The M1 Carbine as a Defensive Tool

[Art]

The carbine gets flak as a combat weapon and some, but not all of it, is deserved.

However, the little rifle shone as a police rifle in many countries, especially with good ammunition with expanding bullets.

The same things that made it a fine patrol rifle for the law dogs also can make it a fine home defense weapon if some allowances are made for some of its operational problems. You need good magazines and at least a new operating spring to insure the necessary reliability.

I bought one of the CMP carbines the Italians sent back and have been quite happy with it. It did have one malfunction about every 100-150 rounds usually a failure to eject. Picking the best magazines and the new spring seems to have solved both problems and it hasn't had a malfunction in several hundred rounds.

My wife, who is a very small woman, 4'11" 110 pounds loves the rifle and it's her weapon to repel borders. She off and on thinks about having a red dot sight installed but I'm not doing that until I get an absolute yes on that one.

The self defense ammo we use is the currently unavailable Winchester 110 gr. semi jacketed hollow point. There is also some Israeli surplus Federal 110 gr soft point lying around. Both feed without a hiccup in the little rifle.

So there it is, a short, lightweight rifle shooting a cartridge that is more than up to the job with the right ammunition.

stopthem1480.jpg

[Allen]

I've read many reports that I have to agree with in that the carbine is about the best home defense rifle. It won out over the AR's and AK's due to the .30 carbine round being less likely to penetrate walls and hit someone or something you don't wish to hit. Plus it has a 30 round capacity. Agree that a hollow point or soft point bullet is the way to go.

Then there's the 45acp. The round is like throwing a bucket of cement at someone but there is very little chance of penetration into other rooms as well.

Some prefer a 12ga. Another good choice in that you don't need a magnum round to blast someone away. A mild round will usually do.

[jjrothWA]

Insure good feeding, may I suggest that the feed ramp to the chamber be lightly stone/ polish, to remove the Parkerizing with allow soft-nose ammo to flow and minimize stuttering.

Get a steel ventilated hand-guard, spot weld a CRS strip of 5/8" x 8" x 1.8", to bridge the groove and then mount a Marlin 336 base to the top surface for using a Red Dot on it.
Also, wrap a strip of silicon rubber to dampen the barrel into the stock channel.

Have fun!

[togor]

I'm of the opinion that a good M4 clone with 55 grain bullets (HP if someone chooses) would have the reliability edge on a M1 carbine as a defensive weapon for the smaller-of-stature. Adjustable length stock, lower 1/3 co-witness red dot, better mags. The AR will be *louder* but that may not matter in the scheme of things. It will also be mechanically younger which means it lends itself to actual practice without undue worry about wear. Save the M1 Carbine as the "backup" gun.

[Johnny P]

Never cared for the 30 round magazines. Makes the otherwise compact M1 Carbine unwieldy, and can't imagine a home defense situation where the 15 round magazine would be inadequate. Unless barbarian hordes are storming your home, I can't imagine a situation where it wouldn't be fully adequate.

An original and correct M1 Carbine from August/September of 1944.

[Art]

My spousal unit doesn't care for the "M-Forgeries" for a variety of reasons. She loves her carbine, though. The fact that it weighs less than an M4 (the little rifle weighs under 6 pounds fully loaded with a sling) does matter to her.

Johnny:

I agree with you, in principle about the .30 round mags. The one I bought I picked up because it was GI, though not USGI for under 20 bucks, can't argue with that.

jjrothWA, there are options for mounting an optic that allow you to re install the handguard without messing up the pure GI aspectsof the carbine. If Wifey decides she really, really wants a red dot we'll cross that bridge then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y723KujuDA

[Roadkingtrax]

I always felt like the M1 Carbine was a little unreliable in their mil-surp condition. Granted I'm shooting commercial ammunition, which might be weak in comparison to GI surplus?

I never felt the need to reload .30 Carbine...but who doesn't want a few more dies on the reloading bench.

[lyman]

I have a stockpile of GI Ball, and never had an issue with reliability,
brother had a M2, and we test fired a few in inventory before they were sold,

never had a problem with any of them,


as far as in the house, the M4 types are too loud, and a bit of flash,
esp when you get down to 10 or 11 inches
fireball too,


I prefer a 12 ga riot type, and keep one on each floor

[jjrothWA]

Makecartain the magazine catch is the 30 rd mag type. [It has a small projection that engages the 30 rd mag to steady it when in the firearm.] has the underscored M [M.

[RicM]

Have to say my go to firearm in home defense is my 1944 M1 Carbine (National Postal Meter). I also own 2 ARs and one replica clone 1964 M16 (semi not select fire). Also a Mini 14 and 9mm PC9. I would still depend 100% on my M1 Carbine, it's in perfect condition and I have yet ever to have any type of a jam, stove pipe, bad round, etc. it is far more reliable than all my other rifles. Easy to clean easy to handle, easy even to shoot from the hip! Love it, it's light and small easy in close quarters to use. As with mine I have the 20 round mags, that all I need. I do also have Glock 19 which is always nearby. But I do love the M1 Carbine.

[JimF]

. . . . .. As with mine I have the 20 round mags, that all I need. . . . . ..

I’m thinking if your magazines are U.S. GI, they are 15 rounders, yes?

[RicM]

Sorry my mistake, 15 round mags, was typing on my phone earlier, just re-read now when I got home on the computer. My M1 Carbine along with her two older brothers

Serial Number dates her April-June 1944. Found it 6 years ago in a small ammo shop, pretty dirty, it must have been in an attic for the last 50 years! Even had a dead dried out spider down the barrel! Can't say it's all original as they are difficult to actually find one. But its pretty accurate and extremely reliable! Bayonet Lug I believe came in later years not too sure, but I did manage to find an original bayonet for it. I also attached photo of the stock stampings if anyone has an idea on the 84 E stamping. Couldn't find any other stampings on the stock.
Three Rifles complete.jpg

IMG_E6598.jpg

[togor]

Art that image....middle school kids defending their bedroom with a carbine?

I'll say it....bad idea.

[bruce]

Re: Image. Yes. It is a bad as in unpleasant image. Must say, it is reality and not just recently. In 1973 a school friend and his brother were home alone on a Saturday morning. He shot and killed one of two men trying to get into the house through the kitchen door. He used his deer rifle. Some folks wanted him charged for shooting through the door. Thankfully that did not happen. He was not a survivalist extremist. He was just a kid with his brother having to face a man alone. Sadly, it does not always turn out so well. Outside of Albany, Ga. in a little small village, one of my church children was assaulted by a man who waited until the mother had left for work. He hurt that little boy. If the authorities had not caught that man, he probably would have been severely injured or even killed by the men and women who were combing the bushes and woods for him. I wish that boy had had access to a gun. Sincerely. bruce.

[togor]

What's the weak spot of the Carbine? The magazines, specifically the thin sheet metal lips deforming just enough to interfere with feeding.

So the idea is....let a kid keep one under his bed, with a full mag nearby? A mag which may or may not feed properly for having sat their loaded for months or longer? Never mind the liability to the parents if the kid takes a turn and does something illegal with the firearm. Ethan Crumbley's parents thought they were doing everything right. So did Nancy Lanza.

One of the real virtues of the Garand system is that the rounds can stay in the clip forever with no issues. Most modern pistols have re-enforced lips and high quality springs so that the mags stay reliable (eg Glock). Carbine magazines like AR magazines were almost considered disposable items. All this said I do have a few loaded AR mags in the house. They are PMAG gen3 with the top clip on them, to take the load off of the lips.