This exceptional 1943 built Quality Hardware Manufacturing Corp M1 carbine is in Very Good condition, showing light signs of prior use and handling. The wood, finish, and bore are in very well preserved, as our many high resolution photos show. This semi-auto rifle was produced in 1943, and has no magazine or sling included.
The M1 carbine is an interesting little weapon. It was originally designed to replace service handguns for second-line troops. The idea was that a compact and lightweight shoulder arm firing ammunition of moderate power would have more effective range and be much simpler to train users to fire accurately than the standard .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol or revolver. The M1 carbine fires the .30 caliber cartridge, which was developed by the Winchester company. It has a straight-case, rimless design with a round-nose bullet weighting 110 grains (7.1 gram) and a muzzle velocity of 1860 fps (~ 570 m/s).
While the M1 carbine cartridge can be called an "intermediate," the lack of muzzle energy and round-nosed bullet limited the effective range to about 200 meters. Still, it had much longer range than any pistol round of its time, along with moderate recoil.
Many companies submitted their designs for US Army trials, but Winchester won the contract. The design of the Winchester carbine is often attributed to David "Carbine" Williams, who was the developer of the gas system. Some sources claim that this carbine was born as a spare-time hunting carbine project of engineers at Winchesters' workshop, and when the military request appeared, this design was resurrected and adopted for intended use. In any case, Winchester began delivering its first carbines to the US Government in July 1942.
Other manufacturers were also selected to produce the M1 carbine, such as Inland Manufacturing Division of the General Motors Corp., Underwood-Elliot-Fisher Co., Saginaw Steering Gear Division of the General Motors Corp., National Postal Meter Co., Quality Hardware & Machine Co., International Business Machines Corp (IBM), Standard Products Co., and Rock-Ola Co. From 1942-1945, more than 6 million carbines were manufactured. Since 1944, only Winchester and Inland continued to manufacture M1 carbines. After the end of World War II, production continued for some time, and M1 carbines and their variations saw some serious action as a first-line weapon not only during the war but also during the Korean and early stages of Vietnam War. M1 carbines were also widely exported by the US Government to numerous friendly nations, mostly in Southeast Asia.
M1 carbines saw limited use in post-war West Germany and France. It should be noted that M1 carbines are still manufactured by various small US companies for civilian sales, using both military surplus and newly made parts. Large numbers of surplus M1 carbines were also sold at civilian markets in the post-war period.
- Overall Condition: Very Good condition showing light signs of prior use and handling
- Bore Condition: Excellent
- Gun Type: Semi Auto Rifles
- Manufacturer: Quality Hardware Mfg corp
- Model: M1 carbine
- Caliber: .30
- What’s Included: Rifle