Hi folks, was referred to you guys by senior members of another forum who said you are the top of mark as far as depth of knowledge on the M1A1icon. Looking forward to your input.

How I got it: A good friend of my wife is moving to California and she told me they can't take her husband's WWII carbine with them. They offered to sell me the gun if I took care of it and cherished it like her husband did. (He has alzheimer's and also had a stroke.) I have never owned a vintage gun so I didn't have any idea what was sitting on the table in front of me other than it was a folding wire stock carbine. I wrote them a check for the asking price without negotiating since they are good people and needed the cash for the move.

When I got the gun home I researched a bit and realized it was an M1A1 Paratrooper and original examples are valuable historical items. In the last few days I have learned a treasure trove of facts about it. Particularly interested in how they are faked, copied, built from parts, etc. I fully expected to have a bunch of replaced parts but was ok with that, the price was low. I'm no expert and some markings are very faint but I could see evidence that this could be original.

History: The wife and daughter told me the owner got it from his brother around 1955 and his brother got it in the mid 1940's. Brother's uncle was a doctor during WWII, not a paratrooper. They are asking other relatives for more info. He never shot it and kept it in a closet for decades only taking out to oil a bit externally. Dusty inside but good bore, old yellow grease inside on the spring had not been touched in a long time, wood is pretty dry. No corrosion except for a bit on the sling buckle. It was stored in an oiled cloth in a case. Only one family owned it since mid 1940's afaik. Still digging for more info.

Here's the pics. Opinions/observations are welcome. Grab a cold one and get comfortable this is a pic heavy post.



















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