M-1 Carbines - What To Look For

[pinkhamr]

I am in the process of trading for an Underwood .30 Carbine (Circa WWII) and wonder if there are any items I should specifically check for. The rifle is just a shooter and it appears that the stock has been sanded down. Other then making sure that 'Blue Sky' isn't stamped on the barrel are there any specific areas that I should check out?

Thanx for your help .....

 

[HiredHand]

Do you have a 30cal muzzle erosion guage? If not you can also use a 30cal bullet to approximate the amount of muzzle wear.

 

[HackerF15E]

Even if it's a Blue Sky import, that's not necessarily a flag. I have a great Blue Sky Carbine that has a very tight muzzle/throat and is a very good shooter.

The problem was if the Blue Sky was stamped too hard and created an impression on the bore. If you take a good look down the bore you'll be able to see if the barrel stamp transferred and marked the inside.

I recommend you pull the barrel band and take the action out of the stock to take a look before you buy. I bought a Carbine without looking at that and it turns out that below the wood line someone had made an aborted attempt to drill/tap the receiver.

[Broken External Image]

I've also seen some that had rust or pitting below the wood line.

What kind of price are you looking at? Any idea on the history of this carbine (CMP, import, other?)? How about features like barrel band with/without bayonet lug, flip sight, old or new safety type...

If you post a price and some pics we can provide you a much better idea.

 

[Shriner]

For the time being you can buy all the parts for a m1 carbine online to fix it up. Riverbank,SE military parts,Amherst depot,Fulton armory,Sarco

 

[moguns]

Also look for a rewelded reciever. A friend bought one one time and discovered the reweld, the carbine would not function except as a single shot. He ended up stripping to gun for spare parts. The reweld will be obvious if you look.

 

[HackerF15E]

For the time being you can buy all the parts for a m1 carbine online to fix it up. Riverbank,SE military parts,Amherst depot,Fulton armory,Sarco

FWIW, beware of Riverbank Armory -- there are numerous reports in milsurp discussion forums that they deal in a lot of reproduction parts that they falsely sell as USGI.

Read up on the 'net before you buy Carbine parts.

 

[pinkhamr]

Thanx all, I appreciate it ...