30 cal carbine, opinions??

[andersmg]

I have one of these in my gun cabinet and was thinking about setting it up with a scope for a little plinking.

I was just wondering if anyone has much experience with them, good bad or otherwise??

[wareagle]

They are fine plinkers. Last time I checked, ammo was a bit high compared to some other calibers. I might skip the scope to retain better balance.

[Guest clutepc]

I have one as well.. ammo is just a little high so I don't shoot it as much as I would like..

[DaveTN]

They make MIL STD 1913 Picatinny rails for the M1 carbine that mount without modifying the rifle.

You can mount a long eye relief or a handgun scope on them.

I have one on my Garand, but didn’t put one on my M1 Carbine because I don’t really shoot it that far.

[mousegunner]

I saw a brass one at Valu Pawn today near Hammil road in Chattanooga. They wanted $400 for it.

[Marswolf]

Good god Dave. I knew there was a reason to hate you. Modifying a Garand?

M1 Carbines (United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) are a lot of fun, but I wouldn't want to trust my life in combat to one.

[mrming]

Fun guns. Ammo is a bit scarce, like the others have pointed out. Parts arent as common as they used to be.

There are only two major makers.. US Gov contract and norinco. Would have thought most of the USGI ones would have burned out their barrels by now... might want to bench it first to see what sort of accuracy you can get before investing the extra $$.

[towerclimber37]

The M1 carbine was originally designed and fielded to replace the .45 1911. It was a great little rifle and was used by scouts, some tankers and airborne troops. while putting a scope on it is kind of pointless, unless you're like me and your eyes ain't what they used to be, its pretty good for 80-100 yards or less.

If you're going to modify it, I would say the scope mount could be fabricated easily...a machine shop could fabricate a mount that clamps around the barrel and you would have to buy a new fore-stock and cut out the relief for the mount. a long relief or pistol scope would be my choice...that would save the receiver from being drilled and tapped for a side mount.

I personally haven't seen any scope mounts for them since they're basically a close range weapons...but there's an idea for one.

As for modifying an m1 garand with the picatinny rail...

heresy!!!!!

[Guest Fastzntn]

I love my carbine, but the ammo is too expensive. It was a gift from my grandfather, still shoots fine and is accurate. I'm thinking about retiring it, or shooting it very, very seldom...

[Guest jimg]

I have one (IBM) and its pretty fun to shoot. I purchased it many yrs ago w/ a can of Korean milsurp ball. I saved most of the brass from that lot and reloaded them using Speer 100gr RN Plinker bullets. The reloads shot so much better, very accurate!

Not sure about mounting a scope as the iron sights seem to work pretty good for me. Realistically the 30 Carbine is a pretty short range cartridge so Im not sure if having a scope would be beneficial.