Parts Kit

is this a realistic way to go about building a carbine? or by the time it's all said and done you could have just bought one?
Northridge International Inc. / M1 CARBINE PARTS KIT.

the description says no barrel - but one is pictured as part of the "kit"

If the barrel is included then it's doable but if no barrel then your better off getting a complete carbine. $400 for the kit. Up to $200+ for a barrel and $200+ for a receiver and the cost of a gunsmith to
put it together.

yes, the wording of the ad is very confusing. "receiver barrel" !?. i did a double take when i saw that. maybe they meant barrel receiver, though i've never heard it called that. for the purpose of this discussion let's assume that they mean "receiver" and that because the ad shows one, that the barrel is included.
(gonna call them tomorrow to make sure) would the "kit" plus this receiver for example M1 Carbine Receiver, Fulton Armory*
make sense?

Another one on e-pay. At least they didn't cut the reciever on this one!

M1 Carbine Parts Trigger Group Slide Stock Sling Mag Pouch | eBay

i spoke with the nice lady at northridge today and she tells me the ad has a punctuation problem and that it should read "no barrel, receiver or magazine". oh well.

There is something to be said for buying a complete shooting example. I'm sure if you look around you will eventually land one for $600 or so. They made 6.5M and a lot of them went out as NRA sales for $20. These will keep surfacing as their owners pass away. A pile of parts has disadvantages; "Good condition" by who's standards? Maybe half of the parts are worn out rejects that look fine or are reparked. You might wind up with $7-800 into a bad looking bad shooting carbine. Remember: there is a reason why a part is no longer on a carbine, some of the reasons are bad, very bad.

I rarely, if ever, buy poorly described/pictured 'parts kits' or any items that are 'similar to' the representative one shown in an online auction, for any price. You are probably buying the junk somebody had left over after he sold all the worthwile parts and you almost never receive what you think you are buying. I speak from experience. 'Good/Very Good/Fine/etc' are subjective and according to the seller's assessment only, which is almost always more rosy than yours.

Re the carbine parts kits, remember that GI receivers (in rough condition) are now offered online for about the same price as a whole carbine cost 5-6 years ago ($350+), decent GI barrels now go for $150+, and you have no guarantee it will headspace properly with your worn out parts kit bolt. Throw in costs of any worn out kit parts needing replacement and barrel mounting and you can easily end up with an ugly $1000+ mixmaster kit gun of dubious quality and reliability when you could probably have purchased a complete and functional USGI mixmaster carbine in better condition for $600-$700.

If you really want to build a carbine then cherry pick your parts from dealers, collectors and/or on-line individually or in small grouping buys and go for it. Common (not rare and collectable) GI carbine parts are not expensive and you can package deal for them for even less. At least you can see what you are buying and most of the time can return the parts if they don't measure up - plus it's a lot of fun and you learn a lot in the process. Still probably more expensive than buying a complete carbine but you will end up with a much better project in the end. JMHO, ChipS

I agree with Chip and Dave. With a plethora of mixmasters out there, it would be crazy to buy a "parts kit" minus barrel and receiver. As stated, issues with headspace, gunsmithing fees, etc. would be too expensive. If one want s to build a correct one on a specific receiver, it would be as cheap doing it one part at a time at the price of that kit. Just my humble opinion.