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M1 Carbine - Winchester Sporter

rballi
Looking for info on an M1 Carbine I just traded into. I would like to know the approx mfg date of a Winchester with a SN in the 6.5 million range.

OK, now for the good or bad part. It has been sporterized. The bolt handle, receiver & barrel have been polished blued, the bolt has been jeweled, the front sight removed, and a 2.5X post recticle scope has been mounted on the receiver in the sight dovetail, and it has a mannlicher checkered monter carlo type stock. It's a really nice piece. Should I leave it alone ant enjoy it as it is, or put it back together in GI configuration and buy a commercial to put the sporterized stuff on it?

I know it would be worth more if original, but this is a nice job of sporterizing. About how much would it be worth in this condition?

Are M1 carbines typically sporterized?
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • CountryGunsmith
    Depending on how aggressively the receiver was polished, it does not sound like a viable candidate for restoration.

    Value is strictly whatever somebody would pay for an M-1 Carbine 'Sporter,' I'd imagine about $250 tops. Definitely a limited market for that one, and it would be the first I've seen like that in 22 years of fulltime gun business.

    What the heck, enjoy it. Look into getting a 5.7mm Johnson conversion for it as well!

    FFL Dealer, Class 07/02 Mfg
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  • rballi
    Well, no opinions yet, so I will add another question.

    What type of accuracy and effective range should I expect from this gun? I'm guessing Max range is 100yds. Since it is originally a battle type rifle, I'm not expecting MOA groups or anything. Is a 5 shot 3" group a good benchmark? What ammo is available & recommended?
    Is about a 50lb 4 legger the max you would take a confident shot at?
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  • nmyers
    The Gunsmith is right; it is beyond restoration at any reasonable price.

    In the 50s & 60s there were articles in several gun magazines describing how to sporterize them; they were inexpensive, and few people thought of them as collectible militaria. There were several attempts to convert them to wildcat cartridges; the 5.7mm Johnson was the most successful, and even that disappeared quickly.

    When the M1 carbine was adopted during WWII, it was considered a substitute (and improvement upon) the pistol. Never considered a "battle rifle" like the M1 rifle, it was designed for use again enemy troops at close to medium range. Ballistics are not far from those of the .357 magnum, so 2 & 4 legged predators are about the only thing that you would want to shoot with the M1 carbine. Practical range is limited to 100 yds; bullet drop is too great after that. I thought that I was fortunate to get a 6" group at 100 yds., but there is a wide variance in muzzle tightness of new USGI barrels.

    Neal
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  • rballi
    Here are some pics. Sorry for the poor lighting, I was in a hurry this morning.

    These pics don't do the gun justice, so I'll take better & post later.

    http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RgDjAuUTFKB4z6Q0liEG0HdIuwytdsBsIfHQeOjsXTIPXmk5iHlDtfqnoCApm!GDLwXPKE*XqqMMXmpROVBxbCxgJa8yiEgy7vdavmFMbZc/MVC-011F4.JPG

    http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RgAAAOYTUqB4z6Q0liEG0Cvo5oVOe8Wt4AcUojf4JdpgPHh7AC5ps7oMZ9ld1WoV4qeDlPJGXzABOy0gxudhsMwOpq811SxzGwcdwrNi1pE/MVC-012F4.JPG

    http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RgDjAuQT3J94z6Q0liEG0AnDIcMNR!g80w1BWq7*vseu4AoMGt29Z!TY71XHt5zWOqIdC9r!eJBpMkqBEd5VH*kNmOGjVr6pEPeQfhm15k8/MVC-013F1.JPG
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  • seamus
    Never mind the rifle, how much do you want for the white jalopy? JUST KIDDING. I have owned and loved several original GI M1 Carbines, and still have my favorite. My advice is similar to that above - don't put money into your current M1 Carbine, because you can never bring it back to its truely original condition. If you want a collectible, buy on. And use your present rifle as a shooter. Happy shooting
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