CMP M1 Carbine Question

[Doug S]

I picked up a M1 carbine from a friend for $500. He purchased it from a person who said they got it from CMP. Anyway, it is a Winchester mixmaster. It's in pretty nice shape overall, and was perfectly reliable at the range. The only thing that disappointed me is that it doesn't have a matching barrel. Instead it has an Underwood barrel. I posted this on a couple of other sites, but haven't received specific comments on the following.

My questions are this, is it common for the CMP rack grades to have a mismatched barrel, and is it likely the CMP actually changed the barrel, or more likely it was done sometime while the gun was still in service?? How much will this devalue the gun if I decide to trade/sell at some point? Like I said otherwise it is a nice gun. Nicer than my matching receiver/barrel Rockola that I purchased on Gunbroker.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[amd6547]

Most wartime used carbines were rebuilt after the war. This often included re-barreling. Underwood barrels are said to be top drawer, as they used button rifling. My CMP Inland has an Underwood barrel, and is very accurate.
$500 is a great deal if you got a CMP Winchester.

 

[T. O'Heir]

99.99% of all carbines were arsenal rebuilt just after W.W. II. Weapons techs did not and do not care who made a part. They just grab whatever's in the bin and install it. Very, very few of the so called 'originals' were made that way by somebody with too much time and money.
"...is it common for the CMP rack grades..." Yep. They're all "mix masters". Doesn't devalue your carbine at all. If you opt to sell it, you'll easily get more than $500.

 

[Doug S]

Thanks for the info. I do appreciate it, and I'm feeling much better about my purchase after reading the above comments.

Here are some pictures.

 

[dakuda]

In addition to the above stated information, the CMP will do a search through their records to see if the rifle really did come from them. I think it costs about $25.

 

[Doug S]

In addition to the above stated information, the CMP will do a search through their records to see if the rifle really did come from them. I think it costs about $25.

Interesting. I was looking at their site, and didn't notice this. Is there a particular section of the CMP site where I should be looking for information on this topic? I'll keep looking, but if you know the specifics I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Thanks for the info.

 

[dakuda]

From the CMP forum:

For those that are not aware:

The CMP will research a serial number to see if it had been sold by the DCM or the CMP. Research often involves going through dozens of crates of old records, logs and registers. Our computer files begin on 1 Oct 1996. All earlier files require manual research. We do have many of the earlier files, but we know they are incomplete. Our files do not cover all the millions of rifles that passed through the US military over the past 100 years.

We require a letter request and we will respond by letter stating if we found anything, and if so - when we sold it and what model it was when sold. We will not identify original purchaser.

We cannot perform this service for free. Our pre-1996 records are not on computer. We receive dozens of requests each week and it takes several hours of research sometimes just to verify that we have no records for a particular serial number.

Charge is $25 per serial number, whether we find anything or not. Our success rate in finding a record is less than 5% of the numbers researched.

If interested, please send letter request, with payment to CMP, Serial Number Research, 1401 Commerce Blvd. Anniston, AL 36207.

http://www.odcmp.org/new_forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=64992&SearchTerms=rifle,records

I am not sure if they have it anywhere on the regular site.

 

[Doug S]

Information much appreciated.

Thanks again,
Doug