.30 CALIBER WHAT?

[LockenLoad]

By all means, find a reputable dealer that will give you an honest appraisal of the entire lot. I remember when my grandfather passed, mom was executrix and took his entire collection (quite extensive) to a local pawn shop to sell for pennies on the dollar. She nearly ended up in jail for her trouble as some of the items in his collection weren't exactly kosher for possession by general population.

As to the Carbine in question - as someone else posted, look on the left-hand side of the receiver (viewed from the top) and make sure it doesn't have a selector switch (little nub sticking up between the stock and receiver). The rifle has the pot-belly stock and many other later features common to the M2 version, it is very simple to convert an M1 to M2 spec and conversions weren't always marked, you don't want to be shopping an unpapered M2 around as this could result in an unplanned stay at Club Fed.

thank you for looking out for me, I sure don't want any trouble with the feds, the gunsmith who has it knew my uncle who died and left it to my aunt, she has instructed me to get all the guns out of her house( he burnt himself on 70% of his body he was 82 and trying to dispose of his reloading gun powder hence her anti gun stance at the moment), my other uncle is the sheriff of the county, and the smith knows him as well, my grandfather used to be town police chief, I am trying to do everything legal, I have no paper on any of his guns. Maybe I should go get it back and put it in the closet, you scared me. I am in the process of getting my class 3 for my SBR.

[dcs12345]

I would go over to the forum at the CMP www.odcmp.com They guys there will know a lot about your carbine and will help you out. There is also a great surplus rifle forum at surplusrifle.com (who would guess that surplusrifle.com would have great info about surplus rifles.)

Surplusrifle.com would also be a great site to sale this rifle if you choose to do so. I cannot see the pics, but if it is a GI surplus M1 carbine then it is a Curio and Relic and therefore can be transfered to a C&R FFL 03 with no transfer fees.

[MiggyE]

thank you for looking out for me, I sure don't want any trouble with the feds, the gunsmith who has it knew my uncle who died and left it to my aunt, she has instructed me to get all the guns out of her house( he burnt himself on 70% of his body he was 82 and trying to dispose of his reloading gun powder hence her anti gun stance at the moment), my other uncle is the sheriff of the county, and the smith knows him as well, my grandfather used to be town police chief, I am trying to do everything legal, I have no paper on any of his guns. Maybe I should go get it back and put it in the closet, you scared me. I am in the process of getting my class 3 for my SBR.

don't get scared off. the collection is worth some serious money, and all you have to do is follow the law to the letter. hey, you have relatives in law enforcement, ask for their help and advice.
off-hand, the M1 carbine is a good and reliable gun. my 2 uncles have 2 WW2 M1s and they still shoot great. personally, i'd hang on to that. but then, am a nostalgia buff. you could check out 'Band of Brothers', the HBO mini-series, and you see M1s being issued to NCOs and officers.
on the side, remington rand 1911s are also worth a lot. get the whole collection appraised by a reputable dealer. you may end up very surprised at how much you are sitting on

[MPi-KMS-72]

This reminds me of something I heard on Tom Bower's MG Board years ago:

Some old Texas Ranger died and when his relatives came to settle the estate they found a Colt Monitor in one of his closets- they assumed it was illegal, freaked out and took it and threw it in a river. Later when they were going through his papers they found out it WAS legally owned and papered. Whoops! IIRC they tried scuba diving to find the BAR but never located it.

An expensive mistake...

[MiggyE]

here's something for you guys to chew about. Israel's IAI came out with a microGalil derivative that takes in 30 caliber ammo and use M1/M2 carbine magazines. they call it Magal. i heard it was issued to Border units and female logistic personnel

[MPi-KMS-72]

here's something for you guys to chew about. Israel's IAI came out with a microGalil derivative that takes in 30 caliber ammo and use M1/M2 carbine magazines. they call it Magal. i heard it was issued to Border units and female logistic personnel

those are kind of cool- every once in a while I wish I could have a .30 cal carbine AR15...

[MiggyE]

fortunate enough that there are still enough M1/M2s in civilian hands, and in police hands, that Armscor cranks out lots of .30 M1 ammo. i heard that the police are seriously looking into getting magals. if they do, will let you guys know how they shoot.

[dmanflynn]

unless you have a super duper collector the money you will get from selling it is not worth it at all. They are fun to shoot, keep, collect, etc and just plain neat to have around if its a WWII one. I have a non us issue one my Grandpa had bought after WWII and its still fun to shoot. Post some pics of the other older ones you got if your ok with that. Im in to older guns in general. I love me some oldies I have a 1894 hex barrel marlin (copy of the winchesters) 38-55 that shoots great even now 115 yrs later. Its got a hair trigger thats crazy sensitive, like .01 oz. You could blow on the thing and set it off. Old guns like that and the ones you said you inherited are just neat.

[Savior 6]

LockenLoad, man just keep them. I agree that the payout would not be worth the loss.

[dmanflynn]

One thing I failed to mention is that the appraisal mentioned above is a MUST. Have it documented and send it to your insurance company. (I do just the old/antique ones) Thats something thats a must for me, and should be for you too considering what your collection sounds like it worth.