The history of the M1 Carbine Fulton Armory Service Grade M1 Carbine A Pocket History of the M1 Carbine by Robert Gibson Someone wanted some info on M1 Carbine.maybe this will help. Much of it is copied from the NRA's booklet 'U.S.Caliber.30 Carbine'. Over a span of just 38 months (the first carbines were delivered in June 1942, the last in August 1945) nine primary contractors established manufacturing facilities, tooled up and turned out some six million carbines of all types - M1, M1A1, M2 and T3/M3. The production program was such a success that, excepting Inland and Winchester, the remaining contracts were cancelled in mid-1944.

Those two companies completed their carbine production runs in August, 1945. M1 Carbine Production Inland Manufacturing Division, G.M.C. 2,632,097 43.0% Winchester Repeating Arms Co.. 828,059 13.5% Underwood-Elliot-Fisher Co... 545,616 8.9% * Saginaw Steering Gear Div., G.M.C.. 517,212 8.5% ** National Postal Meter Co...

The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber.30, M1) is a lightweight, easy to use.30 caliber (7.62 mm) semi-automatic carbine that was a standard. M1 Carbine stock ID. This is a discussion on M1 Carbine stock ID. Within the Stock forums, part of the Rifle Forum category; Bought a M1 Carbine stock at the Oaks gun.

413,017 6.8% *** Quality Hardware & Machine Co.. 359,666 5.9% International Business Machines Corp (IBM). 346,500 5.7% Standard Products Co... 247,160 4.0% Rock-Ola Co..... 228,500 3.7% --------- Total: 6,221,220 * Note that Saginaw had two plants in operation, one in Saginaw, MI and one in Grand Rapids, MI. The Grand Rapids facility assumed a contract that had been originally awarded to Irwin-Pedersen Arms Co.I-P had assembled only 3,542 guns at the time, none of which were accepted by the government.

**Note that a few early NPM receivers are marked 'Rochester', for the Rochester Defence Corp. A very few late receivers are marked 'CCC', for Commecial Controls Corp. ***Note that some Quality Hardware carbines were assembled using receivers made by Union Switch & Signal Co, hence the 'UN-QUALITY' marked carbines. These are highly prized by some carbine aficionados.

The history of who made what during the brief 38 months of production is a story that can (and does) fill a book. Might I suggest you find a copy of 'WAR BABY' or 'M1 Carbine Design, Development and Production' by Larry Ruth.

Another recommended book is 'Guide to Collecting the M1 Carbine' by Robert Gibson (no relation, by the way! ).they're all good books with tons of info. Another excellent reference book is 'U.S. M1 Carbines: Wartime Production' by Craig Riesch, a North Cape Publications 'For Collectors Only' series.

Which are the most collectable? Depends on what your own personal criteria might be. Rock-Ola's are always desirable, not only because there were fewer made than any other make but because Rock-Ola was a famous juke box maker of the period who's product was quite familiar to the WWII GI's. Others look to the Winchester carbines because of the name on the receiver.I own one these myself. There are all kinds of reasons to own a particular 'brand' of carbine.I've worked with IBM mainframe computers systems for some 20 years, I think it would be rather fitting to obtain an IBM carbine sooner or later. 20 carbine owners might give 20 different reasons for owning their particular carbine.you really need to read up on M1 history and decide what YOU want.

Mechanically they were each and every one built to the same design specs as specified in the contracts the maker signed with the U.S. You could strip 25 M1 Carbines down to their component parts, mixed 'em up in a box and then reassemble them at random back into 25 carbines.they would be expected to function within the specified performance parameters. Finding what you want is another matter.

If not available at your local gunshops or gunshows you could get a current issue of Gun List, the indexed firearms paper.many, many M1 Carbines will be found listed in the Military Weapons section. Another source is Fulton Armory.call (301) 490-9485.

On this subject.at a recent gunshow I attended in Birmingham, Alabama (Jan. 5, 1997) the prices being asked for typical M1 Carbines were running from low of $450 for Inlands to a high of $650 for Rock-Olas. The Carbines I examined appeared to contain the usual mixed parts one would expect. Bpt Pro 4 Crackled. a combination of the original mix of parts by the manufacturer, augmented by the various arsenal refurbishment programs following WWII and Korean wars. As a counterpoint my local gunsmith still has a few Quality Hardware Carbines for sale at $385.mixed parts so certainly not collectables, but they're quite acceptable 'shooters' and would satisfy most who have an itch to own a GI Carbine of their own. On this subject I've heard reports of 'shooter' grade M1 Carbines still going for between $250 to $300 in scattered locations around the country. They've not been this affordable in my local area since back in late 1994 or early 1995.