As a birthday present to myself and true to the spirit of Rec.guns, I placed an order for a Fulton Armory Service Grade M1 Carbine. I had always wanted one of these baby brothers to the M1 Garand and when a friend let me handle his Korean conflict prize, the next step was obvious.
The M1 Carbine went through a rapid development with multiple variations during its 38 monthes of production (June 1942 to August 1945). 6,117,827 carbines were produced during the period by 9 major manufacturers utilizing multiple subcontractors all of whom had to meet strigent milspec standards. All carbines were thoroughly inspected prior to acceptance into military service. Because of the variety of carbines produced, I am reporting on the specifications of the Service Grade M1 Carbine available from Clint McKee at Fulton Armory.
The stock is a new linseed oil finished, nicely grained walnut stock with an "I" oiler cut and a "high" wood forend (ie part of the op rod is covered by the wood of the forend). It look right at home on this 50+ year old veteran of many foreign conflicts. The aroma of the linseed oil is .... just right for this little one.
My receiver is a beatifully refinished/reparkerized National Postal Meter Co. one. 413,017 of these were produced. It features a rear aperture sight that is elevation adjustable for 100, 200, 250 and 300 yard zeros using military ball ammo ( 30 cal 110 gr FMJ ball ammo with a muzzle velocity of 1970 FPS.) It adjusts for windage in 1 MOA adjustments via a windage knob on the right side of the sight. This site was a later M1 Carbine improvement.
The bolt, op rod, trigger assembly, and barrel assemblies are of assorted manufacturers but all are beautifully restored/reparkerized with like new fit and function. They all are 100% USGI with appropriate proof and acceptance stamps present. The bolt is the round variant initially introduced for the M2 (selective fire version) but appropriate for all M1 Carbines (it is an improvement over the initial flat version). The trigger deservers special praise. With the years, M1 Carbine triggers frequently get quite sloppy. This trigger is certainly not a rival for a match grade M1 trigger, but it is crisp with minimal overtravel and moderate weight (5 to 6 # is my estimate, not measured.)
The barrel is billed as an excellent quality USGI barrel ..... but I wondered before I received, inspected, and fired it for accuracy, how excellent can it be after 50+ years of service. Amazingly, the barrel bore is bright and shiny with sharp rifling. The bore is not counterbored. The muzzle crown is pristeen. AND THE ACCURACY !!! At 100 yards, the little one produces 3.25" 10 shot groups consistently with Winchester USA generic ball ammo. This is really good for an M1 Carbine and speaks to the care and skill that Clint uses in rebuilding, refinishing and hand fitting these historic pieces into like new condition.
Overall, my M1 Carbine is a little beauty ! It is fun personified to shoot. It is the perfect center-fired rifle for your son or in my case, grandson to learn the advancing fundamentals of marksmenship with. I even think this may be the cute little rifle that will entice my wife out to the range with me .... Family Fun !!! Clint has turned back the clock for the M1 Carbine, it is really like new and that is amazing.
Try it and you will be well pleased. A satisfied customer, again.