M1 Carbine

The M1 Carbine is a fantastic little rifle. I won't lie. I had mixed feelings about this rifle for a long time. Of course it wasn't until I had taken a class that had improved my marksmanship that I truly learned to love this rifle.

The History of the Carbine in a Nutshell

Originally a semi auto rifle, the next version the M2 was made to function as a full auto. Historically, most carbines were usually short versions of a previous model rifle, however, the term carbine basically means "short rifle".

The M1 Carbine was one of the rifles the US used in WWII and the Korean War, however, was replaced on the battlefield with the development of the full auto version, the M2. It was not meant for precision sniper shooting, but was issued to soldiers who's primary duties were not frontline fighting like cooks, radio operators, officers, etc. It was a much smaller cartridge compared to the US's main rifle, the M1 Garand, which had a larger 30-06 cartridge. None the less, it was capable of doing it's job for the infantry men and paratroopers who carried them.

Range of Effectiveness

If you're a sniper trying to shoot someone from 600 yards away, chances are you won't like the M1 Carbine. However, if you're shooting pumpkins at 75 yards, you'll probably love this rifle. They're not exactly notorious for precision shooting. At 100 yards, they can get anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes of angle (MOA), which is fine for close range shooting.

How Does The Gunslinging Housewife Rate It?

The pro's: this rifle is pretty awesome. I believe it's one of those rifles where any woman who picks it up will fall in love with it. If not right away, later on after she has a few bad relationships with other guns. The M1 Carbine is a gun anyone can shoot and shine with.

It's light weight so you won't get tired of holding it if you're like me and easily go through 100 rounds any time you shoot. It has practically no recoil. Again, if you're shooting a lot of rounds in one afternoon, you won't be left with rifle hickeys on your shoulder pocket. I don't care what anyone says, you can hold a gun the right way all you want, if you're not dressed right, you will get bruised. Unless you have thick skin and frankly my friends, I do not. Because it is a small cartridge size, it is easy to handle. A lot of women will find they can become fairly accurate with this rifle.

The con's: if you like a big gun that makes a big boom, this isn't a great gun. Also, these guns are military surplus rifles. Chances are, if you buy one that is really fantastic condition, it will cost you a lot of money. And chances are if you buy one from CMP and get a rack or service grade, your rifle will come a lot of cosmoline; a thick, paste-like substance that dries like a hard and crusty wax that surplus rifles are doused with to prevent them from rusting when in storage. Fortunately, it can be cleaned off. Of course it is a pain in the neck and your cosmoline will weep for years as we say around our house. It seems like no matter how well you clean it off, the more you shoot it and the rifle heats up, there always seems to be a tiny residual amount that pops up out of nowhere.

If you're a rifle nut, you'll want one of these rifles. If you're into surplus rifles, you'll definitely want one of these. If you're into the M1 Carbine, but don't feel like dealing with the cosmoline that comes with a historical military surplus rifle, Auto Ordnance offers a new military grade versions at reasonable costs.