The M1 Carbine concept fully developed

[imarangemaster]

The M1 Carbine was developed in 1941 as a PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) to replace the .45 pistol for non-combat troops who did not need to be armed with a full size rifle like the 1903 or M1 Garand. It was so successful, and so popular, it became a front line weapon. This popularity continued into Vietnam.

In World War II:




In Korea and Vietnam:



This light weight, wood and steel carbine was so successful and popular into the 1960s, that Bill Ruger wanted a rifle like it in the new .223/5.56 caliber. Late in the 1960s, he hired L. James Sullivan, who was the primary design engineer for Armalite in their AR15 program, to develop the light weight 223 carbine he envisioned.

Rather than scale up the M1 carbine like the Gustafsen prototype, Sullivan decided to scale down the the tremendously reliable M14 instead. In 1972, the Ruger Mini-14 was introduced. It was so successful, in 1987, he introduced the Mini-30. Ironically, it was Bill Ruger himself who stonewalled further fine tuning of the rifles. Finally, in about 2005, after Ruger died, the vastly improved "580" series was introduced.

These rifles have filled a slot that previously only the M1 Carbine was available for: A light weight traditional wood and steel carbine for home and ranch defense, and even as a medium game hunting rifle. The M1 Carbine concept is still alive and well, as you can see. Besides my 6 digit Inland, 1950s rebuild, you can see my Rugers. My 583 blued Mini-14 is an M1 carbine with a "stiffy" and my 583 series Mini-30 is an M1 carbine on Viagra.



If the M1 Carbine had stayed in production as a commercial firearm after WW 2, I believe it would have eventually developed into a similar weapon on its own. Bill Ruger just picked up the ball and filled the void, continuing to develop the concept with a more effective and versatile cartridge.

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