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Interesting Carbine article
The following article was written by the late Charles Karwan. Karwan was a West Point graduate, Vietnam combat veteran, and considered to be an expert on tactical weaponry.
The M1 Carbine For SELF-DEFENSE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT | Guns Magazine | Find Articles at BNET
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10-15-2009 02:22 PM
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Good reading.
Thanks for listing it.
Jim
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And I finally have one!
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Excellent article... What is old, is new again. Excellent points made on the use and effectivness of our lauded companion...
jim
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imarangemaster, I hope you don't mind but I used your article to post in a couple of threads down to a fella who thinks that the carbine is under powered and should have been made in .45.
Bill Hollinger
"We're surrounded, that simplifies our problem!"
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Thank you!
The "Myth" of the carbine not working is just that, an old wives tale. After retiring, I went back to college at age 48 for 3 1/2 years to became a high school history teacher. I have been teaching almost 6 years now. Being a student of History, I try to emphasize how much of History is really myths that are perpetuated. The best source of facts is primary sources... In this case people who have used the carbine to do the job.
While in my experience, the deer was not trying to kill me. He would have been just as dead even if he was. A guy I worked with when I was 19 in Chicago was a grunt in France. While he preferred the Garand or BAR in open country, he said he ALWAYS used a carbine in clearing towns. He never said how many Germans he took out with it. He merely stated, in the style of that great generation, "It always made good Nazis into dead ones."
My dad carried one on Iwo as part of the advance waive of Army Headquarters while the Marines were still there. (He came in on the same troop transport as the Marines, and watched starting "day one" through the sniper scope of an M1C. He actually saw the FIRST flag raised.) Being signal corps, he carried a carbine. He was reluctant to talk much about Iwo, but do know he was nearly killed a number of times. When I asked him about the carbine, he would only say that from what he saw, it worked "great". I have spoken with dozens of vets who used them in anger from WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. The only ones that I ever had bad mouth it, never actually used one. With a little digging, it was usually based on "scuttlebutt" heard from someone, who heard it from someone else.
Many people in the black rifle "tacticool" world and mall commandos think it has to be an M4gery or AK with whistles and bells to be effective. Don't get me wrong, I have a restored to AK103 style Saiga in 7.62x39. Great weapon. That does not, however, exclude the Carbine for being what it is: A fine weapon.
In a way, I am a usurper here, as I am not a collector. But I am a life long user, appreciator, and advocate for the Carbine. I did depend on it for my life on numerous occasions in much of my 20 years. I did use an XM177E1 for about two years, but the rest was mostly my Trusted "Carbine, M1, Caliber .30 US"
I apologize to the forum for being on my soap box. I just get irritated with the persisting myth of "carbine cr@ppiness"
I also apologize for my ramblings. I am Irish and a teacher. That makes me a natural story teller. Add to that that I am a staff writer for SASS's Cowboy Chronicle and do monthly articles on firearms evaluation and history.
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The only downsides to an M1 carbine apart from magazine induced malfunctions (rather common in my experience) are that the sights are a little "slower" into action than the M-16 and they don't do well in low light situations. Lowering and reaming out the peep on the "long range" leg of a flip sight helps w/ low light, just no tritium front sight available of which I'm aware. An ambidextrous safety would be nice too!
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upgrades
I agree about stock sights being less than optimum for low light. Drilling out the 100 flip is a good idea, and we have seen WW2 carbines with the wings cut off the front sight. An ambi safety would be a good upgrade, also. It could be a keyway/slot screw on like early ambidextrous M16 safeties. A front rail handguard with a reflex or red dot would work well to 50 yards, even if it didn't hold exact zero...
But, leaving 21st century dabbling behind, feeding problems on GI 15s, in my experience, are either badly worn mag catch or lugs on the mag, or a follower and spring being in in reverse. A worn and collapsed recoil spring could be a problem, also. I have had bad luck with aftermarket 30s (especially since many have lousy springs), but had good luck with GI 30s. I have a couple "J"s, an OKAY, AYP, and GI SEY AND AI that have all functioned 100% except with Wolf and Aguilla. In 20 years of shooting a carbine, and thousands of rounds later, those would be the only function problems I have had.
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With regard to the carbine's sights, in it's credit, it's a very natural pointer and is like an extension of your body. I have owned both the AR and AK and have never felt they were natural pointers. Much of this may have to do with the sight's relationship to the bore axis. Many times I have shot the carbine quickly with only sighting down the barrel and have been dead on at short ranges. I have a WWII carbine that appears to be totally original with the exception of having the rear flip sight leaf filed to create wings that match the front sight. It makes for a very quick unobsructed sighting picture to the front sight post. On the bottom of the stock, in very small letters, is carved with the initials B AA. My imagination runs wild.