This is the same photo as the cover.
I’d have taken a Daisy air rifle over the piece of crap M16 that jammed whenever it was really needed.
I found the carbine wanting a little balisticly, but an old guy I knew who walked across Italy in 1943 said the weight difference with the M-1 made him choose the carbine.
I’d love to own a M-1 carbine but I’d settle for a Ruger Mini-14 Ranch rifle or the Mini-14 Tactical.
“Nobody wanted to give up the M-1carbine”
Except for those who used it and realized it would not punch through a wet paper bag. Well for sure it would not perforate the chi-coms padded pajama winter uniform in Korea. It was a rifle shooting a pathetic pistol round. So many other ammo options would have improved that weapon.
WAR BABY
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I owned an M1 .30 carbine in the 1980’s but did not like it. Mine was made by IBM, the computer company. I found it was NOT that reliable, so I sold it, with sling, cleaning kit, and bayonet, for $180.
Daddy was in the combat engineers. They were issued Garands and kept them right until they were disbanded and sent home in November 1945.
It would seem to me that they would have been issued carbines but were not.
A cousin carried an M1 Carbine off the beach at Normandy. He eventually ran into a German at close range and put three bullets into him before the Kraut put one slug into my cousin from a M98 Mauser. The German soon died but my cousin spent many months hospitalized in recovery. He always blamed not being issued an M1 Garand rifle for his malady.
I have owned several Carbines and the only suitable activity I ever found for them was hunting Jackrabbits where it is far superior to the .22 LR.
I also had an M2 Carbine equipped with an M1A1 folding stock in Vietnam but never used it seriously because of a lack of functioning reliability.
A M1 Carbine might be useful as a home defense gun but there are many better alternatives, such as a 12 gauge shotgun using buckshot or slugs.
There are also may better alternatives for military or law enforcement uses.
Grandfather qualified on the Thompson, but said that he always carried a carbine in the ETO. Thompson was too heavy, and ammo was even more so.
It was the preferred weapon for the boys in the Pacific.
Since nobody knew where the enemy was because of the Jungle, and since if you knew where the hell they were (in the bunkers) they favored the Carbine and Thompson over anything else. The best weapon was the flame thrower, except the guys that carried them didnt really care to.
My uncle told us that the carbine was smaller, shorter and weight was lighter. You could swing it in the jungle brush like the thompson and spray a lot of rounds down range.
My Dad trained with the M-1 carbine when he was in the Army, from 59-61...
I had a universal carbine couple decades back the only gripe I had was the cost of the ammo 8 bucks a box... Of 50.
I luv my M1A and Garand.
Will shoot them all day over an AR.
Like AR’s but, Luv M1 anything....
Of course, it would not go full auto when the little knob was pushed forward. They had gotten rid of all M14s and not enough M16s to go around when I got transferred toe Quang Tri, so that little popgun was all I had for a few weeks.
During the Korean war I was issued the M-2 it would frequently jam with the 40 round clip. But with short burst very accurate.
I have my father’s M-1. Learned to shoot on it as a youngster.
CA 1965, my small stateside 40 man Air Force detachment was stripped of our arsenal. Two M1911’s, two grease guns and the rest M1 carbines all sent to the South Vietnamese never to be seen again. Thank you Lyndon and the ever estimable McNamera.
We have an M1 carbine anniversary issue made by Israeli Arms. I love shooting it.
I bought an M-1 Carbine on my return from Desert Storm (a couple other guns too, but this isn’t about them).
From a pawnshop in Fayetteville, NC, which had an indoor range.
A weekly box of ammo fired over sights which resembled those of the M16A2...
...was enough to allow me to qual Expert with my issue rifle.
When I was ordered overseas in 1992, I took my guns to my parents to hold for me. My dad had fired the M1C in the USAF and had fond memories. He wanted to keep it when I came back, but having no handguns I was determined the M1C would be my home defense arm.
I found another one and gave it to him for Christmas 1996. After he died in 1999 I got it back, and being in some economic straits I sold my first one to a relative, who still has it.
Fun little gun. Too bad about the tippy canoe...