Need help finding an M1 Carbine for my nephew

[Wildlife Officer]

Hello all

I am a fish & game officer here in the southwest going on some two decades, recently my nephew decided to follow in my footsteps and just graduated training. We are issued Beretta 92s for normal duty use, but long guns are our choice. I followed in my fathers footsteps and was handed down an original Winchester manufactured M1 Carbine that has served as my primary long gun since I was sworn in.

My nephew is incredibly fond of the M1 Carbine as well and wants to use one as his primary long gun, at some point I will pass the Winchester down but not just yet, so I would like to find one for him.

Ive looked into used surplus but can't bring myself to hand him something with unknown history, use, abuse, etc. I would be okay with a surplus rifle that has been fully inspected and refurbished to like new by a true master of the platform, but I don't know of any such individuals that are widely trusted & respected.

The other option is a new manufacture, but most seem to have iffy reliability, which is unacceptable. The only name that seems to pop up as having no issues is Fulton, but there are not many of those reviews. I am not seeking to find & rebuild one on my own as Im simply not that educated in the nuances of the platform, my Winchester has been 100% just as it was for my father so it has never been touched.

Again, this will be used as a duty rifle so reliability is the #1 factor in choosing.
Are Fultons worth the $1600 they are asking for the M3?
It appears they make their own receivers, does anyone know if they are forged, cast, or of any issues?

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.

Information

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[bonnie]

Congratulations to your nephew. I am retired LEO myself.

I believe Fulton uses a cast receiver if that makes a difference.

Look also at the new Rock Ola M1 carbine by James River Armory. Best to Google it for reviews. Receiver machined from 8620 billet steel. Seems to be good quality also.

For me an excellent condition USGI carbine would be my first choice. Not hard to find. Plenty of people here and other forums to walk you through what to look for and what to check.

Whatever carbine is chosen use magazines of know quality. These would be new USGI magazines, with 15 round mags having the best reliability. The Korean mags marked "UU" have a good reputation also. I would avoid all other commercial magazines. Using soft point ammunition? Insure the carbine feeds these with no issue. Most do, some don't.

Take care, and tell your nephew the same.

[imarangemaster]

I would go with a USGI M1 carbine. They are a piece of history, and always will maintain, if not appreciate in value. Using a M2 30-06 ball (military) you can approximate a nuzzle erosion gauge. 1/4" showing is 0 erosion, 3/16" a 1. 1/8" a 2. and 1/16' a 3. Carbines were made to be abused and used in combat, so it is rare to find one that is not serviceable. Replace the recoil spring with a new GI one (10 1/4" long) and clean the bolt group and maybe new springs there. New stocks can be had, but original military in excellent condition are available too. Go USGI. You won't regret it, and you will be passing on a piece of History.

[Wildlife Officer]

All I use are milsurp magazines, Ive read enough over the years to know the aftermarket ones are plagued with issues.
Ive poked around a bit for info on the JRA's and have found mostly good reviews, but I found some that had issues with theirs so Im still looking.
Last I checked, all the Fulton rifles are using their own milled billet receivers. I believe at one time they were using milsurp but since I don't find them listed Im assuming they are all new now.

Congratulations to your nephew. I am retired LEO myself.

I believe Fulton uses a cast receiver if that makes a difference.

Look also at the new Rock Ola M1 carbine by James River Armory. Best to Google it for reviews. Receiver machined from 8620 billet steel. Seems to be good quality also.

For me an excellent condition USGI carbine would be my first choice. Not hard to find. Plenty of people here and other forums to walk you through what to look for and what to check.

Whatever carbine is chosen use magazines of know quality. These would be new USGI magazines, with 15 round mags having the best reliability. The Korean mags marked "UU" have a good reputation also. I would avoid all other commercial magazines. Using soft point ammunition? Insure the carbine feeds these with no issue. Most do, some don't.

Take care, and tell your nephew the same.

[COLOR="black"]

[Wildlife Officer]

Imarangemaster....

Im not so much interested in the history, but rather the reliability as this will be used on duty.

If I could find a reputable restorer/armorer of M1's who could go through it inside and out, check & measure for all the correct specs, look at known trouble spots, etc, I might consider a milsurp.
But even then that might be more than I want to do as finding a quality one and paying a fair price seems like it may take a bit. Ive seen nearly identical Carbines go for very different prices but I couldn't see the reason, so education is clearly key, but that also means time and Im looking to order something in the next few weeks. Price isn't so much an issue, but paying too much for milsurp because I don't know all the details isn't something I want to do. Nor do I want to hand him something that could get him killed if it fails because of my lack of knowledge.


I did find a Miltech restored Inland about a week ago that I could get for just under $1k out the door. It looks like new and supposedly had only 50 rounds through it, all the original accessories are included including their 'crate'. I remember the Miltech name from years ago and had heard that their restorations were excellent but expensive, beyond that I have no clue.
Is this a fair price?
Any known issues with their builds?
Anything to look for specifically on them? (as I understand these were rebuilt using all milsurp parts)

Or at $1k would I be better off just going for the Fulton?

[imarangemaster]

I think Miltech use GI parts, including receiver and barrel. $1K would be a good price, as they are fairly thorough. Since Fulton uses cast receivers, and Miltech restores GI forged, I would go with Mil-tech.

I am retired LEO (and Armorer) and carried a USGI M1 Carbine as my primary trunk weapon for much, if not most of my career. I'd do the springs as I stated, use ONLY GI 15s and GI 30s for mags, and good ammo. Hornady Critical Defense carbine ammo is awesome, though I used Remington 110 JSPs. in mine. I took a 200 pound BlackTail at 97 yards with a single heart/lung shot with it in 1988 or so.

[Bruce McAskill]

Look for a White bag carbine if you can find one. Those are refurbished carbines that were placed in storage and finally sold by DCM and later by CMP. They still show up unopened or just opened to check their serial numbers. The stocks will be a bit dry but a good stock oil will bring the stock back to life. The magazines made in Korea are as good a quality as the USGI magazines and the prices are right on them. They are the only ones on the commercial market that work. All the others are hit or miss at best. Miltech was a company that rebuilt carbines using mostly USGI parts and all USGI receivers if I remember right. What ever one you get be sure to try soft point ammo in it to be sure it will feed it. Not all carbines will without some work. Hope you do find a good one for him.

[Wildlife Officer]

You mention the forged receivers as did 'bonnie', where are you getting that info?
I ask because their site says:
-Precision CNC Machined from Billet
-4140 Alloy Steel
-Material & Geometry per Mil Spec
-Proper Core & Case Heat Treat per Mil Spec

Did I miss something on the Fultons?

Yes I agree on the mags, Ive got about three dozen that have been passed down to me including a number still in GI wrap. What I don't have are any 30 round GI's, I had some but they were destroyed in an incident some years back. I would love to get some more if anyone knows of any for sale. Ive been running Federal ammunition for many years (mainly because I get a decent agency discount) and it has performed well. Ive hunted and taken most game animals in the state including Elk, all with performance on par with the more popular calibers. Ive also had to put down hundreds of animals over the years and its thankfully done the job effortlessly. In the three duty incidents Ive had, stellar performance.

I think Miltech use GI parts, including receiver and barrel. $1K would be a good price, as they are fairly thorough. Since Fulton uses cast receivers, and Miltech restores GI forged, I would go with Mil-tech.

I am retired LEO (and Armorer) and carried a USGI M1 Carbine as my primary trunk weapon for much, if not most of my career. I'd do the springs as I stated, use ONLY GI 15s and GI 30s for mags, and good ammo. Hornady Critical Defense carbine ammo is awesome, though I used Remington 110 JSPs. in mine. I took a 200 pound BlackTail at 97 yards with a single heart/lung shot with it in 1988 or so.

[imarangemaster]

I could be wrong about Fulton, I thought they were cast. I know Auto Ordnance uses cast, and there quality control is terrible (first hand experience). I am not sure, but I believe the James River ROCX-OLA are cast also.. Sleepshadow would know.

[AFJon]

Can't help on the rifle, but if you need some reasonably priced New Old Stock USGI magazines send Colin an e-mail. you will have to clean the packing grease out of them (mineral spirits are your friend for the grease removal)


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