I know this is a hard question to answer, but what are the things to look for on a M1 especialy if you don't have a throat gauge?
What is a good price to pay for one is decent shape?
The reason I ask is I have a fellow that wants to trade me a carbine for my mini 14 and although I would like to have the carbine, I know nothing about them. I know my mini's worth around $500 and I know I don't want to put that much into a M1 unless I know it's a good shooter.
Thanks for the help.
M1 Carbine value
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jimlongley
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Could be a good deal, could be not so good, new ones are selling in the $600.00 range and some of the collectors are up there, but some of the surplus ones, like ones that have been rebuilt, maybe more than once, would be down toward the $300.00 end.
There are several excellent sites dedicated to M1 Carbines http://www.surplusrifle.com/m1carbine/index.asp and http://www.jouster.com/cgi-bin/carbine/carbine.pl are a couple.
From my own less than perfect knowledge (I have an M1 Carbine that my grandpappy gave me and I wouldn't trade or sell it for the world.) a couple of things you could look for would be: Obvious wear and tear; a "shotgun" type safety (push through the trigger guard) rather than a turn type; A flip type rear sight; no bayonette lug.
The last three above are indicators of early manufacture and may make a gun more desireable as a collector.
There are several excellent sites dedicated to M1 Carbines http://www.surplusrifle.com/m1carbine/index.asp and http://www.jouster.com/cgi-bin/carbine/carbine.pl are a couple.
From my own less than perfect knowledge (I have an M1 Carbine that my grandpappy gave me and I wouldn't trade or sell it for the world.) a couple of things you could look for would be: Obvious wear and tear; a "shotgun" type safety (push through the trigger guard) rather than a turn type; A flip type rear sight; no bayonette lug.
The last three above are indicators of early manufacture and may make a gun more desireable as a collector.
Real gun control, carrying 24/7/365
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DiverDn
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Thanks Jim,
His story is that it was his grandpa's and I told him he shouldn't get rid of it.
If he pushes the issue I will try to find someone local that can tell what it's worth or I have already told him I would give him $200 for it just based on it being an M1.
I'll check out the site you gave me and see what I can find.
John
His story is that it was his grandpa's and I told him he shouldn't get rid of it.
If he pushes the issue I will try to find someone local that can tell what it's worth or I have already told him I would give him $200 for it just based on it being an M1.
I'll check out the site you gave me and see what I can find.
John
First thing to determine: is it USGI, or is it an Iver Johnson or Universal clone? (IAI also made some, and I think Auto-Ordnance is making them now.)
USGI carbines shot up after Saving Private Ryan. They've stabilized a bit, but the low end for a beat-up bitser is going to be $450+, average "good" specimen about $600, and WWII or Korea dated complete examples by the more rare manufacturers can go to $1,500.
I wouldn't go over $200 for a plinker by Universal or I-J. But, early models were mostly USGI parts except for the receiver. Collectors who know how to identify parts by their markings can part out an I-J and make money on the deal.
Kevin
USGI carbines shot up after Saving Private Ryan. They've stabilized a bit, but the low end for a beat-up bitser is going to be $450+, average "good" specimen about $600, and WWII or Korea dated complete examples by the more rare manufacturers can go to $1,500.
I wouldn't go over $200 for a plinker by Universal or I-J. But, early models were mostly USGI parts except for the receiver. Collectors who know how to identify parts by their markings can part out an I-J and make money on the deal.
Kevin