I have a Garand, just need a solid carbine.Originally Posted by SeriousStudent
I have a Garand, just need a solid carbine.
Last edited by SecondsCount; 04-09-2017 at 03:53 PM.
-Seconds Count. Misses Don't-
How reliable were the m1 carbines?
GI carbines were reliable enough that they issued them into the 60s, and police departments and allies were issuing them later than that. (Although the design shares some of the weaknesses of the M1 Garand, i.e., the operating rod is external, and has several odd angles to it. This does not seem to have been a problem for either rifle in rpactice, but from an engineering standpoint, well, they're weaknesses.)
If you manage to get your mitts on one, you might need to be wary of magazines, my father's did not accept some brands of aftermarket mags
The ammo is hot... for a pistol caliber. GI hardball is marginal as a man-stopper, or even a whitetail stopper. And any .30 Carbine ammo is expensive.
Still they're short and light and might be ideal as a home defense rifle. Get a beater, put on a modern stock and maybe add a rail with an RDS or LPV and a light, and you'll be OK.
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If you stick with GI mags they are extremely reliable. If you use aftermarket ...well...they are....less reliable.
The "problem" with the .30 carbine is essentially a non yawing FMJ "icepick" that either hits vital organs and drops people or zips right through 'em without disrupting much tissue. The CCI Gold Dot SP (now discontinued) and the Hornady Critical Defense will make it far more effective than FMJ. In fact the NYPD Stakeout Squad used them with HP ammo and Jim Cirillo said it was a better stopper than 00 Buck for them.
But let us consider that for a moment. How do we reconcile that with the "horror stories" from Korea? Simple. The NYPD Stakeout unit was using an expanding bullet at 2000 FPS often at 15 yards or less delivered by excellent shooters vs a non expanding, non yawing military FMJ often at 50 yards or more often delivered by ....maybe less than excellent shooters.
It delivers almost DOUBLE the energy of a .357Mag pistol ...but when used with a fmj bullet it acts like an icepick. With expanding ammo it is far more effective and uses that energy to disrupt tissue not to just zip through it .
Last edited by Randy Harris; 04-10-2017 at 08:42 AM.
To clarify...the .30 carbine FMJ bullet does yaw, it just does not do it early enough to make a difference and depending on the thickness of the target, (big difference in a well nourished 180 lb guy in New York and a 120 lb malnourished guy in Korea) it might be all the way through the guy before it starts to yaw. Point is simply that SP and HP make a big difference in effectiveness over ball ammo in this caliber.
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