M1 Carbine from Standard Products.....kind of

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Niner
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M1 Carbine from Standard Products.....kind of

Post by Niner » Tue Dec 07, 2010 12:19 pm

It's dangerous to have some mad money when you see the chance to add something you suddenly want to your collection. Happened to me recently. I saw a Standard Products M1 Carbine from WWII with good metal for a price that was about the average of the current over priced gun show offerings. And...a fool spending his money according to impulsive is written all over my history.... so I stepped right up and said it's mine.

The thing about M1 Carbines from WWII is that there were a lot of them..over six million. That's a lot. They are said to have been the most production of any US government arm ever. They should be priced like they were priced back in the late 50's and early 60's at somewhere around $20. But that was then and this is now. If anybody had bought a couple thousand back then they would be on easy street now....if they could sell them at current prices that average somewhere between six and seven hundred each.

In any case, I picked the Standard Products version because Standard Products only accounted for 4 percent of the total production, next to least...still a whoping 247160..... and made them from 5/43 to 4/44. They were only slightly ahead of Rockola in numbers produced. However, what you get isn't exactly a limited number by picking an assembly plant. The reason is that of the ten assembly plants each only made a few of their own parts and they all used sub contractors and most parts passed among the plants doing the assembly as supply and demand dictated. About the only thing Standard Products has going for it as a claim to source is the serial number.

What I got was ...well...a rifle that had had a long and well used life in some third world country. The stock is well bunged and scratched. The good news is that the metal is good and no rust. The parts are for the most part marked with WWII factory letters and all the parts seem to be there.

I'll get around to cleaning it up later and maybe shooting it tomorrow. By the way, there is a small CIA mark on the underside of the barrel. Remember way back when....before Century turned their legal notice into a glaring billboard?
Attachments
carbine.jpg
Have no idea what 14 A means
Have no idea what 14 A means
This doesn't belong..that serial number should be on an Inland. This is the only part I've found so far that is definately a replacement.  Unless...this is the only original part and the rest of the parts are replacements.
This doesn't belong..that serial number should be on an Inland. This is the only part I've found so far that is definately a replacement. Unless...this is the only original part and the rest of the parts are replacements.
Barrel by Underwood with 11/43 date. Note the R on the sight.  Rockola?
Barrel by Underwood with 11/43 date. Note the R on the sight. Rockola?
Inland sub contractor most of the time...so I read.
Inland sub contractor most of the time...so I read.
underside of pistol grip.  Have no idea what it means.
underside of pistol grip. Have no idea what it means.
Wish this government acceptance mark were more readable
Wish this government acceptance mark were more readable
Have no idea who made this part.  I-I doesn't show up on any list I've found.  Unless it is an H.
Have no idea who made this part. I-I doesn't show up on any list I've found. Unless it is an H.
The PI stands for Packared Mfg.  One of the subcontractors most noted as an Inland parts supplier.
The PI stands for Packared Mfg. One of the subcontractors most noted as an Inland parts supplier.
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Re: M1 Carbine from Standard Products.....kind of

Post by Niner » Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:12 pm

Took it apart and cleaned it. Bore looks good. Found Packard parts mark on the recoil plate. Found either an M or a W on the underside of the operating slide...the same one that has the different assembly plant serial number.
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PI on recoil plate.jpg
W  or M.jpg
bore2.jpg
bore.jpg
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Re: M1 Carbine from Standard Products.....kind of

Post by Niner » Wed Dec 08, 2010 11:31 am

Further thoughts.

The slide with the Inland serial number and the Winchester mark under it seems like it may be more kin to the rest of the parts than a Standard Product serial number on the receiver behind the sight. The Stock cartouche looks to be from Inland. The IO on the underside of the top grip is an Inland indication. In any case, a jumble of parts sources which is how these rifles are generally found ....according to what I've been reading on the internet...is how this one is.

The deep number cuts in the stock, complete with white paint, indicate something done by the country the US gave the rifle to. This rifle is likely to have been in Isreal.

There are some other things I'm trying to puzzle out.

I need to go see if it will shoot.
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catouche.jpg
IO stock.jpg
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Re: M1 Carbine from Standard Products.....kind of

Post by Niner » Wed Dec 08, 2010 3:18 pm

Took it for a test drive. After a few shots adjusting the sight ramp down and figuring out where to hold the front sight on the target at 50 yards it grouped pretty good for my not really eagle eyed ability. I was using factory ammo as I had shot up most of my reloads and was in too big a hurry to reload some.
Attachments
range.jpg
table.jpg
target.jpg
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Re: M1 Carbine from Standard Products.....kind of

Post by Niner » Fri Feb 21, 2020 4:11 pm

This is a post I made about my Standard Mfg., M1 Carbine I wanted to push to the top because if goes with another post I made earlier about M1 Carbines.
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