.30 M1 Carbine

[roy reali]

No, this is not a thread asking whether this round is good for deer or any animal for that matter, it is a queation about the cartridge itself.

Has there been any long guns made for this round other then the WWII carbine?

I know there are a couple of handguns chambered for this round. But I have never seen a bolt action, a lever action, or a single shot rifle chambered for the M1 carbine. I haven't even seen a semi-auto other then the surplus ones chambered for it.

Why did I come up with this question?

I was looking up a recipe in one of my reloading manuals. I came across the carbine data and glanced at it for a minute. Then I decided to compare it to the .32-20 data. They are almost identical. But, the descriptions for the two rounds are very different. The .32-20 is descibed as a usefull and practical round while the carbine is described as worthless. I realize it partially has to do with the guns they are chambered in. You can get the .32-20 in rifles that are more accurate.

So why hasn't the .30 M1 carbine round been chambered in a platform that might make it more viable for sportsman? Or has there been other long guns chambered for this round?

 

[Sam06]

The Marlin M62 Levermatic. It was a magazine fed, short stroke lever action rifle chambered in 256 win and 30 Carb. They are hard to find and are expensive. I think they were made from 1963-69.

I had one in 256 along with a Ruger Hawkeye Pistol. I sold both about 10 years ago for WAY more than I paid.

I think someone made a pump action 30 carbine also.

 

[mapsjanhere]

The 32-20 was a meat round when it came out in 1882. By the time the .30 carbine was developed, it was obsolete, replaced by equally powered but flatter shooting .22 Hornet or similar. In addition, the .30 carbine has a very limited bullet selection since the normal .308 bullets are all too long and heavy, so it's not even of interest for a custom rifle. Add to that the wide availability of cheap (at least for the first 50 years) surplus carbines, and there's really no need for anyone to build a new rifle in the carbine caliber.

 

[roy reali]

re:sam06

The Marlin M62 Levermatic. It was a magazine fed, short stroke lever action rifle chambered in 256 win and 30 Carb. They are hard to find and are expensive. I think they were made from 1963-69.

Thanks, I did not know that gun even existed. I did a quick Google, I'll do more research on it when I have the time. The .256 version looks interesting. You said you sold it. How did you like the gun? How did it shoot?

 

[sc928porsche]

I have one in a Ruger Blackhawk pistol and also an old TC contender barrel. I have never seen one in a bolt action (probably because the action is too short). Ive seen one in martini also, but it was custom.

 

[roy reali]

Follow Up

I do think that an accurate rifle chambered for this round might actually be useful. For coyotes and such animals at reasonable ranges it would be an ideal cartridge. Like I said, it is ballistically the same as the .32-20 round. A small, modern semi-auto carbine in this round would be a dandy little gun.

 

[mavracer]

marlin makes the 1894cl in 32/20 and as you said they are close balisticly.probably be a cheaper route in the long run.

 

[Sam06]

Roy, It shot real good. The 256 is a neat little cartridge but its like a lot of things you just grow out of them or find that you have not shot the gun for a few years. The price on them was out of control. I sold them for so much much more than I paid.

The levermatic is a very cool concept. The action is a very short stroke lever. Its even faster than a Winchester 88 which I think of as very fast.

Another way to go if you have a T/C Contender you could get a barrel for it in 30 carb. Maybe a rifle barrel with a scope would be kind of cool. I would think you could do some neat stuff handloading a 30 carbine in a SS rifle. You could use 125gr or 130gr spire point bullets. Even 200gr bullets and make it like a 300 whisper type round. The brass is plentiful and dies are cheap.

If you are looking for a nice lever action in that power range I would go with a 32-20. I have shot many a 32-20 and I like them. I have a Martini Cadet in 32-20. Its not a rechamber but it has a barrel in 32-20. I shoot lead bullets out of it and its like a Rook Rifle. I shoot Crows, rabbits and squirrel with it.

Good luck and don't be put off by people telling you an idea is stupid or it sucks. Its your money go stimulate the economy

Sam

 

[Legumeofterror]

the Israelis made a Galil in this caliber for police use.

 

[Bigfatts]

I would like to see a pistol caliber style carbine in .30 Carbine actually. I think it would make a nice home defense gun.

 

[gak]

...Or stick around and I'll bet (though not holding breath) someone---maybe Rossi or Armi Sport/Chiappa--will make a '92 lever in the .327 Fed Magnum, or perhaps more likely (since they had a .32 H&R) Marlin will reintro their cowboy lever in the .327.

 

[MTT TL]

I would like to see a pistol caliber style carbine in .30 Carbine actually. I think it would make a nice home defense gun.

You mean like this one?

All you need is an M1

 

[Bigfatts]

Something like that, but I would do that to an M1. I'd like to see something a little more modernized. More along the lines of the Beretta CX4 but without the crazy price tag.

 

[Scorch]

When I was working in a gunsmithing shop in Reno, a customer wanted a rifle built in 30 Carbine on his Sako action. Same idea: lightweight round,cheap ammo, pretty good ballistics for a small game round. When we started talking about the modifications to the action, he started hemming and hawing. And when we started talking about dollars, the project was dead. In 1985 dollars, the project was well over $1200 on paper, about the cost of a Remington 40X with lots of extras.

It would be neat to build a lightweight bolt action in 30 Carbine, but I don't think there is enough interest for a manufacturer to get involved. Maybe Ruger will design and chamber a carbine for it.

 

[rodwhaincamo]

You can get a barrel from the T/C Custom Shop for either the Contender or Encore (16 1/4-26" brl).
For a while Iver Johnson (mfr?) made the Enforcer, which was a wooden pistolized version of the M1 Carbine that had a 10-12" barrel.

 

[bamaranger]

other M1 carbines

Not to overstate the obvious, but their were other mfg's of "m1 carbines" after the original GI model was out of production.

Iver Johnson, and Plainfield (? maybe they were the same thing) made'em, though not anywhere near the quality and durability of the GI model. Today, Kahr and Auto-Ord (I think) make quality repro's, better than the IJ's and other quasi-clones.

Years ago I was lined up to buy a .256 Levermatic but a guy beat me to it.

He then had the barrel cut off (I heard) to make an "out the window"gun.
Enough to make a grown man weep!

 

[olyinaz]

I agree and I've often wondered why Ruger didn't offer a .30 Carbine rifle but I guess the business model just wasn't (and isn't) there. The new Kahr/Auto-Ordinance M1 Carbines are nice but they're terribly expensive and I've noticed that apart from the Paratrooper version they're sitting on dealer's shelves with a lot of lookers and not too many takers.

If they sold a version for less than $500 I think they's sell some, but at $700 it's just crazy.

A revolving rifle in .30 carbine would be a nice project.

Cheeers,
Oly

 

[DMZX]

Not to overstate the obvious, but their were other mfg's of "m1 carbines" after the original GI model was out of production.

Iver Johnson, and Plainfield (? maybe they were the same thing) made'em, though not anywhere near the quality and durability of the GI model. Today, Kahr and Auto-Ord (I think) make quality repro's, better than the IJ's and other quasi-clones.

I bought a Universal M1 Carbine in the early 80's for around $200, as I recall. It took regular M1 Carbine mag's and I had a line on some Korean War vintage Lake City ammo in hermetically sealed cans for $30 a can (two bandoleers of 250 rounds in 10 round stripper clips). I bought about 5 cans over a period of time.

The replica M1 had an aluminum receiver and fit and finish was rather poor. But it shot well and worked with 30 round M2 magazines. It was also quiet accurate when I used my own reloads (110 gr Speer Varminter and some H110 or Blue Dot).

I sold it to a friend of mine for $200 and threw in a can of ammo.

Universal sold a pistol version of the M1 Carbine, which was something of an abomination. I read the review for it in a Pistolero magazine.

 

[lmccrock]

Olympic Arms had a .30 carbine AR a few years back. Used M1 magazines. No longer made, but some are out there.

Lee

 

[amd6547]

When you can get a GI carbine from CMP for about $500, why get an AO/Kahr?
The M1 carbine makes a fine HD weapon as is, and the 30 carbine SP load is better than any pistol round.
It dosn't need the CX4 treatment, except for those who value appearance over function.