Iver Johnson carbines:

In 1986 had a talk with my cousin. He was thinking buying an M1 carbine for defense because he was a coal truck driver and was concerned about night time robbery. The M-1 carbine came up. Iver Johnsons were $88.00 at Heck's. Mike talked to a state trooper whom told him what a WVSP armorer told him. The horror stories about Johnson were due to only because idiots were blowing them up by making them into fully automatic or bull pupping them. Just run it normally and there won't be any problems. As many cop families successfully used these same to deter retaliation by outlaw families, I understood this to be a truth. Get an Iver Johnson, pop in a thirty round mag and a flash hider on it; and you're okay to go, too.

Welcome to the forum, yes, if the Iver Johnson is left as issued it will be fine. Don't know why not get a military version that's a shooter. Why are we discussing a 1988 story though? Trying to dispel the story of blowing up carbines?

Well one can't do that as there were bad ones made at the end of their production as the company was all but bankrupt. Kind of a repeat of the end of the Universal production by the same company just different times. The vast majority of IJ made carbines are OK.

The issue with IJ Carbines is mostly about when the particular Carbine was made and by which of IJ's acquired companies. In 1986, most of 'em were on late model Universal receivers. Then on October 21, 1986, IJ filed for Chapter 11.
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"...or bull pupping them..." More like cutting 'em down to 'Enforcer' size. Bikers in Montreal are alleged to have been doing that and our idiot government made Carbines restricted as a result back in 1978. You can't just change the stock and make a bull pup anyway.
Plainfield is alleged to have made M2 Carbines in the 1960's for export. Making a Carbine FA/select fire is not, by itself, going to cause it to blow up.
A WVSP armorer would only know about any Carbine if the West Virginia State Police issued 'em.

I have an IJ carbine built-up on a Universal forged steel receiver. The furniture fitment leaves a little to be desired, as in the barrel-band to stock junction. I had to do a little engineering to get the band-spring to fit in the slot and I never liked the Plainfield carry-over of the front sight mounted farther back on the barrel. One dosen't purchase an IJ as a collector piece....and it's never given me any problems. Get an early one and you'll likely have a pretty good shooter. IJ just picked-up where Plainfield left-off, then incorporated Universal parts, which IMHO may have been an improvement with the use of the forged steel receiver. As far as I know, IJ stayed with it's GI compatible trigger-housing and it's a far cry better than anything Universal came-up with as they ran out of USGI parts.

I had a Plainfield Carbine, and it was a decent shooter. Iver Johnson bought them up, IIRC. A friend had a Stainless Iver Johnson carbine in a Choate folding stock, and it was pretty cool. Shot OK too.

I bought my I-J in 1991 and still have it. A great shooter with no issues.

Had a 20" barrel to keep it out of the Restricted classification, but replaced it with an 18 3/4" so it would look a bit more like a "real" M1 carbine. Replaced the stock with a post-war pot belly, Type II barrel band with a Type III and a wooden 4 rivet handguard (to replace the ventilated metal one). Original with M2 cast slide and M2 cast trigger housing. Put on a dummy selector switch.

In reality IJ never used the Universal receiver or any Universal parts for that matter. Two different companies owned by IJ but all on their own. When IJ moved to Arkansas they moved Universal with them but found the vast majority of workers refused the offer to move and stayed in Florida. While they tried to get the Universal carbine back into production in Arkansas they just did not have the proper manpower to do so and the company was dissolved. Not long after that IJ was sold and soon it was also gone.

According to information published here Iver Johnson Arms 9mm Carbine IJ did use leftover Universal receivers and parts. As I understand it, they acquired a quantity of forged steel receivers that required finish machining. I never mentioned that mine was a 9MM. Mine does indeed have a forged steel receiver. I don't know (or don't remember reading about it) if IJ used any of the Universal leftover receivers to build 30-caliber's or not. I know they converted some dual-spring's to single spring's....I own one.

Are you talking about then 9mm versions that IJ made?? Sorry but I have never counted them as being real carbines. Yes they used left over Universal forgings for the receivers but fashioned and machined like a USGI receiver and not like a Universal. The 9mm versions really did not sell very well the first time or the later one which ended when the end came for IJ. Why people kept trying to improve on the carbine with different cartridges I will never know. None can replace the original one or better it and hold together for 15 thousand rounds of firing. Just trying to reinvent the wheel I guess.

I'd never even consider an Iver Johnson in any caliber as a substitute for a GI carbine either, nor any commercial copy for that matter. They were/are as GI compatible as most of the early commercials were/are. I think that if you want one to occasionally shoot and have, a $400-or-less investment in a Plainfield copy that you can improve with GI parts may not be a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by flydthecat

I think that if you want one to occasionally shoot.

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I just shoot a couple of my GI carbines. Wish I had brought my M2 back from the Nam. I want the thrill of shooting something that has a place in history. If a part breaks, I'll just replace them. Since the late 70's that has been an extractor, spring and plunger in one. A nine spring and selector lever in another. No big parts. These things were made to run.