun show, and him telling me "I don't like the carbine - I shot a guy 4 times, and he kept coming", I relayed that to my grandpa. "Grandpa, this guy I talked to at the gun show said that he had shot a guy 4 times in Korea, and the guy kept coming.. I know you were in the ETO for the winter and with all the winter clothing and stuff, did you have to do the same thing??"

His response was one of the few times I'd ever heard him cuss: "You gotta AIM the motherf*cker!"

He didn't like talking about the war too much. He'd talk about growing up in the depression in Kansas, or working on mining equipment, he was an open book, except for WW2. We had to pry what little we could from him about his time "over there" before we lost him :( His statement about the M1 carbine, and seeing him light up when I showed him my first 1903 Springfield will stay with me forever.


Back to the OP, it's good to know that M2 marked receivers are contraband, even if they don't contain the naughty bits.. Thanks for the heads up! I've only seen pictures of M2 receivers, I'm starting to be convinced they only exist on the internet! lol

After all that, I do have a couple of questions: If you have a M2 receiver, and a M2 trigger assembly, would you have to pay two tax stamps for the weapon? Also, did they mark M3 carbines as M3? If so, would they be considered NFA weapons as well?
 
#18 ·
Gus,

Would you be able to , perhaps in a different thread, ( and assuming you have not already), give your take on the general reliability, versatility and effectiveness of the carbine? I have never fired one and am quite curious as to your personal opinion of the machines.

Thanks!
 
#20 ·
i had a neighbor (who has passed on now) tell me that he was guarding a line of german prisoners they were moving when one broke & run. he said he shot him three times in the back with his carbine before he fell. that's all old jack ever told me about ww2.
andy
 
#22 ·
Good info to know, never would have thought it would be an issue. Though if I saw one at a pawn shop or somewhere marked M2 I'd let the owner know but I be damned if I'd help the jack booted thugs in any way. That's the kind of Mickey Mouse crap that is ruining this country. Oh, the letter stamping is EVIL!
 
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