New M1 Carbine

[Criminal Number 18F]

I have owned two Maadi's and both were totally reliable

That's intrinsic to the AK design. It is very hard to mismanufacture. I have probably shot 200+ variations of that weapon (from the original stamped version from before the machined one, and how many have even seen one of those?, to late AKSUs and experimental 5.45 variants). I only once encounterd malfunctioning weapons that had not been grossly abused (run over with tanks, blown up, or had parts missing). That was in 1983 when we received a large supply of Romanian AKs at 10th SF Group -- a big secret at the time that Ceaucescu was selling the US soviet-type weapons. About 2.5% of them were DOA due to manufacturing defects.

Unbelieveably, at the time, the Valmets were cheaper.

Yeah. I have an M62S. I sold a guy an M76FS that I wish I'd kept, but eh.

I do suspect they were actually made by CZ and finished in Egypt as one had the CZ stamp on it.

More likely CZ Arms, USA was the importer. The manufacture of weapons is not a high-tech activity (unless you want to make titanium revolvers or something, eh). It'd mostly 19th Century industrial processes, which 20th century advances let us do with greater precision and reliability.

There is a cheap Egyptian 9mm which I absolutely love. It is the Helwan.

Yep, it's a licenced knock-off of the Beretta M1951 and was once the standard sidearm of the Egyptian Army. Like with Taurus (another great gun for the money), Beretta supplied the whole plant and taught the Egyptians to run it.

I also like the mag release on the lower grip as is is more secure and less likely to be accidentally released.

My first Beretta 92 was a 92S with the mag release there. All the 92 (M9) is is a 1951 with features added. The US-made M9s are poorly made with non-radiused edges on the locking block which creates a stress riser, which breaks the block. One ear breaks off. If you shake the broken ear out, the other will hold for about 200 more rounds (it's taking all the locking loads now). The Italian made 92s and the 1951 do not have this defect. It was part of how the US plant "improved" production to meet lower price targets.

Not germane to the above, I notice that somebody finally answered 95Impala's question about the Kahr M-1 Carbine. Grin.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Shooter 2.5]

You'll still find Freepers who can't believe a 6.5 going 2000 feet a second can't penetrate four inches a flesh. [JFK assassination]

[yarddog]

I too had one of the early model 92's. I bought it right at the end of 1978. It was a good gun, reliable and accurate.

Two things I didn't like was the grip felt thicker at the web of the hand than the later 92's. Also it had a smooth but very heavy double action. Probably because of an unusually strong hammer spring.

I remember buying some surplus 9mm which would misfire around 75% of the time with all other 9mms I had but would fire 100% with that Beretta. It would always fire on the second strike with the others. It may have been sub-machine gun ammo but don't know.

I am pretty sure those Maadi .22's were actually made by CZ. They were well used and this was around 1986, probably before CZ USA was in business.

I later bought a brand new one which was identical, except all the markings were in Arabic and the finish was quite a bit poorer. It was still a good shooter but not up to those earlier three.

[MileHi]

...15 gr of "296" (WHATEVER type of propellant that is!)

W296 (Winchester), a great powder for boomer handguns like the .44 mag. Very similar Hogdons H110.

[Graycliff]

Don't like it as a rifle round, but love it as a pistol round. I have a couple of old 3 screw Rugers, they make a great handgun round.
Make sure you wear hearing protection, their the loudest pistols I've heard.

[hiredhand]

Thank you! Even as I read your post, I still hadn't looked it up.

...been a bit busy. :-)

[95ssimpala]

Thanks for all of the replies! It is a little late and I’m going to try and answer some of the questions and comments real quick.
1. The metal hand guard is ugly and I would probably replace it with a proper wood one. Wood=good most of the time
2. Yes, proper rifle thirties are much more potent and effective ballisticly than the .30 carbine. I want one because they are neat, fun and handy plinkers. They’re damn fun to shoot too!
3. I have no personal experience with AO, but I have read a few stories like Darksheare’s and I am a little wary.
4. $600 is a little high and I could buy a GI one for that, but I want a shooter and preferably one that isn’t to beat up. They are going for about $500 at a shop not far from me and a used one would be even less.
5. I will probably buy a GI one, but I’m just exploring all of my options. What I really want is an M1A1, but I don’t have $2G+!

[ExSoldier]

AMT used to chamber it in a semi-auto. I had their .22WMR and it was a nifty little gun but finicky on what types of ammo it fed. HAD to be CCI.

[Graycliff]

I got to shoot an AMT in 30 carbine, didn't get to put it on paper, just shot at a gong at about 100 yards. The AMT was just to large a weapon for me, but i did find it to be fairly accurate, and still very loud.
The only AMT I've owned was the old Long Slide 45 ACP, wasn't to impressed with it. The 22WMR was one i always wanted to try, the size was right, and I've always had a soft spot for the 22WMR, a highly underrated cartridge.
Would probably pick one up if the price was right.

[RipSawyer]

Well, something doesn’t add up, we hear all sorts of testimony to the effect that the .45 ACP is capable of smacking down the biggest baddest dudes with one hit but you tell us the carbine which is supposed to have twice the muzzle energy of the .45 ACP won’t kill a possum and is just enough to make a big man mad? Did you have some bad ammo or what? It can’t be both ways, what is going on here?

[Tijeras_Slim]

Be nice...

It’s a handy gun to grab when your .410 is out of reach.

[Tijeras_Slim]

The graveyards are full of what remains of Karamojo wanna-bes.

Placement and adequate penetration were his guiding principles.

[Tijeras_Slim]

It was Karamojo, you might have misremembered the caliber. All them numbers, so little time. :)

[Tijeras_Slim]

Sheesh. Typical FR gun thread. Somebody asks a question about a specific weapon, and a hundred guys lambaste him for it, each one offering his own personal shooter as the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything (probably most of the time, a shooter he hasn't even shot, and certainly just about all the time, a shooter he hasn't shot people with).

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Patterson was the guy who tried to become cat chow in Tsavo.

[hiredhand]

Be nice...

It’s a handy gun to grab when your .410 is out of reach.

I repent! I repent! From 2005!...I repent!

[Tijeras_Slim]

W296 and H110 are practically identical. I use them interchangably for the .410 skeet loads.

Some folks like the WC820 which is a surplus powder for the M1 carbine, although no “official” load data exists for it in .410.

[RipSawyer]

“Except that indeed the lions are on display at the Univ of Chicago.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I saw those stuffed lions at the Field Museum in Chicago in 1972, I believe. I was there for company schools in ‘72 and again in ‘77 and again in ‘82. The lions were indeed huge, I have watched the movie twice and loved it both times. If the real story is even worse where do you go to get the facts?

[Joe 6-pack]

Here's my Auto-Ordnance Carbine with a little of my own custom work....

Although it's supposed to be built to GI specs, I've read that people who've bought some aftermarket M1A1 (paratrooper) folding stocks required quite a bit of extensive fitting. I've got magazines from several sources and they've all worked just fine. I keep it (and all my weapons) meticulously clean and have never had a misfire, stove-pipe, jam, fail to cycle, fail to feed, etc. You do have to rack it pretty hard to chamber the first round completely (due to the strength of the manufacturer's magazine spring that maintains a LOT of upward pressure), but the charging handle is also it's own "forward assist."

It's not a tack-driver but off a rest, I've got 4-5" groups at 100 yards with factory peep sites; I'd guess that could be shrunk an inch + with decent optics. I would recommend it, and love mine, but if you're going to grab one up, get as much ammo as you can...it's getting harder and harder to find.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Holy Smokes! I was in the Wayback Machine and didn’t even know it!