[R1145]

Warning shots and "shooting to wound" are not best practice in a situation involving lethal force. From the available information about this anecdote, it seems like a very solidly justifiable use of force, but in other instances things may be less obvious, so in general, the best advice is to avoid using lethal force (i.e., ANY use of a firearm), except as a terrible last resort, but then, shoot with the intent of ending the threat...YMMV.

From the facts available in this case, it is clear the attacker was engaged actively in a felony, and the homeowner stayed inside his home which was tactically and legally wise. There are many factors that affect the outcome of the (inevitable) civil suit, that really have no impact on the actual decision to use lethal force (like if the attacker turns out to be a 17-year-old kid...). The lawyers will throw up a bunch of smoke, usually to try and get a settlement from someone with deep pockets (the gubmint, the insurance company), who doesn't want to risk a jury award and for whom it may cost less to settle than adjudicate...but I digress.

The M1 Carbine was, of course, designed as basically a self-defense weapon for soldiers whose duties precluded them from carrying a rifle. They are not considered assault weapons in Kalifornia, although you are limited to 10-round mags (which should be adequate for home defense), unless you have "grandfathered" hi-cap mags already in your possession.

IMHO, one weakness of the carbine is that the mags are not sturdy enough and the mounting not secure enough, for consistent reliability. Especially with commercial 10 round mags, it is important to make sure the ones you have are reliable. GI 15 rounders are reputed to be the best, the extended 30- or 40- rounders the worst, but I think it depends on the mag and the gun.

The other weakness of the carbine is the caliber. .30 Carbine is ballistically on a par with .357, but with the FMJ bullet has a reputation as a poor stopper. Fortunately, the aforementioned Corbon DPX rounds with the Barnes solid copper HP bullets seem to unlock the full potential of the caliber. They cost about a buck a piece, though...

I keep my CMP War Baby ready with an Ultimak hand guard mounted tac light. The light precludes the use of the sights, so I have an occluded-eye sight mounted in back. I also swapped out for new Wolf springs. Don't worry, though, I kept everything and can put it back to GI...

I worked rounds through the action (barrel pointed in a safe direction) until I found some mags that were reliable. I used mostly FMJ rounds, but also included some of the DPX rounds to ensure they would feed reliably. I inspected the rounds to ensure none were damaged, then fired them at the range. I ended up with three mags that I was confident would work.

Avoid the Universal Carbine. I had one years ago, but it was never reliable. I suppose if you have one that works for you, it would be OK, but I would never buy one again. Maybe you could fix one with Wolf springs (which is a good idea in any carbine), but you're better off laying out for a GI model.

Never run anything in your home-defense weapon not legal in your location. One good thing about the Universal for me is that because of it, I had several pre-ban 15- and 30- round mags that I could use when I got my GI carbine from the CMP a few years ago.