The M1A1 version of the “U.S. Carbine, Cal. .30” has become one of the most desirable and collected World War II U.S. infantry arms. As prices and interest have skyrocketed, Auto-Ordnance has faithfully recreated the iconic “paratrooper” carbine.
The new M1A1 has early carbine features, such as a flat-top bolt, a flip sight, a push-button safety (l.) and a Type 2 barrel band with no bayonet lug. The side-folding stock is hinged at the top and bottom of the wood pistol grip.
On the morning of June 6, 1944, Lt. Col. James
H. Batte of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion landed on Utah Beach
in Normandy, France. Moving inland as the beachhead expanded at the
beginning of “The Great Crusade” to liberate occupied Europe, Batte
and the 87th continued until “about noon on D-Day when a large number
of gliders of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division carrying men,
artillery, ammunition and various other supplies arrived in support
of these two divisions and the 4th Infantry Division already on the
ground.”
Batte described the thick trees and hedgerows where he and his men
took up position, which was also a drop zone for follow-on American
Airborne forces. “One glider landed a few yards distant from my position
and I observed a 75 mm artillery piece, which had been secured in
the tail area, break loose on impact with a hedgerow and spew men
and cargo out of the front, thereby killing or wounding many personnel
aboard. Upon close examination, I found that all the personnel had
been killed. I unstrapped a carbine from a paratrooper’s leg and
carried it throughout the ensuing five campaigns in the ETO until
VE Day—8 May 1945.” Batte, later a brigadier general, carved his
initials in the stock as “many individuals wish to have such a short
length 30 caliber rifle that would fit nicely between the two front
seats of my jeep.”
That is about as good as “provenance” gets. With modern military
arms it is virtually impossible to link a specific gun with a specific
battle, let alone to an Airborne gun on D-Day. So when the gavel
came down at the James D. Julia Auction in March, Batte’s M1A1 carbine,
serial number 45457, made by the Inland Division of General Motors
with a barrel date of “6-43,” the “Holster Assembly, Parachutists”
(known as a carbine “jump scabbard”) and supporting documents, the
bid was $20,125. It was the highest realized to date for a U.S. M1A1
carbine.
During World War II, 6,221,220 M1 carbines were made, but only approximately
140,000 of them were M1A1s, making them comparatively uncommon. The
only difference between an M1A1 and an M1 is the former’s wire folding
stock and pistol grip. The Batte gun was obviously an aberration
relating to a specific historical artifact. To check the state of
original M1A1 carbines on the collectors’ market, I consulted arms
historian and U.S. martial arms dealer Scott Duff. “The days of the
$400 gun show carbine are over,” he told me. “Most M1A1s will be
in the $3,500 to $5,500 range, depending on condition and the number
of original parts ... . And I might be low there.”
Replicating An Icon
At such prices, the M1A1 has moved out of the range of all but the
well-heeled shooter, thus making it an ideal gun to replicate.
As I related in “The Return of The M1 Carbine” (April 2006, p.
50), Kahr Arms found itself in the classic firearm business after
first acquiring Auto-Ordnance and making new-production semi-automatic
“Tommy Guns,” then delving into new M1 carbine manufacture under
the Auto-Ordnance name.
At the end of that article, I wrote that an authentic replica of
the M1A1 was in the works. I’m pleased to report the M1A1 is in full
production, and the gun was well worth the wait—a blend of historical
authenticity and practicalities of modern manufacturing.
Like the original, this is a gas-operated, semi-automatic
.30 Carbine rifle that uses a short-stroke piston system and a reciprocating
operating handle. Overall length is 35 1/2", and the gun weighs
5 1/2 lbs., unloaded. With the stock folded, it measures 25 3/8" long.
The operating handle is on the right, and its bolt can be locked
open by retracting the operating slide, lining up its locking pin
with a recess on the receiver’s top right, and pressing it down.
Auto-Ordnance is in the business of making new guns, and the entire
American-made M1A1 is of new manufacture. The receiver starts as
a 4140 steel investment casting finished on the firm’s CNC machines.
The operating slide and trigger guard assembly are also investment
castings finished by CNC.
The two-lug bolt, with its extractor in the right lug, is the early
flat-top type, and the plunger ejector is on the inside of the recessed
bolt face. The Green Mountain barrel has four-groove rifling with
a 1:20" right-hand twist. The blade front sight and protective
ears are retained by a crosspin. Depressing the push-button magazine
release, located on the front right of the trigger guard assembly,
allows the detachable-box magazine to drop free. The barrel band
has no bayonet lug and is the narrow Type 2 with the front sling
swivel and vertical retaining screw on the left. The rear sight is
the early non-adjustable, flip type with two heights, one for 100
yds. and the other for 300 yds. It’s dovetailed into the receiver
and is drift-adjustable for windage.
The top handguard is of the later “two-rivet” pattern, and the fore-end
is of “low-wood” configuration with 0.45" of clearance for the
operating rod. It seems Auto-Ordnance found out what the Ordnance
Dept. did during World War II—the “high wood” slots break.
“A Shortened Version”
According to Larry Ruth in the finest reference on carbines to date,
War Baby!, the Ordnance Department’s Col. Rene R. Studler was asked
to meet an immediate need for a shortened, more compact version
of the already diminutive carbine for Airborne troops in early
1942, not long after its adoption.
Springfield Armory, Inland and Winchester worked together on developing
a folding-stock carbine. By March 1942, a design submitted by Paul
Hamish, an engineer at Inland, was prototyped and tested. The Ordnance
Dept. asked for a less expensive version on April 10, 1944. It was
recommended for standardization on April 29, 1942, approved on May
12, and, again according to Ruth, “first released for shipment” on
June 7, 1942. The only wartime M1A1 manufacturer was the Inland Division
of General Motors. M1A1 carbines were used by American paratroopers
in every major jump after adoption, including, Husky (Sicily), Overlord
(Normandy), Dragoon (Southern France), Market Garden (Holland) and
Varsity (the Rhine Crossing).
The stock has a cast steel buttplate that rotates 90 degrees when opened under tension from a mousetrap spring.
Getting The Stock Right
With the M1 carbine already replicated and in production, Auto-Ordnance—which
made “AO”-marked receivers for IBM during World War II—turned its
attention to recreating the M1A1’s folding stock. It is a skeletonized
side-folding design that tapers in its center for attachment of
a leather-wrapped, flat-steel cheekpiece.
The American walnut stock is essentially cut off behind the recoil
plate, and a wood pistol grip has been added with mounting points
at top and bottom for the wire stock’s hinges. The grip shape is
of the later type, meaning it is dished out below the trigger guard
for better ergonomics. There are times you don’t want to be too much
like the original, and the fit of the pistol grip’s rear to the stock
is actually better than any original I’ve examined.
A large screw passes vertically through the top mounting plate all
the way through the left side of the grip and threads into the bottom
cap and plate assembly, which doubles as the rear sling recess. The
two hinges, the bottom of which is lugged, are welded to the rods
behind the hinge—just like the original. Tension is provided by a
spring between the base of the grip and the bottom cap. Like the
original, it doesn’t lock in the open or closed position; instead
it relies on the two lugs of the bottom hinge and the spring to keep
the stock extended.
The blued steel cheekpiece’s left is covered where it meets a right-handed
shooter’s face and is held in place by three steel rivets left in
the white (some of the originals were painted to match the leather
cheekpiece). The plate’s right has an integral clamp for the cylindrical
oiler. At the rear, the two tabs of the wire stock mate with dual
recesses in the front face of the cast steel buttplate, which has
aggressive checking on its rear. A blue mousetrap style spring on
the two ends of the wire rotates the buttplate 90 degrees, the proper
position for shooting.
The stock is recessed on its left side where the cheekpiece folds
against it and, just like G.I. M1A1s, the side of the buttplate will
dent and ding the stock where the two pieces meet when folded. As
unsightly as it is, it’s authentic.
The only complaint was the synthetic material substituted for leather
on the cheekpiece’s left side. The originals, according to Larry
Ruth, were covered in “2- to 3-ounce leather, tanned and well formed.”
Auto-Ordnance’s engineers are working on finding and forming the
appropriate leather, which will be incorporated into later production.
These guns are not intended to deceive anyone into thinking they
are originals. No, the new M1A1s offer an honest, authentic, practical
replica of a great and scarce American gun to today’s shooters and
collectors—new made and with a warranty. It’s a shootable slice of
the past, well rendered, reliable and fun.
AUTO-ORDNANCE
M1A1 CARBINE
Manufacturer: Auto-Ordnance Corp. (Dept. AR) 130
Goddard Memorial Drive, Worcester, MA 01603;
(508) 795-3919; www.tommygun.com
Caliber: .30 Carbine
Action Type: gas-operated,
semi-automatic, center-fire rifle
Receiver: investment cast 4140 steel
Finish: Parkerized
Barrel: 17 3/4", 4140 steel
Rifling: four-groove, 1:20" RH twist
Magazine: detachable box, 10-,
15- (tested) or 30-round capacities
Sights: protected blade front;
two-position peep rear, drift
adjustable for windage
Trigger Pull: two-stage,
non-adjustable, 8 lbs., 10 ozs.
Stock: American walnut and
tubular steel, folding: length of pull, 13 3/8"; drop at heel,
1 1/4";
drop at comb, 1"
Overall Length:
35 5/8" (25 3/8" folded)
Weight: 5 lbs., 8 ozs.
Accessories: manual, trigger lock, one 15-round magazine
Suggested Retail Price: $1,030
At The Range
The Auto-Ordnance M1A1 performed just as anticipated. The comb is
a bit low—as were the originals—so you need to get your head down.
I decided to go “old school” and use the iron sights for the accuracy
portion of the evaluation at 50 yds. Groups were fired off a Caldwell
BR front and two rear bags for minimal movement off the bench. A good
riflescope likely would have tightened them up, but I elected to stick
with the nostalgic streak of the little gun.
Load selection was limited, as Winchester Ammunition was out of its
110-gr. hollow-point and full-metal-jacket loads, so accuracy testing
was done with 110-gr. ball ammunition from Federal’s American Eagle,
Magtech and Aguila (the latter was secured from Old Western Scrounger).
Accuracy was quite good from the bench and also in a series of practical-style
drills. Just in case you didn’t know, shooting a carbine is as fun—if
not more so—as it is nostalgic.
A minor complaint is the depth of the recess for
the operating slide stop pin on the right side of the receiver. The
original guns had a deeper and more oblong cut than the sample. Also,
the trigger pull was heavy with little take up and an 8-lb., 10-oz.
break. Two other Auto-Ordnance M1 carbines on hand broke in the 6-lb.
range.
—Mark A. Keefe, IV
Auto-Ordnance’s
Tactical M1 Carbine
Put down the drill and step away from the all-original Saginaw or
Winchester M1 Carbine! I know it’s a little worn, but that wear is
honest. The pitting on that barrel was earned fighting through the
muck on Tarawa and Iwo Jima. That chunk out of the stock might just
have been a butt stroke to the enemy during the Bulge. That’s American
history in your hands, and in many collectors’ opinions, and mine,
it’s a piece of Americana that should remain preserved.
The problem, of course, is that the M1 Carbine, and its .30 Carbine
chambering, are simply too fun to not accessorize. A handy platform
little 
larger than the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22, the carbine begs for
aftermarket stocks, Picatinny rails and optics.
Thankfully, Auto-Ordnance’s AOM160 provides an excellent alternative.
Billed as the “Tactical Folding Stock Model,” the 160 features a Choate
folding stock complete with three sling attachment points. We traded
out the ventilated steel handguard and installed an Ultimak scout-type
Picatinny rail, and there are models available to fit any M1 Carbine,
old or new. An Aimpoint Micro H-1 red dot rounded out our upgrades,
delivering a gun equally capable for plinking, home defense or possibly
even shorter-range three-gun competition. Add in the Cor-Bon DPX loaded
with 100-gr. Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullets, and now you have a hunting
rifle capable of fitting completely within a large pack. The possibilities
are essentially limitless.
Best of all, if you love the M1 Carbine like I do, you don’t have to
hack, drill or alter a gun that possibly saw action in World War II,
Korea and Vietnam. And that alone makes the AOM160 worthy of consideration.
—Chad Adams,
Managing Editor
