'War Baby' just in from the CMP

[Derek O.]

As many of you know the CMP has just started selling M1 carbines, they have a mix of wartime and postwar parts of course. This batch is just in from Italy.

I ordered an Inland - rifle arrived yesterday.
To my surprise it was paired with a mid-war Inland Type II low-wood stock w/ matching 2 rivet handgaurd, faint crossed cannons, fitted with its original barrel. Flat bolt to boot.
I guess I had luck on my side.
I am almost done bringing it back to its textbook, glamorous, July 1943 glory.
I will post 'after' photos this week.

[Derek O.]

Last for now..
They cosmo'd the heck out of these!

[Gene]

Derek,

Sweet carbine, how much did it run you? Are you going to restore it back to its 1943 configuration (Type 1 barrel band, flip rear sight, push button safety, low wood stock, etc) or just clean it up a bit? I wish CMP would sell USGI .30 carbine ammo; PMC and Sellier & Bellot work fine but jeebus its getting pricey.

Gene

[Derek O.]

Gene,
I'm going type 2 barrel band, flip rear sight, push button safety, and low wood stock.

My ammo of choice is the USGI LC71, got a stockpile, Im not sure what that's running now.

[r.blue]

Thanks for posting. I've been interested in how these are going to look. How much do they cost or are there grade levels that you can purchase?
R.Blue

[Derek O.]

R. Blue,
There is only one grade that I know of. They are pretty cheap but it all comes down to luck of the draw as to what you will get parts/era wise.
I have always found CMP rifles to be fun projects
The finish/wood is gorgeous on the carbines under all the cosmo.

[Derek O.]

.

[ChrisCook]

CMP War Baby

CMP received approx 32k rifles from Italy. The first batch was all the sorted Inlands. They expected to have them for quite awhile, and began accepting Mail Orders on May 1st. Guess What? As of May 18th they are no longer accepting Mail Orders, and have pulled all the Carbines from the North and South stores to meet existing orders. The next batch will probably be around September...they have all the next "group" of makers to go through. They are going quick. I think I got my order into them on time, but haven't had a response yet, although they have an extreme backlog. Sorry R Blue and others, seems like the Inlands are gone... Chris...
BTW....all the above info can be found on odcmp.com

[Derek O.]

Chris, you are right - these things already flew off the shelves!

I've got a few parts to go but maybe Ill just leave it like this and add some USMC webbing.
A pretty fun project for a price that doesnt break the bank.
I refinished the stock with my method that matches the military look exactly and of course boiled off all that sticky/greasy cosmo. A pretty fun weekend project.
7/8- '43 Inland Div. reciever matched with 6-'43 Inland Div. bbl (with a great TE).
Thanks for letting me share my project.

[Derek O.]

2
I've left its late slide and safety on for now.
No more suitable spare parts down in the parts box.

[Derek O.]

3

[Gene]

Looking good! Does the barrel show any evidence of the postwar barrel band? If not, even better

[Derek O.]

Looking good! Does the barrel show any evidence of the postwar barrel band? If not, even better

Thanks, Gene.
It shows just the slightest bit, (that tiny round spot they always wear into the top of the bbl at the end of the bayo lug) other than that, nothing.

[jdbwoodsman]

Turn the rear sight around, it's in backward. There's probably a 'S' on the flip sight for 'Small' side and that's the left side of the receiver. Always remove from left to right and install right to left because they are directional and you have it in the wrong way....when you correct it, it may not be tight because the dovetail gets altered just a bit when a sight is installed backward, but maybe it will be fine too?? Just remember for the future, the 'S' on the flip sight goes in first and when installed properly is on the left side of the receiver.

[Derek O.]

Turn the rear sight around, it's in backward. There's probably a 'S' on the flip sight for 'Small' side and that's the left side of the receiver. Always remove from left to right and install right to left because they are directional and you have it in the wrong way....when you correct it, it may not be tight because the dovetail gets altered just a bit when a sight is installed backward, but maybe it will be fine too?? Just remember for the future, the 'S' on the flip sight goes in first and when installed properly is on the left side of the receiver.

Thanks, you are correct.
The site is a repro, so it does not have the S stamp, I simply filed it to proper fit - on top of that they assembled the thing wrong to begin with, so I just had to make do. But it was free so beggers cant be choosers.