Well, it was my dad's, who passed from cancer a few weeks ago.

He purchased it probably around 30 years ago when they were more reasonably priced.

He really loved the gun and its history. He did refinish the stock a bit too dark for my liking, I don't think he meant it to be so dark. I would eventually like to refinish the wood myself.

I also have his old marlin 30-30 lever gun and a few others.

Anyway, it's mine now and when I look at it, I remember him. I don't really know much about the M1, but I've been studying up on it.

If anyone has any knowledge/advice/care tips they'd like to share, feel free.

Here's some photos:









Some cool old ammo boxes


M1, Marlin 30-30, and a .22

Have you noted who produced it? The manufacturer's stamping will be beneath the rear sight; the barrel may likewise be stamped just below the front sight.

At one time, I had six...but now just one.

take it out and shoot it, they are a lot of fun to shoot. if you need mags, the Korean ones I have work well, 100% well, and are cheap.
Barry

The serial number begins with 324. An online list says it’s from Saginaw Steering Gear (Grand Rapids). But also some connection to Irwin Pedersen.

This is the third M1 Carbine thread started within the last 24 hours.

That's a good thing.

They're some of my favorite plinkers, and a great piece of history.

Those are beautiful Rogue. I need to get mine looking like that.

Ha! I can’t believe I didn’t see the others!

Very nice.

Take a peek under the rear sight with a flashlight. The manufacturer should be stamped above the serial number and sometimes it’s not easy to see under those type 2 rear sight. If it’s an Irwin Pedersen, you got the rarest of the rare. If it’s a Saginaw, that’s still a less common make.

3,24x,xxx does fall in the original serial number range assigned to Irwin Pedersen, but I-P lost their contract partway through production, and the remainder of their serial range starting with 3,212,520 was turned over to Saginaw.

Saginaw did reuse some leftover I-P receivers in this 3.2 serial range, but most have Saginaw receivers.

Go ahead and check under the rear sight with a bright flashlight. Just look at the far left letters, which should be enough to tell. It will say either IRWIN-PEDERSEN or SAGINAW S'G'.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
If it’s an Irwin Pedersen, you got the rarest of the rare.

2nd rarest of the rare.

Rarest would be a "Commercial Controls" carbine. There are estimated to be just over 200 produced, and only a couple known examples out there today.

Interesting. That’s what I’m a bit unclear about.

The serial # is 324xxxx if you have any input on that.

I was editing my post as you posted. See above. It's assembled by Saginaw S'G', but may still have an Irwin-Pedersen receiver.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
The serial number begins with 324. An online list says it’s from Saginaw Steering Gear (Grand Rapids). But also some connection to Irwin Pedersen.

As I remember, Saginaw Steering Gear took over production from Irwin Pederson. They just weren't producing them in satisfactory numbers (and due to lots of hand-fitting, were coming in at higher cost than other producers). Saginaw came in, retooled, kept many IP employees, and used their existing stock of parts. A note I just read on the Carbine Collectors forum from a couple of years ago said IP continued to make stocks. IP carbine production was about 3500, Saginaw cranked out perhaps 600K.

https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl...all-arms-production/

An old NRA pub on the carbine shows Saginaw as having produced 517,212.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I was editing my post as you posted. See above. It's a Saginaw S'G'.

Cool, thank you Rogue. Couldn't tell what was under the rear sight.

Go ahead and check under the rear sight with a bright flashlight. You only need to see the first letter or two on the far left or far right, which you should be able to make out relatively easily.

All you need to tell is if it starts with SA or IR, or ends with G' or EN.

Even though it's assembled by Saginaw either way, having an I-P receiver would up the collectors value significantly.

Oh, and if it were me, I wouldn’t be in a huge rush to refinish the stock in any way. Not until you figure out what you’ve got there.

^^+1

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Oh, and if it were me, I wouldn’t be in a huge rush to refinish the stock in any way. Not until you figure out what you’ve got there.

He mentioned in the OP that his Dad had already refinished the stock. So the damage is already done there.

Neither of my stocks are refinished. I was just lucky enough to stumble across examples with good condition wood.

The top Inland carbine has a wartime walnut Saginaw stock.

The bottom Winchester carbine has a postwar birch Springfield Armory replacement stock.

If you're wanting to make your carbine look like mine, you can still find unissued/like new birch SA stocks and handguards online for reasonable prices. It won't be correct for a WW2 carbine, but they're generally very pretty, and they're still USGI. (The upgraded sights and bayonet lug barrel band were put on during an arsenal refurbishment after the war anyway, so it's not in WW2 configuration as it is.)

^^^ I had a Standard Products model with the flip rear sight and push button safety (and an import stamp), Marlin barrel with the birch stock. It was very nice looking just as the Winchester. Sold it to pay taxes one year. I kept the Rock-Ola though.

Sorry about your father. I’m glad he left you something you can cherish.

I’ve told this story here once before but now seems like a good time to repeat it.

I was in a gun store when a young kid came in and wanted to pawn an M1. His grandfathered had left it to him but he wanted buy some wheels for his car. The store lowballed him and offered him $150. He left disappointed.

I followed him out to the car and told him that if I could take a few pics, I would give him exactly whet it was worth if he wanted to sell it still.

I brought the pictures here to our experts and did the same as you, I asked what do we have here. As more and more people looked at it the price went up and up, $500 and then $800 and then maybe $1000, $1100. Turned out he had an unmolested WWII bring back that had never gone back to the armory for the bayo lug and such.

I told him what he had and that if he wanted to sell it, that’s what it was worth. Luckily, he came to right decision and decided to hold onto it. I don’t have anything from my grandfather’s time in WWII and I was happy for him.

Condolences. I lost my dad a couple years ago. You're never ready.

I have a couple carbines and IMO the oft-parroted advice to "get good GI mags" is bad advice. The mags were the weak link in this design and are usually not reliable. People like Larry Vickers have noted this also.
The new Korean mags have been much better for me. If you intend to shoot yours.

I've never had issues with my good condition/lightly used USGI 15 round mags.

The 30 rounds can be spotty. And many of the USGI mags on the market are heavily used and/or poorly stored.

I've had good luck with new production Korean KCI mags, and they can be found for as little as $10 each.

So if you can find some reasonably priced good condition USGI mags, go for it. But don't pay outrageous prices for them, and don't bother if they're in rough condition, since you'd be better off buying KCI mags in those cases.