Über die Bayerische M1 Karabiner
I can't understand this despise of Bavarian M1 carbines. Don't take this personal, because there are a lot of people out there who kind of think the same way. Let me tel you my story...
I have a strong interest (passion would be a more exact word) for anything technical made by Germans, cars, cameras, firearms + music, literature, philosophy, countryside, beer and something else my wife doesn't need to know... I have a extensive collection of all the modern (post 1890) military "milestones" in firearms, starting by the Mauser C-96 up to the the H&K USP Expert, which eventually grew to include the major players in the Allies camp, Springfield 1903, Garand, M1A, AR-15, LE No.4, Inlgis Browning, etc.
My second (1987) military small arm had been a post war M-1 Carbine, a real piece of s**t that use to jam once a 15 rd clip if not more often. Got rid of it. But as you know, the looks of the M1 Carbine are just irresistible and it was only a matter of time before I filled the historic gap between my Garand and M1A. Being reluctant to pay more than say 500$ because of my past experience (I don't collect just to look at them...), I checked quite a few before I saw an add of one who's rear peep sight seemed to be missing, and priced accordingly, I thought. In my hesitation, I first got advice from the regretted Jose Reiss who had sold me quite a few nice pieces, including my first Mauser C-96 pistol and my outstanding, original Garand. "Oh, he said' that must be one of those Bavarian carbines. I'm not an expert, but I wouldn't touch that if I were you, I heard they have a different calibre (Americans did not like the idea of Germans having the same calibre as them)... you'll probably have a lot of trouble finding the ammo if at all." He added that he could refer me to one of his friends, a more knowledgeable person in M1 Carbines, who was in Europe at the time (of our conversation).
First thing I did when arriving home is hit the Internet and search for "Bavarian carbine". In a nut shell, here's the real story: Defeated Germany needed weapons to police its people and guard its borders. The Mausers, Sturmgewehr, G/K43 and MG34/42 were out of question, of course. Certainly not Garands, but M1 Carbines, with the smaller 950 ft-pd energy and 2 or 3 hundred yards killing power, yes, there were lot of those left over. No mention of issues in different calibre.
Don't count on the Germans to issue surplus rifles as-is, they need to go to the armoury first. Every thing gets checked and when all is OK, every pieces get stamp with the same s/n as the receiver. Now that's one thing that had caught my attention in the add for my rifle "all matched numbers, even the stock...". That could not be original, because if I remember well, an M1 Carbine has 58 different pieces and not one single contractor during WWII made all pieces. The M1-Carbine was never conceived as a "single manufacturer fitted assembly". The parts had to be fully interchangeable for ease of maintenance in the field. Underwood is the company who made the most parts, 38 if I remember my readings correctly. That's why the Germans stamped most of the parts big enough to hold a number or critical enough to require one. Additionally, even-though a rear peep (aperture) was common on US and British rifles, the common German soldier (the recruiting grounds for policemen and border guards after the war) had hardly ever seen one. So off went the classic rear peep sight on a large percentage of "Bavarian M1, for the benefit of a leaf type (Partridge) sight brazed just ahead of the breech opening. Don't mix up brazing and soldering, they are two different processes, the later using a low temperature melting point solder, the former a much higher temperature brazing alloy with usually a good percentage of silver in it. I mean you don't just "glue" a sight on the receiver, it's got to be a solid and well done job, right ? Ah, die deutsche Grundlichkeit...
My so called "despicable" Bavarian M1 carbine is an Underwood with a 1943 pristine barrel. I drew up with Autosketch a true size test target per information from the maintenance manual, if I remember well. Care to see how my rifle shoots (first try, Midway surplus ammo):
Except for the flyer (most likely my fault), this particular rifle is a different animal than my first sh**y post-war one. I never had a single jam (failure to eject or feed). It's not for sale. If I were you, I'd check any Bavarian M1 for accuracy before changing the barrel. May be not a collectors item, but in my opinion, certainly a rifle with historic and technical value.
I find this kind of ironic, a sort of eye wink from destiny, me a German aficionado, stumbling accidentally on a Bavarian M1 Carbine. This rifle certainly has it's place in
my collection. And besides, he Germans did not wait til after the war to appreciate the merits of this fine design. From Battle of the Bulge:
Gefreiter
Bit of Pieces in Vancouver can make one...looking at doing that with my Bavarian carbine since up here it is not regarded as a collectors item (see if i can keep barrel), and i have a very nice late Inland. Do have a IBM with a non-restricted barrel but if i make another then my daughters wont have to fight over one! Nice to take around plinkng....
