How my M1 Carbine fondness began.

[imarangemaster]

At 68, I was raised by a generation of WW2 Veterans. My Dad and his brothers all fought in the PTO (Pacific Theater of Operations, and they all fought with and loved the M1 Carbine. My dad especially did. In 1962, the TV series Combat came out (when I was ten) and Lt. Hanley, a main character carried an M1. My older cousin was a US Postal Inspector at that time, and had a DCM Carbine that I shot and loved.

I just had to have an M1 Carbine, even though I was 10. My older brother had a Parris Kadet wood and steel toy rifle (roughly a 1903 Springfield) that we played war with. His dated from the late 50s. In the early 60s, I got my own, new shiny Parris Kadet (which I still have) for Christmas. I was so proud of that rifle.

My brother, now too old, gave me his well used Parris rifle. It was well used from years of storming Mt Surabachi and the beaches of Anzio and Normandy. Since mine was still so nice, I decided to make my brother's into an M1 Carbine.

My dad had a full shop with saws, drills, and even a lathe in the basement of our house on the south side of Chicago. I was raised knowing how to use tools, so at the age of 10, I set out to convert the rifle into my own M1 Carbine.

First was the magazines. I use sections of 1x2 wood cut to 4" long pieces, painted black, I took a 3/4" wood bit in the drill press, and drilled out the bottom of the stock in a series of 3 holes. I used a chisel to cut out the material in between the holes, to make the magazine well. When I screwed the receiver for the bolt back on after drilling the holes, it stopped then mags from going too far. It looked perfect. The mags were friction fit. I had his web belt (and his helmet liner) from Iwo and a couple magazine pouches for the "extra" magazines I made.

Then I had to create a bolt. I took the bolt action bolt out, and fabricated a hollow aluminum tube from flat aluminum sheeting formed around a wood dowel for a bolt. The bottom was flat like the receiver, the front was blocked by a tab of aluminum folded across, and the spring from the hardware store, nestled in the hollow bolt. I put a screw downwards through the receiver at the rear for the recoil spring to compress against. The slide handle was a flat piece of thicker aluminum twisted into the proper shape, and screwed to the top front of the bolt.

Last I took the back and front sling swivels and mounted them to the side. It was done.

I was about 10 (1962) when I did that. I had absolutely the coolest rifle of any kid in the neighborhood. I would change magazines, pull back the bolt and let it fly, then commence to shoot imaginary foes. I fought the Japanese ad Germans, and later around 1965/1966 Vietcong guerrillas like my cousin Joe USMC (who did not come back, RIP)

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