Photos of my first M1 Carbine

I have attached the photos of my first M1 Carbine. As I said in a previous post it is an import and as such was more in my price range and looked like it would be a good shooter. I can just make out the paint from the rack number and I believe it was used in Korea either in the war or as part of the large number of carbines that were sent over in the 60s I believe.

Inland44 commented that Arlington Ordnance imported most of theirs from Israel (import mark is very hard to read but under magnification it is the top edge of ARL ORD ARLINGTON VA). If any see anything unusual about it I’d be very interested in your comments. The trigger housing is stamped but did not look like the photo’s I’d seen of other stamped ones. It has no markings that I can see other than the flaming bomb on the bottom of the trigger guard.

Most parts have some mark but several do not. It shoots great, the 15 round magazine is marked with a “U” but the seller said it was a Korean reproduction.

Again I’d be interested in all comments I know as a 1943 Inland having gone through an arsenal rebuild it is not rare and exotic compared to some others but I’m very happy with it.

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Looks good to me. Look in mag well to see if it is stamped .U., if so it's Underwood.
The import stamp is so light most folks will never notice it.

I wouldn't worry about the mag being a repro, they were so marked and there's lots still around if you want a for sure GI.

Bingo shadycon .U. in the mag well. I did not notice it and I thought I looked it over pretty good. Thanks!

The ordnance bomb on the trigger guard is an indication of it being an Underwood.....

Check the Face of your Recoil Plate sometimes you will find a very light " D.I." mark from Dayton Mold Co. for Inland Carbines. I have a F.I. Trigger, but never did find out what Company made them. Nice looking Carbine.

Well, I went back over the recoil plate and cleaned it up a bit but if it ever had D.I. stamped on it I think it is gone now. Thanks for the tip.

Excellent photo collage of the parts. Ray

Nice work. I'd have to say it most likely was not an Israeli because they always stamped the stock with the SN. I don't think the stock is 'HI' and the 'cartouche' is not an Inland mark - it would be twice that size and back in the wide part of the stock in front of the oiler slot. Bolts are marked on the outside face of the small lug.
If it was a Korean, you got lucky because they did not do their atrocious 'Parkerizing' on it. All in all, you got a decent shooter for $650 and it carries a lot of 'mojo' after having been used in WWII, probably Korea and who knows where else? The mag looks good as far as blued finish but no way to tell from hear if its old or new.

I know it is very hard to tell but any thoughts on who made the stock? It does not show up well but under magnification you can tell it is a crossed cannon mark but that's all you can tell. Anyone else use a small stamp further up? And yeah, the H I was just my best guess it really looks like ll l to be honest. Also it's not walnut the grain looks like birch maybe.

I don't know, but it's obviously a U.S. stock, I think a Type III. Have you heard of 'steaming' a stock? Yours could use some steaming, a stripping, stain and linseed oil. This is one of those carbines I would be sorely tempted to refinish/restore (but not 'correct' with different parts). There's just one reason I would not do it - the M1A1 connection and the fact that the barrel and receiver have been together from day one. A correct trigger housing wouldn't be hard to find - uh oh, here I go 'correcting' it after just saying 'don't'. :) Its hard to resist.

If the crossed cannon marking is very small, it could be a wartime replacement stock manufactured by Jewel Bros. Often, that is the only marking. They also used a J in the sling bevel. But to the best of my knowledge, they didn't use both an any stock. Those with the J were normally made for a particular manufacturer. Those with only the x-cannons were spare replacement stocks for the military and not for any particular maker.

That would certainly explain it. Thanks, Jim.

Steaming stocks; My S-HB stock I picked up for my Std. Pro. was more dinged up that yours. I steamed it with a Tea-pot. It was slow, I started at one end and worked to the other end. I kept paper towel next to stove to catch what dripped out of wood. A lot of old oils. Most of the small dings disappeared and the larger ones got smaller. Be carful around any cartouches. I reoiled with BLO and now it has that been there look.
For all new to carbines a good book to start with is the blue one by Ruth & Duff , "The M1 Carbine OWNER'S GUIDE"!

Thanks to all. A wartime replacement stock sounds logical. The crossed cannons mark is definitely there, but my HI in the sling well may just be my complete imagination. As I said, the reality is there are three strokes about the same length " ll l " I just decided that it must be HI actually it may just be three little lines. As the stock has been messed with by a previous owner and the gun being what it is I may do something with the stock. I don't mind a beat up stock if it's honest but somebody did a poor job stripping it with something then tried to stain the light wood dark and got it blotchy then dumped some BLO on it. I'm not sure I could detract too much from it or from the history of the weapon if I worked on it a bit. Thanks again for all the help I have a copy of Ruth & Duff on the way.

If you want to start over with the stock, wash it with lacquer thinner. its going to be pale when you get through so be thinking about a stain.

I have heard, but not done the research yet, that with a pale wood that has a grain like birch there is some sort of a pre-treatment or pre-stain that should be done after it has been stripped so the color is even and does not end up looking blotchy when stained.

Use the search at the top;
Look up 'Seasprinter'
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=56179
This is a start.

With an old stock that has had all kinds of vegetable and mineral oil on it along with possible stains, you are going to have dark areas. I don't see this as a negative. The stock doesn't look bad now and appears to be in good condition, although you should check behind/under the recoil plate for soft wood. I don't know if a restoration is possible or indicated for it. But you could steam it and clean it, which will lighten the color. At that time, if you wanted to darken/change the color you could use an alcohol-based dye which gives instant penetration. You're going to have dark spots and areas regardless unless you decide to go all out and include aggressive sanding with the clean-up, which I wouldn't recommend. Using the darker dyes will reduce the contrast between the different hues and make it look more like a walnut stock. I think guys are using Fiebling's Leather Dyes which come in many colors for concocting the color you want.

Look closely at sling well mark, do you see JLB?
that crossed cannon is bigger then the Jewel CC

for the bolt look carefully on the lugs or on body of bolt under the small lug for a mark.

Recoil plate appears to have a line on the top, can you confirm. if so its a cast replacement

your front sight is a replacement when they upgraded rear sight and/or barrel band

Wow, new2brass you really know your stuff sir. I looked closely and yes now that I know what to look for it does say JLB in the sling well. Under the small lug we have a .U. and yes, there is a line on the recoil plate. It is almost easier to feel it than to see it but it does look cast now that you point it out. I can see a small "P" on the front sight. So is all this in keeping with the Augusta Arsenal rebuild or did this all happen later? Oh, I also added a photo of the slide mark which was left out of the original batch I think.

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Yes, the slide is 'Packard for Inland'.