Collectable M1 Carbines

44Bore

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Given the political climate in our country is there any interest in the milsurp collector community in M1 carbines these days?
I am thinking of getting rid of a number of desirable collector carbines but don't want to go the auction route and Gun Shows are still not going too strong yet.
Are there any suggestions out there as to what would be a fair price range them these days?

44Bore.
 
IDK. I think there's some interest for the time being for shooting examples and maybe a bit more for non-restricted due to the larger market, but all but a very few would pay a premium right now for rarer collectable examples. If you were clearing out those they may sell quickly, but at typical current prices for surplus M1 Carbines.
 
I love the M1 carbine and really enjoying shooting them. They are a fantastic little rifle and are full of history - one of my favourite milsurps. That being said there is certainly a hesitation these days to buy a semi automatic, restricted rifle given the political climate. While milsurp prices have certainly soared over the past few years, I suspect that anything restricted will be a bit harder to sell.

In my opinion with these carbines (for whatever it’s worth), fair value depends on what the carbine is or isn’t and it’s condition. A typical USGI rebuild with adjustable rear sights / bayonet lug barrel band + mixed parts in decent condition seemingly goes in the 700-800$ range from what I’ve seen (perhaps a bit more for something like a Winchester, Rock Ola or S’G’.. The current import that many dealers are selling is hit or miss from what I’ve seen. I’ve handled quite a few from a few different dealers and have seen totally worn out carbines with loose actions, awful stocks and worn parts - as well as very serviceable carbines in decent condition that would certainly be a great addition to a collection as a shooter. I’d recommend handling one in store before purchase if possible.

Above that would be “corrected” carbines that have had earlier parts put on to give a representative example of a carbine in early/mid WW2 trim. These can be hit or miss as well depending on how things were done and how the rifle is represented. With GI parts I’d suspect a decent “corrected” rifle would fetch a little over 1000$ all else bring equal.

An all original / “correct” carbine would likely bring the most money, but it depends on several factors and a very, very close examination since determining originality in USGI carbines can be a bit tedious. Unfortunately it seems that regardless, carbines up here in Canada are not fetching the money that they are in the US.

Things like legitimate M1A1s of course are another ball game, but unfortunately I don’t have much exposure to them and their Canadian values, so I couldn’t say.

I’m not sure how much this helps but I wish you good luck. They are such a great little carbine and a ton of fun to shoot!
 
I had a friend sell a original WWII carbine that wasn’t corrected for around 2k a few years ago. There are serious collectors in Canada so like anything they are willing to pay for the right example.
 
A typical USGI rebuild with adjustable rear sights / bayonet lug barrel band + mixed parts in decent condition seemingly goes in the 700-800$ range from what I’ve seen (perhaps a bit more for something like a Winchester, Rock Ola or S’G’.. The current import that many dealers are selling is hit or miss from what I’ve seen. I’ve handled quite a few from a few different dealers and have seen totally worn out carbines with loose actions, awful stocks and worn parts - as well as very serviceable carbines in decent condition that would certainly be a great addition to a collection as a shooter. I’d recommend handling one in store before purchase if possible.

I think this is pretty accurate. You can buy a "fair" condition rifle from a vendor for around ~$800...Inland seems to be the most common I see. If you're patient you can get them cheaper when there's a sale. So pricing really depends on just how nice these carbines are :)
 
Here is a few. All G.I. & non restricted. The fun is to correct them with correct parts but very hard to do that today. Still a great Deer gun .

opNlemil.jpg
 
depends what they are some are quite rare took me years to find an Irwin Pedersen now I have 3

I stopped really looking for and buying m1 carbines now I'm collecting the magazines but even those will probably be banned
 
Allen Lever sold a few of the military m1 carbine's with European 20 inch barrels
The barrels were the hard part because more than a few of the receivers cracked when the new barrels were installed in Europe
For some reason, there were a lot of Winchester's and Irwin Peterson's
The best guns came from various State Police Department's in Germany many year's ago
They also sold their custom made Walther MPL and MPK smg's in green carry cases
They were in Safe, Semi and FA. Military one's were Safe and FA
 
Thanks for the various comments and thoughts. Most reinforce my own views. I am pretty sure that if I start posting a few in the EE there will be a lot of nasty comments on the pricing.
Most of the pieces I believe to be original but a few I am pretty sure are made-up pieces with correct parts. Gunsdora , I agree the fun was in acquiring the right parts to correct the piece, I have a dozen or so that I use for that purpose which I will also be selling eventually but the recent influx of surplus rifles has affected prices there.
44Bore
 
Rockola! :cool:

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NAA.

David Rockola was born in Virden, MB and made his fortune in the US. Rockola Carbines are very scarce and I always wanted one because of the Rockola connection. Some yrs ago I aquired a nice Rockola receiver and built a Carbine on it with mixed parts, incl as new Inland barrel.

Carbines were always appealing. They only became restricted in the late 1970s after they became the weapon of choice in Montreal bank heists and other gang activity and the Liberals were convinced that crime would be conquered by regulation. I haven't heard of any being used as crime guns in a long time. Thats probably due more to gangstas changing their tastes in weapons, instead of their great lethality. Anyway, the honest folk have made their contribution to making Canada a safer place.:rolleyes:
 
Some manufacturers carry a premium, like IBM and Rock-Ola. Also, Inland Division was the sole producer of the M1A1.

the lowest number produced by a manufacture was around 3000 by Irwin Pedersen

rockola was 228500
ibm 346500
inland 2625500
winchester 828059
underwood 545616
quality hardware 359666
SG grand rapids 223620
sagnaw gear 293592
national postal meter 413017
standard products 247160

then you have the sub contracted ones

for instance I have an IBM that the receiver was made by auto ordnance subcontract
 
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the lowest number produced by a manufacture was around 3000 by Irwin Pedersen

rockola was 228500
ibm 346500
inland 2625500
winchester 828059
underwood 545616
quality hardware 359666
SG grand rapids 223620
sagnaw gear 293592
national postal meter 413017
standard products 247160

then you have the sub contracted ones

for instance I have an IBM that the receiver was made by auto ordnance subcontract

IP on paper are low but another one Un-Quality are even more scarce and harder to find although on paper they have made more. Ive got one of them.
 
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