Wednesday, October 6, 2010

M1 Carbine

MBtGE went to the Chantilly VA Fun Show. Since I was feeling poorly he asked if he should be on the lookout for anything for me.

Naw. Not really.

Wait. If you see a good deal on M1 Carbines...

Cheapest vintage one he saw was $1800. The brand new reproductions were less than a grand, but so what?

If that's where they are setting... Two LARGE... I'm not gonna be owning one. I am not buying a shooter M1 that costs more than my M1A. Crap.

If you could see me now you would see my sad face.

(I know, I know, I can probably do a third of that price, but still. I kick myself for not getting into the hobby sooner. Then again, I wasn't as wealthy 10+ years ago, either.)

In other gun show news... .40 was available in bulk from major manufacturers, around a quarter ($.25) a round. I'm happy to see that. I didn't expect $150 for 1000 nowadays, but was kinda expecting they'd try for $330 per.

10 comments:

Boat Guy said...

Pretty spendy for a plinker...
'specially when you can get a brand new M1 RIFLE from CMP for just under a grand.

Bubblehead Les. said...

As a Carbine Lover, those prices are WAY TOO HIGH. Plenty of original G.I. up here in Ohio for @ $600, $350 for Universals, and Kimber is making Brand New ones for under a Grand, some of which is Tacticool. Original GI magazines are high, but the KCI Brown paper wrapped from South Korea has worked fine for me, and they're cheap.

But the problem in today's market is Ammo availability. Since Big Army no longer uses the Carbine, all the MilSurp has dried up, and you are stuck with S+B, Fiocchi and Russian import. Even if you reload, it takes a special Die Set.

If you want something like an M1, I'd go with a Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-30 just because of the ammo situation. I'd retire mine to the safe if I can get the Wife to try a Ruger/M1 Carbine "Compare and Contrast", but it hasn't come together yet. Maybe this weekend at the North Coast Bloggershoot that Ms. Breda is putting on, we'll have the opportunity.

Anonymous said...

m-1 carbines go for $600 all the time on calguns.net. That's the going rate around here-

YBtGE said...

I also saw a full auto, BAR, new, virgin, un-shot, for $32,000!

Anonymous said...

Can you say gunbroker? $2K? please!

Anonymous said...

At $1800, it is almost certainly a "collectible" rifle, with some rarer, original features. Like others have pointed out, you can find carbines in the $600-$750 range, depending on condition and the seller. Unfortunately, the CMP has sold out of them, so that's not an option at the moment. I got my latest one from them for under $600 about a year and a half ago.

-Michael

Anonymous said...

Take yer pick:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=349559

Old NFO said...

Boat Guy and Bubblehead are both correct... CMP still has shooters for $650. Hell, I got a collector grade one two years ago for $900 from CMP.

Boat Guy said...

Not sure if/when CMP will have M1 Carbines again... but I was advocating using that kinda money (OK about HALF of that kinda money $995) to buy an M1 RIFLE. As in Garand, as in the CMP "Special" M1 which is for all intents and purposes a NEW M1; new barrel, new wood (VERY nice walnut) and everything else redone or replaced.
I initially bought an M1 Carbine for my Bride and swapped it out for an M4, because of ammo compatibility among other things - the USG is certainly still producing 5.56!
Got little use for the Ruger Minis - especially with so many good M4geries out there.

Rowman said...

If you ever get to Richmond VA check out Bob Moates Sport Shop on Hull Rd. I was there this past summer. They had several carbines and Garands, many from an estate. I forget the man's name I spoke with but I could have talked w/ him all day. He was a Vietnam vet and had endless stories - a wealth of knowledge.