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Is the M1 Carbine a Good Home Defense Weapon?

8K views 115 replies 60 participants last post by  Master Guns 
#1 ·
Depends on the bullets that you use...

 
#104 ·
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#82 ·
The stories about the M1 Carbine stopping power mostly originated from Korea. The M2 select fire automatic carbines used there on full auto might hit the targeted individual with the first shot (or might not) and the rest of the rounds would fly off into the air above the target as the rifle climbed. Thus, the stories of attackers "taking multiple rounds and still attacking" originated. The second issue was the heavy winter overcoats worn by the Chinese. If someone were to design a bullet proof vest in the old days before the invention of synthetic materials, they could not have done a better job. An outside layer of heavy canvas with a more densely woven smoother material inside, and a layer of relatively thick matting or batting in between. The third issue was that the Carbines were more often used at distances over 100 yards in Korea. The carbine is a fine weapon, but it is a close quarter battle weapon which was supposed to have been issued to rear echelon troops for fighting distances under 100 yards, and certainly not over 150 yards.
 
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#103 · (Edited)
Yep, my great-uncle Buck was a Korean War vet.

He always said you could right away tell the soldier or Marine who'd just survived a 'human wave' attack by the ****** armed with an M1 carbine ...

He'd ditched it for the M1 Garand he was now carrying, and was smiling ear-to-ear. :animlol:

They look like this, in case you've never seen one ;)

Kills Commies & Nazis on Contact:
Gun Firearm Rifle Trigger Air gun


:laughabove: :flag:

Not to mention, a Garand is still 50-states legal for 'home defense,' ... even in the Nazified states like New Jersey, which has explicitly banned the M1 Carbine by name.

So there's that too ... o_O
 
#83 ·
You can use this weapon for home defense if you already have one but I would not buiy one for home defense. If the SHTF and I need to defend myself and my family, I would have several of my handguns on my body and one or two shotguns very close by and my ammo would be 9mm for my handguns and my 9mm carbine! If I should ever need more than I now have, I will make sure I save at least one bullet!
 
#84 ·
Of course an M1 Carbine is an excellent home defense weapon! Why wouldn't it be? The Carbine was issued to millions of soldiers during WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and is still in service to this very moment somewhere in the world.
The Carbine is ideal for persons of small stature - women, kids, and older people who lack the strength to hold a heavier weapon. The smaller size troops of Southeast Asia preferred the M1 Carbine due to it's small size.
I know of no other CF weapon of matching dimensions, proportions, weight, and ballistic power.
In modern parlance, the world "carbine" has become synonymous for overprice, overweight, blow-back pistol caliber carbines - NOT what the original was!
Even compact AR-pattern rifles are larger, heavier by several pounds, and "clunkier" in terms of handling and use. Pistol grips and rails with all sorts of doo-dads and gadgets hanging off making a 7 pound rifle a 10 pound "Johnny Seven, One-Man Army" wannabe may be all the rage, but they are not "better" than the simple, slim, intuitive Carbine with small, light ammo, small, easily inserted mags, and far more ballistic performance than it appears is commonly known. Standard .30 Carbine ammo is just barely less than 1,000 fpe at just barely under 2,000 fps. Standard M193 5.56 is just barely 1,100 fpe at 2,900 fps from the now-common 16" barrel lengths. That is NOT a lot of difference and nothing a two-legged predator would notice nor care about if still up and running after a hit.
New M1 Carbines are expensive, just as are new every other type of WW2 repro or newly manufactured weapon. If you want to see what a modern, "cheap" M1 costs look no further than Chiappa's 9mm version which is decent enough if you don't mind the excessive weight due to be a blow-back mechanism - oh, and the LOWER ballistic performance. Or Ruger's line of "carbines" - all heavy blow-back systems that aren't exactly inexpensive considering they're lack of mechanical complexity.
While I wouldn't recommend anyone go out and buy a new M1 Carbine for home defense specifically, considering AR pattern rifles are all over the place, and dirt cheap, a new Inland isn't much pricier than a Ruger Mini-14 and Auto Ordance's version is probably running about the same price. Even though the Mini-14 is small, compact, and chambered in a powerful, cartridge, it's still heavier, and "thicker" than many smaller people care to deal with.
The person interested in an M1 or similar size weapon isn't likely interested in being told they should go get a 12 gauge.
People who think a sharp stick is comparable to an M1 Carbine should consider rounding off the tip of their stick. That way, when it's being shoved up their "baffle end" it will have a higher probability of straightening out the internal plumbing rather than punching a new hole!
 
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#116 ·
Of course an M1 Carbine is an excellent home defense weapon! Why wouldn't it be? The Carbine was issued to millions of soldiers during WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and is still in service to this very moment somewhere in the world.
The Carbine is ideal for persons of small stature - women, kids, and older people who lack the strength to hold a heavier weapon. The smaller size troops of Southeast Asia preferred the M1 Carbine due to it's small size.
I know of no other CF weapon of matching dimensions, proportions, weight, and ballistic power.
In modern parlance, the world "carbine" has become synonymous for overprice, overweight, blow-back pistol caliber carbines - NOT what the original was!
Even compact AR-pattern rifles are larger, heavier by several pounds, and "clunkier" in terms of handling and use. Pistol grips and rails with all sorts of doo-dads and gadgets hanging off making a 7 pound rifle a 10 pound "Johnny Seven, One-Man Army" wannabe may be all the rage, but they are not "better" than the simple, slim, intuitive Carbine with small, light ammo, small, easily inserted mags, and far more ballistic performance than it appears is commonly known. Standard .30 Carbine ammo is just barely less than 1,000 fpe at just barely under 2,000 fps. Standard M193 5.56 is just barely 1,100 fpe at 2,900 fps from the now-common 16" barrel lengths. That is NOT a lot of difference and nothing a two-legged predator would notice nor care about if still up and running after a hit.
New M1 Carbines are expensive, just as are new every other type of WW2 repro or newly manufactured weapon. If you want to see what a modern, "cheap" M1 costs look no further than Chiappa's 9mm version which is decent enough if you don't mind the excessive weight due to be a blow-back mechanism - oh, and the LOWER ballistic performance. Or Ruger's line of "carbines" - all heavy blow-back systems that aren't exactly inexpensive considering they're lack of mechanical complexity.
While I wouldn't recommend anyone go out and buy a new M1 Carbine for home defense specifically, considering AR pattern rifles are all over the place, and dirt cheap, a new Inland isn't much pricier than a Ruger Mini-14 and Auto Ordance's version is probably running about the same price. Even though the Mini-14 is small, compact, and chambered in a powerful, cartridge, it's still heavier, and "thicker" than many smaller people care to deal with.
The person interested in an M1 or similar size weapon isn't likely interested in being told they should go get a 12 gauge.
People who think a sharp stick is comparable to an M1 Carbine should consider rounding off the tip of their stick. That way, when it's being shoved up their "baffle end" it will have a higher probability of straightening out the internal plumbing rather than punching a new hole!
Sorry, your wrong. You said 110 M1carbine round moving around 2000 FPS is no different then a 55gn moving at 2900 FPS... the damage isn’t even close. At about 2200 FPS a bullets temp cavity becomes permanent. A 55gn blows away a 110gn bullet at these velocities. I am not putting you down. I am just trying to explain to you. Maybe you didn’t know that.
 
#87 ·
“But it’s not as good as xyz! Don’t you want the best to defend your family?”

Almost every modern firearm is many magnitudes better than a pointy stick or a call to 911 in an imminent attack. I don’t know anything about the M1 Carbine but I already know it would do the job if the defender puts rounds where it counts.
 
#92 ·
For a long gun, I'd rather have something in a more effective chambering like a 762.x 39 or even a .223 or 300 blackout. But I consider handguns more effective overall in close quarters for home defense and can be fired with one hand more effectivly than a long gun. And 45 ACP 230 grain Plus +P has the ballistics to get the job done without as much muzzle blast in close quarters as a rifle caliber or even a shotgun.

The 30 M1 Carbine is a great little gun but chambered in a piss-poor caliber. They should have chambered it in 351 Winchester self-loader which was a chambering that was originally considered but not used because they wanted ammo that was smaller and lighter. The 30 m1 carbine cartridge is basically a magnum pistol cartridge with ballistics similar to 327 Federal and inferior to 357 magnum.
 
#95 · (Edited)
The only jams I’ve experienced in my CMP Inland involved Magtech ammo that had a few loose primer pockets. One time it failed to go into battery, and the cause was a spent primer in the left locking recess.

With the Auto Ordnance, I’ve only put about 200rds through it, and I had one bolt over base jam using a GI mag. I assume it needs a new spring. 15 and 30rd Korean mags, no problem.
Years ago, I had a Plainfield. It was the first centerfire longarm I bought. It was completely faultless.
At the time, my pal liked it so much, he bought one made by Iver Johnson, which had taken over Plainfield.
His had a poorly heat treated op slide. It started jamming, and when I looked at it, the camways in the hump were worn away...
They repaired it under warranty, it it worked fine from then on.
As for advice on getting one running at the CMP forum, we’ll...
Those guys know their carbines, but there sure ain’t a lot of shooting going on there.

Speaking of the CMP, they have gunsmiths that can sort your Carbine out. I’d send a problem Carbine to them.
 
#97 ·
If you're in doubt about M1 carbine stopping power, please read "Jim Cirillo's Tales of the Stakeout Squad". He said that M1 fed with the hollow points was the ONLY firearm they used with 100% success on the BGs. Even 12 gauge slugs had less perfect record. That's good enough for me. Stay safe everyone.
 
#98 ·
Bullet and caliber technology have changed a bit since, what the early-mid nineties?

Be interesting to see the same musings from a modern officer with modern technology.

Who knows, it might just be the best option even now.
 
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#100 ·
Compared to what, and what environment is your home (walls, other family or friendly inhabitants, size of rooms and passages)? A claw hammer is a good home defense weapon.

I have 2 fantastic M1 carbines. Do I want to purpose them for home defense? No.

There are both better, and lesser choices. This is like asking if your rotary dial princess phone can be used to dial the fire department...sure it can, but we are in 2020, there are other options too.
 
#101 ·
I’m pretty happy with the Hornady Critical Defense load, which can hardly be described as old technology.
Even so, the old tech soft point load, available pretty cheap, will still do the job, and do it better than high dollar pistol JHP’s.
 
#106 ·
I don’t trust my M1 carbine to be very reliable. It’s rare to get through an entire magazine without a malfunction of some kind. Most of the blame probably lies with the magazines, but reliable mags are not easy to find these days.

But the gun itself is a handy size and well balanced.

And the cartridge is. Good intermediate round. Fast enough to reliably expand JSP. It was a very popular deer hunting weapon when I was growing up.
 
#108 ·
I
I have heard this about the early ones but have never seen one. Eveybody knows I like surplus stuff and I've been shown a few Universals. Even shot one at the gunclub. Never got through a full magazine without problems. And it had a cast receiver. Must have been a later one. The out of battery issues are well known to carbine guys. I have shot an Iver Johnson and a Plainfield too, both of which fed and cycled fine.
have one of the early Universals, and it runs great.
 
#110 ·
My M1 Carbine is a very early Universal that was still in the original box. It still had the original box of bullets that came with the rifle and only about 8 or 10 missing, I'm sure that's all it had been shot. I ran another box of 50 through it without one single malfunction of any kind. It's been sitting in the back of the safe every since.

Just in case anyone is looking for a M1 Carbine Royal Tiger Imports has some really nice ones for sale but they are pricey, $900 to $1200.
 
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