Quality Hardware &Machine Co. ~ M1 Carbine ~ .30 Carbine

In 1940-41, with war clouds gathering around the world, the US Army put out a request for a new light rifle to supplement the M1911 pistol for issue to certain rear echelon troops, such as drivers, clerks, or artillery units. Winchester provided the winning proposal, built around the .30 caliber carbine cartridge designed by David "Carbine" Williamsa former moonshiner turned inventorpushing a 110-grain bullet to 1900 feet per second. The result was a cartridge with handgun-like recoil with rifle-like rangeeffectively, the first intermediate rifle cartridges! The .30-cal M1 Carbine was adopted and standardized in October of 1941. From 1941 to 1945 some 6.1 million carbines were produced by ten prime contractors, of which Quality H.M.C. was number eight, producing an estimated 359,666 M1 Carbinesless than 6% of all M1 Carbines built for the war effort. It was eventually issued not only to rear echelon units as originally intended, but also to many officers, NCO's, various support troops, and artillery units. Front line troops, such as infantry and airborne units, used it extensively and it saw heavy use in both the European and Pacific theaters in WWII and continued services through the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. The M1 Carbine features a fixed front sight post matched with a rear sight that can be flipped 90-degrees between 150- and 300-yard apertures. The rifle is cycled by a simple blowback action and feeds from 15-round standard box magazinesthe magazine capacity would later be increased with modern aftermarket options, including 20- and 30-round versions. The carbine has an 18" barrel and fixed oil-finished plain walnut stock. Some later examples would include M1-A1 "paratrooper" models with folding wire stocks as used by US Airborne soldiers and various accounts from Vietnam suggest that MACV-SOG green berets would often modify the guns with shorter barrels, cut-off stocks, and added pistol grips for a compact jungle-fighting weapon. Later variants would include the aforementioned M1-A1, M2, T3, and T4 models. This is a fine example of a complete and original production M1 Carbine, whose serial dates it to the June-October 1943 production period. It features a Quality H.M.C. receiver and the correct P-marked Rock-Ola barrel. The Q-RMC markings on the stock and handguard indicate a proper and standard Rock Island Arsenal rebuild. An arsenal cartouche is also visibly stamped on the stock. The A.I. stamp on the magazine refers to the Inland Division of General Motors, and it appears to be an original 15-round GI-issued magazine. There is even an olive drab canvas sling in its proper place on the gun. This gun is in remarkably good shape for its age! There is no significant rust or damage visible on it and the bore is clean and bright. The handguard does have the typical, very slight rattle to it, but it is in fine shape. The condition and authenticity of this gun should make it highly desirable for any collector of vintage military weapons. This M1 Carbine is not sold with a case or box, but includes an olive drab green canvas rifle sling.