Korean War Era M1 Carbine

[awalker1829]

Some pics of my most recent acquisition:






Can’t see the manufacturer name in the photo as the Type 2 sight covers it-it’s Inland.




Barrel is marked Inland Division General Motors 11-43.







Based on the markings, this appears to be a correct Korean War era M1 carbine. The barrel and receiver look to be an original match as the s/n date range and barrel production date correspond to a late 1943 production date. This gun appears to be an early import, as the barrel has a nearly microscopic import stamp hidden under the hand guard and stock. All I could make out was the importer’s location: Oyster Bay, New York.

The only visible cartouche on the stock is the crossed cannons. The wood appears to be in very good condition-no signs of interior damage. Screws look nice and sharp-no real signs of damage. The gun was dry as a bone, so I gave it a good dose of Lubriplate before going to the range today. Fed it a box of Russian Wolf ammo-it ate the whole box with no trouble at all. Zero malfunctions.

I got the rifle from Jim Sharrah’s Frontier Gun Shop here in Tucson for $1k. Jim’s well known in the regional collector community. Genuinely nice guy and a real old fashioned dealer. Only real stuff makes it into his shop-no reproductions or fakes. If you’re looking for antique guns, he’s the man to see.

This weekend was the first gun show of the year here, I checked it out-okay but very few military surplus guns there. I did buy an extra mag for the carbine.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Oyster Bay, out on Long Island, some pricy real estate out that way, not were I would look for an import company. Theodor Roosevelts home Sagamore Hill is there, a National Park now, some cool displays in the museum, and I recommend the house tour. Avianca flight 52 crashed there in '90. Nice carbine, does it have the round M2 bolt? Some of these were field converted by the USMC late in WW2.

[awalker1829]

Evidently there was an importer that did business under the name Oyster Bay Industries that was in Oyster Bay, New York. The bolt is a flat top version. Evidently they were importing the carbines from China. Story was that they were N Korean captures that China was liquidating on the arms market.

Sagamore Hill is another place to visit on my list. Hopefully it isn’t getting trashed by the riff raff during the shutdown like Joshua Tree National Monument has been. If the shutdown continues much longer, there might not be any Joshua Trees left. Photos taken recently have shown a number of Joshua Trees have been badly damaged or cut down.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Oyster Bay LI isn't the sort of place were you find much riff raff, very high tax bracket area. Sagamore hill has full time staff who live on the grounds so it isn't left alone. Why aren't concerned citizens quietly watching Joshua tree? Nothing overt, but when tree damage is seen happening.....stop it be any means necessary.