M2 carbine

indybrad · March 4, 2007, 12:01 AM

Did the military convert M2s into semiauto for civilian use?

FS2K · March 4, 2007, 12:17 AM

Sorry I may have the wrong gun in mind, but the select fire .30 cal carbine was named the "M2". The semi auto is the M1 Carbine.

I have a feeling I have the wrong gun in mind.

Anyway, I'm really not sure if the military sold any of the M2's as surplus, or converted any to semi-auto only. Sorry.

Trapper L · March 4, 2007, 12:19 AM

No, the M1 carbine is the semi-auto. The M2 has a selector switch and is semi or full auto fire. I had an old friend that carried one in WWII and brought it home. He never knew it had a selector switch until he brought it by the house and we ripped a clip. Talk about a very surprized old man! He turned it back to the military.

USMCG_HMX1 · March 4, 2007, 12:30 AM

There were an incredibly small number of the M2 Carbines produced, and if memory serves they also made an M3 Carbine, which they made even less of these than the M2.

I know both the M2 and M3 Carbines were capable of full auto fire, but I can't remember what distinguished the M3 from the M2.

Kris

Jeff22 · March 4, 2007, 12:44 AM

They made something like 5 million of the M1 carbine (semi-auto)

They produced about 600,000 of the M2 carbine (select fire)

The M3 was the carbine with an early infared scope attached. I believe that some of these were operational at the very end of WWII, used in Korea, and in the early years of the Viet Nam war. Total production was 2500 to 3000.

Some surplus M1 carbines are going to be released through the DCM program.

indybrad · March 4, 2007, 01:14 AM

So anyways, I got this carbine that's got the groove in the stock for what I think would be the selector switch. How can I tell if it's an M2 that's been converted to a semi.

Dfariswheel · March 4, 2007, 01:14 AM

indybrad:
The military NEVER released any M2 carbines to any civilians other than a few law enforcement agencies, which is how the very few that did get into civilian ownership came about.

The police agencies traded them in to law enforcement dealers for newer rifles and the dealers sold a few to qualified individuals.

The feeling of the military and the US Government is, "Once a machine gun, ALWAYS a machine gun".
For this reason ANY Carbine with an "M2" stamp on the receiver is ILLEGAL unless it's been properly registered with the BATF.

If it's not registered, it cannot be registered now, and it CANNOT be made "legal" by any means.
To be clear: If someone has a Carbine with the M2 stamp, even if it's nothing but a bare receiver with no parts, it's an illegal machine gun, and a State or Federal prosecutor will very happily put you in prison for 10 years for possession of an unregistered automatic weapon.

Today, with a lot of old vets passing on, people are opening up foot lockers and closets and finding all kinds of weapons and even explosives.
The best way to deal with an M2 Carbine is to strip all the parts off the Carbine and either cut the receiver up, or turn it in to the BATF.

You can legally use the parts to build a new Carbine with a surplus M1 Carbine receiver.

The military did convert M1 carbines to M2 full auto, then converted them back to M1's when they surplussed them.
A converted Carbine will have a M2 op rod, which has a "notch" on the Right side of the "box" that rides in the barrel grooves.
There may be an M2 Trigger guard which has a cut in the left side for the trip lever to fit in.

Most all other M2 parts were removed before being sold off.

Abby · March 4, 2007, 02:21 AM

There's only one other "M2" I can imagine the poster referring to...and my guess on that one is, "no."

It'd be a sweet gun on the firing line, but I've never heard of anyone turning the big .50 into a semi...

SOSARMS · March 4, 2007, 07:40 AM

My dad brought back from WWII, several carbines, most all m1s, but in the group was 1 M2....When i was a teenager, we'd go in the woods and blow off several boxes of ammo. Did have a selector switch to convert to semi...
Dad has since passed away, and no one knows what happened to the M2....

blume357 · March 4, 2007, 07:44 AM

that's really a shame... but I hope where ever it is it gets taken care of and treated well and not turned into the authorities to be chopped up. One day folks will realize it's not the guns but the people that either cause the trouble or keep the peace.

VUPDblue · March 4, 2007, 10:04 AM

Quote:

You can legally use the parts to build a new Carbine with a surplus M1 Carbine receiver

Nope. The BATFE says that the MG is not just the sum of it's parts, but all the parts. If you have an un-registered MG, you cannot *legally* keep the parts and destroy just the receiver. I read a ruling on this a while back. That said, if no-one knew the parts came from an illegal gun that doesn't exist any more, well then.........

Johnny Guest · March 7, 2007, 12:44 AM

While the original post had to do with converting machine guns to semiauto, the thread really belongs in the NFA Guns & Gear area.

Moved.

Johnny

9mmHP · March 8, 2007, 09:17 AM

If you have ALL the parts to convert a M1 to M2 configuration then that is still considered a machine gun. There are 6 parts IIRC: sear, hammer, trigger, lever, selector, and trigger housing. There is a beefed up stock for the M2 also, but that's not considered one of the conversion parts. If it's stamped "M2" but doesn't have the M2 version of these parts then it's an M2 converted to semi-only. If it's stamped M2 and unregistered then it's an illegally possessed MG regardless of what other parts are on it.

Seabass · March 20, 2007, 10:11 AM

I´m pretty sure it´s just a M1 Carbine fitted into an M2 stock.

p99guy · March 20, 2007, 10:36 AM

It very common to find M1 carbines in the later M2 "potbelly" stock as by the 1950's M2 buttstocks were all they were building...so any M1 then in inventory with a ratty stock got a M2 stock as they are useable on either one...I myself have a 1943 Underwood "Singer B" variant that is in a 1960's Springfield Armory made M2 stock.

March 4, 2007, 12:01 AM	#1
indybrad Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 229	M2 carbine Did the military convert M2s into semiauto for civilian use?

March 4, 2007, 12:17 AM	#2
FS2K Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2006 Posts: 1,853	The Carbines? Sorry I may have the wrong gun in mind, but the select fire .30 cal carbine was named the "M2". The semi auto is the M1 Carbine. I have a feeling I have the wrong gun in mind. Anyway, I'm really not sure if the military sold any of the M2's as surplus, or converted any to semi-auto only. Sorry. __________________ Just a big fan of guns.

March 4, 2007, 12:44 AM	#5
Jeff22 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2004 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Posts: 715	M1 carbine They made something like 5 million of the M1 carbine (semi-auto) They produced about 600,000 of the M2 carbine (select fire) The M3 was the carbine with an early infared scope attached. I believe that some of these were operational at the very end of WWII, used in Korea, and in the early years of the Viet Nam war. Total production was 2500 to 3000. Some surplus M1 carbines are going to be released through the DCM program. __________________ You can only learn from experience if you pay attention!

March 4, 2007, 02:21 AM	#8
Abby Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2004 Posts: 139	There's only one other "M2" I can imagine the poster referring to...and my guess on that one is, "no." It'd be a sweet gun on the firing line, but I've never heard of anyone turning the big .50 into a semi... __________________ It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required. - Sir Winston Churchill

March 4, 2007, 07:44 AM	#10
blume357 Senior Member Join Date: August 2, 2005 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 3,943	sosarms.. that's really a shame... but I hope where ever it is it gets taken care of and treated well and not turned into the authorities to be chopped up. One day folks will realize it's not the guns but the people that either cause the trouble or keep the peace.

March 4, 2007, 12:19 AM	#3
Trapper L Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 804	No, the M1 carbine is the semi-auto. The M2 has a selector switch and is semi or full auto fire. I had an old friend that carried one in WWII and brought it home. He never knew it had a selector switch until he brought it by the house and we ripped a clip. Talk about a very surprized old man! He turned it back to the military.

March 4, 2007, 12:30 AM	#4
USMCG_HMX1 Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2006 Posts: 507	There were an incredibly small number of the M2 Carbines produced, and if memory serves they also made an M3 Carbine, which they made even less of these than the M2. I know both the M2 and M3 Carbines were capable of full auto fire, but I can't remember what distinguished the M3 from the M2. Kris

March 4, 2007, 01:14 AM	#6
indybrad Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 229	So anyways, I got this carbine that's got the groove in the stock for what I think would be the selector switch. How can I tell if it's an M2 that's been converted to a semi.

March 4, 2007, 01:14 AM	#7
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	indybrad: The military NEVER released any M2 carbines to any civilians other than a few law enforcement agencies, which is how the very few that did get into civilian ownership came about. The police agencies traded them in to law enforcement dealers for newer rifles and the dealers sold a few to qualified individuals. The feeling of the military and the US Government is, "Once a machine gun, ALWAYS a machine gun". For this reason ANY Carbine with an "M2" stamp on the receiver is ILLEGAL unless it's been properly registered with the BATF. If it's not registered, it cannot be registered now, and it CANNOT be made "legal" by any means. To be clear: If someone has a Carbine with the M2 stamp, even if it's nothing but a bare receiver with no parts, it's an illegal machine gun, and a State or Federal prosecutor will very happily put you in prison for 10 years for possession of an unregistered automatic weapon. Today, with a lot of old vets passing on, people are opening up foot lockers and closets and finding all kinds of weapons and even explosives. The best way to deal with an M2 Carbine is to strip all the parts off the Carbine and either cut the receiver up, or turn it in to the BATF. You can legally use the parts to build a new Carbine with a surplus M1 Carbine receiver. The military did convert M1 carbines to M2 full auto, then converted them back to M1's when they surplussed them. A converted Carbine will have a M2 op rod, which has a "notch" on the Right side of the "box" that rides in the barrel grooves. There may be an M2 Trigger guard which has a cut in the left side for the trip lever to fit in. Most all other M2 parts were removed before being sold off.

March 4, 2007, 07:40 AM	#9
SOSARMS Senior Member Join Date: June 13, 2006 Location: The great Buckeye state...where nuts are not just for eating Posts: 623	My dad brought back from WWII, several carbines, most all m1s, but in the group was 1 M2....When i was a teenager, we'd go in the woods and blow off several boxes of ammo. Did have a selector switch to convert to semi... Dad has since passed away, and no one knows what happened to the M2....

March 7, 2007, 12:44 AM	#12
Johnny Guest Moderator in Memoriam Join Date: August 28, 1999 Location: North Texas Posts: 4,123	Moving Thread While the original post had to do with converting machine guns to semiauto, the thread really belongs in the NFA Guns & Gear area. Moved. Johnny

March 8, 2007, 09:17 AM	#13
9mmHP Senior Member Join Date: February 14, 2007 Location: Indiana/Indpls Metro Area Posts: 318	If you have ALL the parts to convert a M1 to M2 configuration then that is still considered a machine gun. There are 6 parts IIRC: sear, hammer, trigger, lever, selector, and trigger housing. There is a beefed up stock for the M2 also, but that's not considered one of the conversion parts. If it's stamped "M2" but doesn't have the M2 version of these parts then it's an M2 converted to semi-only. If it's stamped M2 and unregistered then it's an illegally possessed MG regardless of what other parts are on it.

March 20, 2007, 10:11 AM	#14
Seabass Member Join Date: September 25, 2006 Posts: 39	I´m pretty sure it´s just a M1 Carbine fitted into an M2 stock.

March 20, 2007, 10:36 AM	#15
p99guy Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2004 Location: Haslet,Texas(DFW area) Posts: 1,506	It very common to find M1 carbines in the later M2 "potbelly" stock as by the 1950's M2 buttstocks were all they were building...so any M1 then in inventory with a ratty stock got a M2 stock as they are useable on either one...I myself have a 1943 Underwood "Singer B" variant that is in a 1960's Springfield Armory made M2 stock. __________________ Lighten up Francis!.....;Actor Warren Oats, in the movie "Stripes"