Civilian M1 Carbine

chofo

chofo

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I remember years ago that there were civilian versions of the M1 Carbine for sale at places like Checkmate and LeBarons in Montreal. I'm pretty sure they were made by Iver Johnson.

Anyways...they had 20" barrels and were NOT converted military, so are they "restricted" or not?

I'd love to get one for deer hunting and just for ####s&Giggles, but have only seem US military ones ( and dammed few of those, actually) in any gunshop around here. Crazy prices too...so maybe the civvy version will be a little more affordable.

So ...anyone out there have one to sell ?
 
IJ did make 19" barreled carbines in late 1979ish. Not many though. Not great quality either, but they're not restricted. The Carbine is restricted due to being a semi-auto, centre fire with a barrel length under 18.5"(470 mm). I'd bet you'd still be questioned by CO's and cops.
Look for a Plainfield Machine Co. that has had the barrel changed. Plainfield's are the best of the commercial copies. They are an exact copy and can use any issue part. Never needed to replace any part in 30 plus years on mine though. No problems a bath didn't fix.
Not exactly inexpensive any more. None of 'em are. They're out there, but not many with the 19" barrel. A barrel extension(flash hider/muzzle brake) doesn't count.
It doesn't take much to convert one to a straight pull bolt action. Requires the gas piston to be replaced with a solid plug. Isn't necessarily a cheap thing though. The plug would have to be made in a machine shop.
"...for deer hunting..." 110 grain factory SP's or HP's, under 100 yards. Mind you, factory hunting ammo is kind of anemic. Better to reload with 110 grain SP's or HP's. IMR4227 is your friend. The mag, of course, must be pinned to 5.
 
Hey Sunray!

Thanks for the timely response... and yes, I DO remember people being quite negative about any and all of those copycat Carbines...if it wasn't a "real" one they were junk.

Anyways...guess I'll just keep looking. I suppose re-barelling a GI one would:

a) get my arse kicked by the many Purists on this forum:)
b) cost way more than a new Mini-30 so why bother:ar15:.
c) crazy gun registry people would STILL classify it as Restricted so I STILL couldn't hunt with it:bangHead:.

Anyways...still open to offers if anyone out there has one...but I suppose the legal ones ARE few and far between.

chofo
 
Plainfield carbines are the best one's in new manufacture. There are usgi carbines with 20" barrels made up by Lever Arms in the 80's.
 
chofo said:
c) crazy gun registry people would STILL classify it as Restricted so I STILL couldn't hunt with it:bangHead:.
Click to expand...
Why would they still be considered restricted? M1 carbines are not named as restricted firearms by order in council, so if it is re-barreled to longer than 18.5 in, and the OAL is over 26 in, it meets the legal definition of non restricted. (Not that I'm advocating the Bubbafication of a piece of history.) :eek:
 
Gooday lads...

fnrob: NO I would never Bubba up a GI carbine...just not right, and too expensive anyways. I would like to find a civilian model...all nice and non-restricted so I can actually hunt with it.

Your avatar intrigues me...an FN rifle...now THAT would be a deer rifle!! How come they're prohibited?? Long and heavy, not-too-concealable...and the C1's we used were only semi-auto... only 2 guys in the platoon would carry the C2. Anyways...why ask senseless questions...why the M-14 is Jim-Dandy but not an almost identical piece of kit like the C1A1...a piece of Canadian history!
My buddy used his Norinco M-14 once...yes...once. Got back to the camp at dusk, just absolutley peckered...lugged it around all day. Hehe...uses a Mini-30 now.

And BUFF, hell yes I remember them now! There are more civvy versions of the carbine than most people realize...I know I was surprised...take a look...

http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/

Anyways... one of these days I'll run into a civilian version.
 
There are longer barrelled carbiines around, both rebarrelled military and commercial.
Sooner or later one will turn up.
There is no current supply of 19 or 20 inch barrels.
The general consensus is that the .30 carbine is a poor choice for deer hunting.
 
I'd love to try a rechamber to 7.62 Tok....the carbine is a hoot, but with cheap ammo it would be even more fun!
 
chofo said:
Gooday lads...

fnrob: NO I would never Bubba up a GI carbine...just not right, and too expensive anyways. I would like to find a civilian model...all nice and non-restricted so I can actually hunt with it.

Your avatar intrigues me...an FN rifle...now THAT would be a deer rifle!! How come they're prohibited?? Long and heavy, not-too-concealable...and the C1's we used were only semi-auto... only 2 guys in the platoon would carry the C2. Anyways...why ask senseless questions...why the M-14 is Jim-Dandy but not an almost identical piece of kit like the C1A1...a piece of Canadian history!
My buddy used his Norinco M-14 once...yes...once. Got back to the camp at dusk, just absolutley peckered...lugged it around all day. Hehe...uses a Mini-30 now.

And BUFF, hell yes I remember them now! There are more civvy versions of the carbine than most people realize...I know I was surprised...take a look...

http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/

Anyways... one of these days I'll run into a civilian version.
Click to expand...

I'm with you regarding the FN. I've always wanted one more than any other gun, but because some knobs in Ottawa decided to prohibit it when I was 9 or 10 years old, I never even had the chance to buy one. The entire prohib list needs to be struck down.
 
"..."Universal"..." Avoid 'em. Unless you can find an early model. The op rod on late models tend to break.
"...How come they're prohibited..." Because the Socialist F**ks decided you couldn't be trusted with one.
"...why the M-14 is Jim-Dandy but not..." The M14 was a select fire battle rifle. Prohibited. A real, semi'd, M14(a 12-3 firearm) is prohibited too. "Once an MG always an MG", despite having the parts removed or ground so they can't be re-made into MG's by just adding the parts. M305/M14S/M1A's are not M14's. They're commercial sporting rifles.
"...a new Mini-30..." My Plainfield and any issue carbine in decent condition will shoot circles around a Mini 30.
"...would STILL classify it as..." Nope. It's restricted due to the barrel length only. A 19" carbine isn't restricted.
"...try a rechamber to 7.62 Tok..." Too long.
"...poor choice for deer hunting..." Wouldn't think twice about using mine with my handloads.
 
Weren't they rebarreled to 5.7 Johnson?Harold The MI had a rep for not penetrating the Winter coats and webbing worn by the North Korean's
 
"...rebarreled to 5.7 Johnson..." There were some of those too. Far fewer due to a lack of ammo though.
"...M1 had a rep for not penetrating the Winter coats..." Internet nonsense. Just like the enemy being able to hear the ping of an ejecting M1 Rifle clip.
 
PM for you 148 !

Great forum...learning all kinds of stuff about these carbines! Thanks to all!

Sunray has convinced me to hunt with the 30 Carbine. Yeah...looks bad in the ballistics tables, but seriously...the ranges we shoot deer up around here is about 20 to 50 yards. That's it...otherwise you can't see them clear enough to guarentee a decent hit,
and I've had it chasing wounded animals down through the scrub!!!
 
Sorry if this is kicking a dead horse, but what is the best path to re-barrel a Universal carbine with one 1" longer so it can be a camping plinking gun?

Is Lever the right place to start looking?


Ryan

p.s. I would never butcher a USGI gun, but a turning a universal to non restricted, hell yeah.
 
You'll be tracking lots of wounded deer with the MI carbine body hit.There's a reason many States don't allow it for deer but what do they know right.Take you're .22 Harold
 
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