Refinishing a sporterized M1 carbine

[Lil Stinkpot]

Last year I found myself suddenly inheriting an M1 carbine. Surprise entry into the world of BANG. Funny thing is, I quickly learned that I like it. Not so much the noise or recoil, but the ability to reach out and "touch" something pretty far away with some accuracy. I'm still working on the accurate part.

Here are a couple teaser before and after shots. Somebody, some past owner, messed with the stock and the sight dovetail, so I can't call it a collector anymore. I instead started making it look pretty. It's been a fun, interesting and educational project to help me through a really, really rough patch.

Sorry for the lousy iGlitch pics.





I found a document on M1 carbine tuning from the CMP, and got to work. With the help of Asphodel and a sharpshooter friend from work, who taught me how to shoot and take care of the carbine, I have polished the crown, and changed the front band for the later, wider, grippier front band with bayonet lug. I want to take it out soon and see how it shoots after I did what I did so far. I also got the cotton web sling and oiler, thinking that it would work better than the leather 1907 sling it came with. Nope, the leather one is more comfortable, though less authentic looking. The stock was done by a friend. He was supposed to just show me how to clean and wax the stock, but when he heard that there's no value to retain, his eyes got all sparkly, and he asked to "borrow" the wood for a couple weeks. What you see is what happened. Nice! I just realized that I don't have any decent pictures with the new front band on. I'll fix that when I can.





I took a Zouave up on his dare after he caught me knitting between relays.....



Knitted and felted myself.



If enough folks have earlier carbines, and are willing to play, I'd like to see if I can bracket the manufacture date a little. Whoever did the tinkering erased the maker's mark and the date, leaving only the SN. Bummer! SN 269XX. That makes it an Inland, but that's about as far as I can guess.

[Lil Stinkpot]

Here is the last target, before I started tuning things. 200 yards, prone, iron sights only. It's interesting to note that my first three shots were two Xs and a ten (the second ten came later, after a few 9s). Then, I suppose as the barrel started warming, they started creeping outward and to the right. I know some of it is me, I've only been shooting the carbine since July. But I'm not THAT bad. I can hold at least the nine ring, with a friend's rifles.

Sorry it's sideways, I'll fix it when I get home. The Photobucket app doesn't edit.

[Pistolgrip Pump]

Nice invader zim shirt

[Tom-ADC]

M1 Carbines are just plain fun to shoot, my oldest daughter shoots mine any chance she gets, she also likes the Mini 14.

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

Nice job and good perspective... I know lots of folks who'd have given up on a Carbine with the rear sight dovetail messed with. From the M1 Family website, your Inland serial number falls in the block from May, 1942 to December, 1943.

As for the 200 yard group, don't be discouraged by it. Remember that the M1 Carbine was pretty much the first "PDW" (Personal Defense Weapon"), designed to replace the 1911A1 pistol in the hands of certain troops. Try it at 50 and 100 yards and see if you aren't happier with the groups that you get there. By way of comparison, I have a U.S. Postal Meter carbine with a reproduction rear flip sight and repro Type 1 barrel band that throws groups not much smaller than that at 200 yards... but at 50 yards it's more like 1" and 3-4" at 100 yards. That's good enough performance for a PDW. As I'm sure you've found out by now, the Carbine is a fun little rifle to shoot.

BTW, if either of those barrel bands shown in your photos are genuine GI, I'd like to lay hands on it... yup, I'm shameless!

[Henry Shooter]

Thats a good looking stick of wood on that old gun.
Good job on the refurb.

[Lil Stinkpot]

Awww, thanks, guys!

Pistolgrip, one of my favorite shirts. It's pretty much the only cartoon I'll watch.

....Do I just call you Grumpy or Cop? I can't call you Old! Thanks for the thoughts. I'm not giving up, not at all. Nor am I expecting a miracle. I'm just spinning my wheels fooling with this while waiting for other things to happen. I did finally get my Ruger 10-22 out of jail, and the ammo is in, so I have some more fun to get into. That Ruger is MUCH more accurate, and I believe a better (and cheaper!!) learning platform. Oh, yeah, both the old band and the new one are original GI. Drool all you want! Actually, I traded the old one (which has been messed with, making it useless to hold a sling) for the new one.

You are danged straight it's a fun gun to shoot. I don't care if the rest of the guys tease me for the shotgun scatter, something about it is just plain fun.

I saw that info on the M1 Family. What I was hoping for is some other Inland carbine owners to step in and post their SN, X'd out like mine is fine, and state the date it was made. The closer we can get, the closer to the make date I can be. A fun game, methinks.


I decided on using some wavy rosewood for the bayonet handle, which rotted off. Let me see if I have a pic on Photobucket.

[Lil Stinkpot]

There's an oiler there. I bought a replica oiler and web sling. See the picture right above the one of the knitted sleeve.

Ammo is indeed expensive, and hard to find. I've saved up around 500 pcs of brass, and will get going on reloading soon. I'll have to buy a few more, but then I'll be set for a while.

Leave it alone? Nahhhhh. I needed a project to keep me busy after the loss of hubby. The carbine was there, and in a condition to me messed with. At least the carbine was inconveniently locked up when I was in a bad mood, and had the stickers out. The Ruger 10/22 wasn't so lucky. It got a pair of colorful "swooshes" across the stock, one on each side. It was just a blatant mark of identification, really, but I kinda took it to a new level. At the last SCVRC 2nd Saturday a kid picked it up to try it out, saw the stickers, and had a fantastic "WTH??!?" Look on his face. Point is: at least the carbine is getting a tasteful treatment. The Ruger is where I'm getting my sillies out.