Universal .30 carbine first model

[Padre Dan]

i recently acquired this universal . 30 carbine ,called a first model or g.i. model s/n 14600 , making it the model that used the gi parts . not sure about the stock , could be a older Fajen or not sure of the inlay , if it was factory or perhaps done by a previous owner . by the serial number it is a very early model , in decent shape with a good bore . if anyone knows more about this model or the stock , just.post . as always thank you for your help Padre

[Padre Dan]

inland paratrooper, ibm and universal

[Edward Tinker]

I love the stock.
The early Universals are supposed to be good guns, as you said GI parts.

I like the 30 carbine

[Padre Dan]

ty, sir. took it completely down , it mostly has gi parts , very little wear , looking at the stock , not sure its not a g.i stock and someone , made the inlay and put it in the stock and over the sling cuts ,

[Padre Dan]

after disassembly and cleaning , i found nearly all of the internal parts were g,i and the slide was a m2

[rhuff]

I have an early Universal Carbine that I bought back in the early 1970s. As best I could tell back then, it contained all GI parts, including the stock. It ran 100% for me back then, and I haven't shot it since. I also have an Inland Carbine that I purchased before the Universal one. It has the flat bolt where the Universal has the later round bolt.

[Padre Dan]

universals early on like this one were mostly gi parts . s/n is 14600, best i can tell making it a early 60s . slide is m2, bolt i cant find any markings on , keep cleaning the bore , now its shiney .

[Eugen]

30 carbines are my favorite iron sighted range toys. I have several USGI variations. Congrats on your acquisition of a Universal model. I'd never want a commercial, non-USGI parted model, though. Im sure you'll have fun at the range with that shooter. I handload 30 carbine to make my range trips a little more economical. Keep us posted with a range report.

[Padre Dan]

ty, so far it has shot well, since i do some gun work , i have my own range art home , so far there are no issues . what i have found , so far , except for the receiver and a few other parts everything else is a mixture of g.i. parts . who ever did the inlay and modified the stock to semi cheek piece, even made a filler for the barrel band . even has a type 4 m2 slide . bore has cleaned up nicely . over the years i have sold and traded m1's only keeping three , two are in the pictures i posted . ty for your interest .

[Padre Dan]

going back and looking thru some of my viet nam bring backs and remembering we had several m1 and m2 carbines, that we used and Montanard s who we used as scouts and guides were issued issued them . the puches for the thirty round mags were made in country . after some digging i found several more magazines and pouchs , ty for your interest .

[Eugen]

The person who made that stock was quite talented. One has to appreciate the work folks put into customizing their cherished firearms. The downside is that it can narrow the market for others interested in owning it. Do you plan to keep it, and or use it as a range toy?

[Padre Dan]

its a keeper , already had several g.i m1 carbines , i have several g.i stocks that could go on it , but i like it just like it is . we have alot of ferral hogs here ,and this carbine is perfect for shooting them, another part of the story a good friend remembers his father who owned a saw mill and making the inlays of curly mapel for a stock and cabinet maker , who has since passed . he thinks the stock with the inlays were done sometimes in the early 70s , no idea if the stock was for this m1 carbine , but he remembers the stock and inlays . it to me has found a forever home with me .

[gunbugs]

I have an affinity for the little carbines as well. The M-2 is a lot of fun to shoot. A real bullet hose.

https://forum.lugerforum.com/attachm...1&d=1709439617

[Kiwi]

I do like the carbine,
Detest those post war ones with the metal top like the Plainfield Machine Co. and Universal.

[Padre Dan]

this early universal , is pretty much all gi with a few m2 parts , only part seems to be the receiver and it is even forged , why it is a keeper

[Padre Dan]

very nice collection , i see several of the early type ones . we had a good many m2 with us in viet nam , mostly for use by our Montanard trackers . the universal that i now own has several m2 marked parts , nearly everything is gi accept the receiver and it is forged . ty for posting you collection .

[big open]

Yes, I like the M1 Carbine myself and enjoy shooting my Inland Motor Div. piece. There are currently 3 G.I. carbines in my safe: Std. Prod., Inland Motor Div. & Saginaw S.G. The Inland M1 is my shooter since it has a replacement stock but all other parts are original G.I. I picked up a repro. M1 Carbine bayonet that fits very well on the Inland and looks great on it.
I reload for the shooter using 110 gr. hard cast lead bullets that function and shoot quite well in the Inland. At each gun show I attend I pick up at least 100 M1 Carbine cases and small rifle primers because I'm afraid before much longer they might not be available or cost prohibitive for myself anyway.

[Kiwi]

Originally Posted by big open

(snip)
I reload for the shooter using 110 gr. hard cast lead bullets that function and shoot quite well in the Inland. At each gun show I attend I pick up at least 100 M1 Carbine cases and small rifle primers because I'm afraid before much longer they might not be available or cost prohibitive for myself anyway.

Not to worry big open, .30 carbine food is being produced in multiple countries so you could buy some and reload cases after. Philippines (Armscor), Serbia (Previ Partisan /PPU), Mexico (Aquilla) Czech Republic (Sellier & Bellot). Cost is the only factor and competition keeps prices down. If the prices go up the Turks start producing.

[big open]

Kiwi ---- Good to know somebody out there is still cranking out M1 carbine ammo. I'm still concerned about the prices going up to the point where even the Turks' ammo could be too rich for my blood. I think I'll just continue to pick up components at gun shows and crank out my own rounds. Has anyone else who reloads used hard cast lead bullets to feed their carbine?

[gunbugs]

My first carbine I got back in about 1980, an Inland. I traded a 1903 Springfield for it. It came with 2 milk crates full of hard cast reloads, probably in excess of 3,000 rounds. I shot all of that up over the course of the first summer. I'm pretty sure I'm still using some of that brass, but I just use jacketed bullets these days.