The New "Inland" M1 Carbine

I had an original M1 Carbine, but gave it to my daughter-in-law when I left Alaska, because she loved it! I miss that gun!
Many of you will know that Inland (General Motors) was the largest manufacturer of the M1 Carbine in WWII. Even though over 6 million rifles were produced (at about $45 each back then) these carbines, from all makers, are so popular in the civilian world today that prices have risen to well over a thousand bucks for good shooters.
This price level opens the door for new companies to reproduce these rifles. A company has purchased the "Inland" brand and has been turning them out for several years. I wanted a light rifle to carry around in my desert excursions and it made sense to me to buy this reproduction rather than beat up a vintage carbine that should be treasured and protected. I ordered the reproduction Inland "1945" version a few weeks ago and have been shooting it with a silly grin on my face.
My review... is that the Inland is pretty damned good. You can see that the receiver is cast rather than forged, but other than that it's pretty hard to tell the difference. Certainly, in function it is exactly like the original M1 Carbine.
I found that the magazine that came with the rifle is... doubtful. It worked OK with PPU ball and Federal ball ammo but consistently jammed with Remington soft point ammo. I have a couple of old GI mags that run all this ammo without a problem, so I retired the new (crap) magazine. Accuracy is just about like an original Carbine, about 4 to 4 1/2 inches at 100 yards - sort of "good enough." Most of the problem is with a light "whippy" barrel and poor bedding in the rushed production of the time, and it seems that the new Inland Company hasn't done any better.
I have a couple of old tricks to improve carbine accuracy that I learned over the years. One is to simply tighten down the screw on the recoil plate more than seems sensible. This plate sits at the rear of the receiver and acts to protect the wrist of the stock from cracking during recoil. If it's simply tightened "snug" it allows the receiver to move in recoil and affect the barrel "whip" (at least that's the theory). Tightening it down works well enough to see an improvement in group sizes, so tighten that sucker down.
The other easy trick is to cut up a business card or matchbook cover and lay it in the barrel channel (top and bottom) then reassemble the rifle. This takes about five minutes and is kind of like "poor mans glass bedding." You'll sometimes see this same thing if you take down an old sporting rifle - a matchbook cover lying in the barrel channel. It was the first thing people did with a new rifle back in the day, but now that old trick seems to be forgotten. It works equally well on the M1 Carbine.

So... after doing those tricks it shoots about three and a half and even three inches at 100 yards - a 25% improvement. Not bad, and is pretty much exactly what my original vintage carbine did after the same tricks. Reliability is 100% with the old GI mags. I've ordered a couple more GI mags at about double the price they were a few years ago. There are new reproduction mags that are much cheaper, but none of them seem to work well when you read the reviews.

Accurate or not, no rifle is as fun to shoot as the M1 Carbine. At five pounds two ounces it is as light and handy as a long gun can be. You get a satisfying 'pop" each time you pull the trigger with just enough recoil to know you are shooting a real gun rather than a .22. It's simply fun to shoot.

I'm satisfied with this new Inland M1. They go for about $1,100 though you may find it cheaper at one of the Big Box stores. If you want one, prepare to buy new (old GI) mags. Don't expect the rifle to be as accurate as the 2 inches the manufacturer claims, though as above, you can improve it to about 3 inches. Prepare to grin a lot.

 

I learned to shoot on a Mossberg .22 target rifle and M1 carbine. Being 12 years old and hitting targets at 50 yards is a real coming of age sort of thing.
Sadly what was to become mine was given away in haste and confusion due to the scourge of Alzheimer's. Really miss that too. Dad had made a new stock from a rough cut Birch blank and bedded in the barrel. I had a set of 30 caliber reloading dies for the carbine and I think they may be stuck away just in case I come across another M1 someday.
Have fun plinking !
It got up to minus 10 today and I was able to shoot a few leaves blowing around on the foot and a half of snow. Was cleaning a Hi Standard HD and well just had to be sure everything worked.

 

I like the m1 carbine, I,ve Had a Winchester about 20 years now. I paid 2 hundred at a gun store for it. The new inland looks great. Thanks for this post and pictures.

 

While we're on the subject of carbines and recycled trademarks, It seems that fans have a way of forming into cults, and what M1911A1 cultist could resist this steampunk-ish offering from Iver Johnson?

 

Not a fan of the M1 Carbine -- short range, inaccurate, and under powered compared to the M1 Rifle. OK for plinking, but not as accurate as the average .22 rifle.

I am a fan of the M1911 and its modern variants. The 45 ACP has a knockdown power like a speeding truck hitting a puppy so I only have to get one hit unlike those wimpy 9mms.

The stocked version is kinda gimmicky. I prefer my handguns at arms length.

 

nice touch with the bayonet...do you really keep it on while plinking/walking around ...I'd stab myself . they should make bayonets out of kindergarten scissors.

 

No, I just happen to own an original bayonet so stuck it on there for the pix. I'll likely never put it on there again, but it does show how well they've matched the originals since the bayonet lugs work perfectly with a vintage bayonet. I did stick a couple of posts while screaming "Die, die, die!"

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M1 Carbine... This is my favourite "plinking" rifle. You have good taste. I have a few originals and a repro M1A1 which makes an excellent little bush rifle. The M1 in general is a fantastic design. The M2 is not a particularly useful gun on full auto setting due to its excessive muzzle rise but I find myself sitting on the fence (and occasionally taking sides) about whether it should be classified as an early assault rifle

You are correct about the repro mags. I've never had a good repro, and at the same time I've never had an issue with an original USGI mag. A few years ago there were some repros from South Korea which are supposedly OK quality but I've never tried one.

 

How difficult would have been to make in 303 or 7.62?

 

Then you would have the M14, a much heavier and more robust rifle. The M14 is essentially a Garand modified for a detachable magazine and 7.62x51 ammo instead of the older 7.62x63 (30.06).

A light little carbine like this would never handle the pressures of these much heavier cartridges. The cartridge it uses looks something like a lengthened 9mm cartridge, though slightly smaller in diameter than a 9mm, 7.62x33.

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I've never owned a M1 carbine and probably won't. I have a Chinese SKS-one of the first to come into the country-that is quite accurate and fills the same "need", only with a more powerful cartridge. I 've heard that later Chinese SKS's were not nearly so good but this one's a keeper! I bought a bunch of surplus ammo and have way more than I'll ever need. This thread reminded me that I need to shoot it more.

 

In regards to the SKS's my understanding was that the Chinese ones had some serious quality control issues. That doesn't mean that they are all bad or even the majority. One would expect there to be some very good ones as well as very bad along with everything in between. Sounds like you got one of the good ones.

 

I've looked at some of the later ones that came in the late 1990s. It was obvious that their QC had seriously deteriorated. I suspect that the first ones in were ones that had been intended for Chinese forces. After they found out that Americans would buy them they probably ramped up production and churned out as many as they could without regard to quality. I bought mine in about 1987. It was the first newly minted SKS I'd ever seen and came with a bandolier and the "People's Hoppes #9 bottle". If I remember correctly, the cost was $75.

 

what movie was it-
Clint Eastwood? is driving in an old jeep, looking for a fugitive in the desert mountains, wielding an M1.
maybe KB could recreate that scene, then go visit the hot young blonde living alone in the middle of nowhere and get a bath with happy ending.
there must be plenty of lonely hot babes living alone in the desert.

ugh, been working too much.
pardon me.

 

The last woman I loved served in the Israeli military police. She had a carbine. This was one of the reasons why I loved her.

 

It was designed for the range it achieved and it was never meant to be comparable to the M1 Rifle. Where did you hear that it was inaccurate?

 

I shake my head a little every time I hear that old saw "It ain't as good (powerful, accurate) as the Garand!" It was a replacement for those who would carry a handgun, a 1911, not for those who would be issued a Garand. Compared to a handgun it is far more accurate, has far greater range, and is far more lethal.

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The Carbine is a device that could nearly tempt me to go through the bureaucratic nightmare of UK rifle ownership.
Then I remember it would have to be some bastardised straight pull.
And I'd have to use it a range, surrounded by people in overlarge yellow sunglasses, rather than KB's more 'home on the range' correct application.

Bugger...

Ah, well, some Britischers with their M1s.

Major Lumley (Joanna's father).


WSC well-dressed for the range, no large yellow sunglasses in sight.

 

That top picture is very cool! Who are those pirates?

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Isn't it just...
"Brigadier "Mad" Mike Calvert (left) gives orders to Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw, while Major James Lumley stands with M1 carbine under his arm, after the capture of Mogaung in Burma during the second Chindit expedition, June 1944."
THE CHINDITS

If you want the epitome of C20th British military fashion, it's pretty hard to beat the Chindits.
And Mad Mike is always worth reading about.
Another remarkable soldier, quite likely treated in the almost traditional rather shabby manner our nation can be good at.