I found some really silly carbines prices today.

I have had great luck recently picking up really nice carbines (all original Inland and very clean mixmaster Standard Products) so I thought I would stop in a gun shop in Placerville, CA while I was on patrol, to check carbines. They had four of five, all from one owner, A Winchester, an Inland, a Rockola, and a National Postal meter. All were mix-masters with late feature arsenal upgrades (the Winchester and Inland were early blocks, so they were not original with late features).

The shop guy told me they were "sll original as they came from the factory! The cheapest was $1,295, all the way up to $1,500! They were fairly clean, but honestly, aren't those price really way out of line???? I tried to explain to him that they were "mix-masters" and even brought my Inland out of the patrol Jeep to show him what "original" really was. I do know that there is a certain popularity to M1 carbines now, as the are "featureless" under Kalifornia's law, and can legally use high capacity magazines. Still, the prices seemed absurd.

Gun stores........... Can't live with them, can't live without them.

I saw less than a half dozen carbines. They are just not out and about. Their value is what they sell for. In the car business there is a saying: "There's an a$$ for every seat". At some point they will sell and who knows what the price will be? All it takes is a desire and money to get any price you ask. Given the rarity of carbines and ignorance of the average buyer, any price is possible. Consider that the CMP sold at the best possible price and we were standing in line to buy at $575-600+, on the open market $1000 is absolutely not an outrageous price. People tend to reference prices based on what they would want to pay rather than what the true value is. Beyond that, the step between $1000 and $1500 is not that great when an ignorant buyer is on the excitement plan. Looking at a reparked mixmaster with good wood, the guy could see stars not dollars.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DaveHH

Beyond that, the step between $1000 and $1500 is not that great when an ignorant buyer is on the excitement plan. Looking at a reparked mixmaster with good wood, the guy could see stars not dollars.

---

DaveHH, very well put! Sometimes we just can't help ourselves, and what about most wifes also. :lol: Mic

The advantage of doing your own thinking. I think all M1 carbines are silly. My 30 cal. of choice is my FAL. adequate power with reliability in semi auto. I have an IBM carbine as a Representative example. I would never arm myself with it. gary

Huh?

- Bob

IRM,
You've seen for yourself the higher costs for Handguards.
Good stocks are going up again.
Real... early and late USGI carbine parts are getting more $$ now.
What might a loose RMC or early WRA barrel cost?

On mixers, I put a value on the parts, then work on the sellers asking price.
By far my best deals have come from 'Bulk' buys.

Don't expect them to go down.

Be Safe,
Charlie-painter777

Troll?

Consider how many combatants were killed by M1 Carbines in WW II, Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, and Central America. Granted the FAL is a fine weapon,but I doubt if it has the body count of the lowly M1 carbine.

With the results of the recent election, I expect ALL semi-auto, centerfire rifles will escalte in price like they did after the last election.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by imarangemaster

Consider how many combatants were killed by M1 Carbines in WW II, Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, and Central America. Granted the FAL is a fine weapon,but I doubt if it has the body count of the lowly M1 carbine.

---

I guess people today don't die as readily, huh? :) the M1 Carbine isn't as potent now.

doesn't want to get shot with anything. Automatically dismissing a weapon as widely used as the carbine is just ignorance. FAL is an overpowered hot rod that is heavy, somewhat clumsy to use and not all that accurate (my own opinion based on handling and firing one). I'll take an M14 over that thing every time.

The salient fact about the carbines in the OP is that apparently none of them were imports, or at least not marked. That accounts for about 50% of the value.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jimb16

Troll?

---

No troll. I was expressing my opinion of the M1 carbine. I am in no army so I use what I want. The current issue rifle of 95 armies is my choice. The FAL. Restricted to semi auto by the masters. gary

I like the idea of FAL's. But when I shot one, I thought it exaggerated the recoil of the 7.62. I find my M1A to be a little friendlier in that regard. But mine is a Loaded and heavier. I've shot a Socom and a normal ole M1A (not heavy barreled) and I think the socom was the easiest of all of them to handle. All, IMHO, felt better than shooting the FAL. Which really is neither here nor there. Just thought I'd share. But it's kind of weird to come in a thread that was talking about the value of some carbines someone saw at a gun store and then say how lousy of a weapon they are. In a carbine dedicated forum.

I would not feel undergunned with a .30 carbine that was in good order. But neither would I with many types of weapons. But I don't have bad guys beating down my door, hopefully ever, so...... Plus, my M9 is my go to Defensive weapon. I'm a wuss and it's easy to shoot. :D

I own a FAL (I own lots of guns) and an M-14 (M1A) but I own four M1 Carbines (three of them all matching and correct) and my "defend the castle" gun is a Mixmaster M1 carbine fitted with an EOTEC sight and loaded with softpoint ammo. It's much lighter than the FAL and much easier to handle.

Inside of 100 yards it has the hitting power of a .357 Magnum (the energy drops rapidly after 100 yards but if I'm shooting at anyone at that great a range or even greater, I'm not really defending myself, am I?). And within 100 yards there is no way I can miss with that EOTECH sight.

It's better than a pistol and handier than a rifle in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.:madsmile:

Can we get a pic of your HD set up? I have thought about taking one of mine and doing that, I'm not sure I would, but I've thought about it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by INLAND44

The salient fact about the carbines in the OP is that apparently none of them were imports, or at least not marked. That accounts for about 50% of the value.

---

Well to be fair, I bought my NPM this year for ~$550, Good condition non-import marked. So I think $1000+ for a mixmaster is a bit outrageous. Hell, my local shop has a Rock-Ola with a high-wood stock for $800.

Prices vary around the country along with the time of year. A $1000.00 does seem high to me.

I think it had to do with the then pending elections. I have less than $1,300 (including tax and DROS fees) into both Carbines I got from the local shop (original condition Inland and the super clean Standard Products mix-master). He did say, however, that Wednesday after the election he sold EVERY semi-auto, center fire rifle in the shop: AR15s, Winchester and Remington hunting auto-loaders, several Mini-14s, Kel-tech, etc. That was just the first day. He said he could have sold the carbines I got from him, at least 10 or 12 times over, for much more money. To his credit, he did not mark up the rifles (which had really decent prices on them) after the election. He has ordered many more for customers, and still uses the same formula for markup. Ed is local and has been a longtime member of the local sporting community for years. His customers are his neighbors and friends, and he treats them as such. Grass Valley/Nevada City is a fairly small community.

Pretty area about two hours from me, around 16,000 total between the two towns. But not as small as Red Dog and You Bet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by arado

No troll. I was expressing my opinion of the M1 carbine. I am in no army so I use what I want. The current issue rifle of 95 armies is my choice. The FAL. Restricted to semi auto by the masters. gary

---

I trained with the FN (C1A1 in my case) and one of the funniest things you'll ever see is somone doing an entry with a FAL and forgetting how long the gun is, and how narrow the doorway is. The flip side (pun intended) of this is how nasty the bruise is after you've gone 'over the rifle' with a 60 pound pack on your back while running at full speed. For close work, give me the carbine every time, also for any type of patrol work, the FAL is a boat anchor. There's a reason Commonwealth countries retired the FAL.

Not that they were "silly" - just wanted to report on the carbine prices I saw at the Rose City Gun Show in Portland today. There may have been some that I missed due to the crowded aisles, but here's what I found: A pretty decent "mixmaster" Inland with an import stamp for $950, a fair looking National Ordnance for $550, a good looking Universal for $350, a new A.O. paratrooper for $795, a bit rough Underwood "mixmaster" with an import stamp for $650, and a decent looking Plainfield (forgot the exact price - think it was around $500). I decided to buy another 50 cal. ammo can. - Bob

HHmm... around here, I think the Dunhams have had their "Izzy" (?) imports for around $800. I posted what mine looks like on this forum. I have seen the carbines in local shows for $650- $1200. Condition and rarity pending. Here, it seems the Saginaw marked carbines do well, due to the proximity to the old Saginaw (now Nexteer) plant.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by imarangemaster

I do know that there is a certain popularity to M1 carbines now, as the are "featureless" under Kalifornia's law, and can legally use high capacity magazines.

---

Rangemaster, I wasn't aware of the "featureless" qualification to these making high-cap magazines legal. Can you explain more or direct me to more info? thanks, Mark.

you must be a law enforcement officer ! I live in kalifornica and the law only allows 10 round magazines for us peons ........... derf

Not if you had the carbine and mags before the 10 round mag requirement went into effect. Then you can still have them. Same with pistols bought before 2000.

Anyone in Kalifornia can have 30 round magazines, IF they possessed them, in the state, before 1-1-2000. In order to use them in a firearm, however, the weapon must be "featureless" or have NO evil features (i.e. flash hider, pistol grip, collapsible stock, grenade or flare launcher, or forward pistol grip. If you have evil features, you must use a bullet button and 10 round magazines. Mini-14s, M1As (without flash hider), M1 Carbines, etc, with fixed stocks are "featureless" so I can use my 15 and 30 rounders that I have had before 2000 (some going back to 1970s).

Lots of good info here:
Centerfire Rifles - Calguns.net