"...ten major contractors..." Nine. None of which made all the parts. Over 1600 small shops all over the Eastern U.S. made carbine parts.
"...if wrong on any count..." Completely. Internet nonsense about frozen Korean War Chicom quilted jackets. Met a guy who was with 2PPCLI at Kap Y'ong who loved the carbine. Said he didn't care if it took two or 3 rounds to kill a Chicom troopie. Talk to the guys in your club. A carbine is something you really need to shoot to completely 'get'. Zero felt recoil. It's just one of those rifles. FN's and M1 Rifles are like that too.
"...All self loaders were susceptible to jamming..." Rubbish. Most jams are ammo or mag related. Nothing to do with the action type. Maintain 'em properly, feed 'em good ammo with little or no lubing in extreme cold and they just work.
"...Made by Howa in Japan..." Yep, but not for Korea or the U.S. JDF and Thailand contracts. Wikipedia is not a good source for info either. Anybody with Internet access can post there. Lots of Internet nonsense gets repeated there too.
"...budget cut outs on the guide rod..." The poorly stamped op rod wasn't a budget cut thing. Part of their idea of a design improvement that wasn't. Look for one or two return springs. One is ok. Two is bad. A toggle for the bolt hold open means the bad redesign too.
"...Basically an ER (Extended Range) M1 carbine..." Not even close. Even a 'Late Model' Universal junker will shoot circles around a standard Mini-14. Standard Mini-14's are over priced and inaccurate with any ammo.
"...Japanese made Howa M1 Carbine..." All Howa's are Japanese made. Very few in North America. Howa made isn't bad though. Weatherby Vanguards and some Brownings were made by them. Howa makes good rifles.
"...Mine is a Plainfield..." Ditto. The absolute best of the commercial carbines. Milsurp parts fit, but in 30 some years, I've never had any problem a good bath didn't fix. Mine likes Speer 110 grain HP's with IMR4227. BARK! Not a bang. Blows a hole the size of a grapefruit in a ground hog. Wouldn't think twice about using it on deer.
"...believe the M1 was designed to wound..." Nope. Absolutly nothing to do with it. Designed to be issued to troopies who would have been issued a 1911. Radops, arty types, etc. It's far easier to train a non-shooter to be good enough to defend himself with a rifle than it is a pistol. The idea of the U.S. being a nation of riflemen during W.W. II is a myth. BS of the highest order. Then, as now(cops included), most of 'em never saw a firearm of any kind out side of a movie.
"...have the step by step book on how to convert an M1 to an M2..." Don't even think about it. An M2 is an FA. Doesn't work without the right receiver and parts anyway.
"...rear sight braised on behind the hand guard..." Issue carbine with Mauser style sights that got issued to assorted German LEO and CO types after W.W. II. Commonly called a Bavarian carbine. The sight was changed, reportedly, because that's what they were used to. As if they were too stupid to be taught to use a peep.
"...at 2000fps..." 1800 to 1900 fps, for issue ball ammo(not great stuff anyway. It' s where the Korean War nonsense comes from), but you're right. No coat, frozen or otherwise, will stop even anemic ball ammo.
All that aside, if you have an issue carbine, of any make, including commercial carbines, it's restricted due to the barrel length. Has been since 1 Jan., 1978 for no apparent reason. Rumours, at the time, said it was because Montreal bikers/bikers in general, were cutting 'em down to conceal 'em under coats.
Iver Johnson made some 19" barrels, but not many, around 1979ish. Nobody makes one now. Muzzle breaks, et al don't count anymore either.
Anybody who owns or is interested in commercial carbines needs to go here and send Jim the info he asks for about your rifle. He's a very good guy, who has put together a great site.
http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/
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