armoury
KING ARMS M1 CARBINE
indeed designed for soldiers whose primary placement
was a confined area, such as inside a tank or vehicle,
mortar crews, paratroopers and engineers that don’t have
the luxury of unrestricted manoeuvrability but, due to
its compact size, weight and accuracy at shorter ranges,
this soon became the weapon of choice by many military
personnel.
In my opinion, this firearm is in a class of its own. It just
feels so good to pick up and hold. The dedicated canvas
strap was fixed at one end with a steel sling attachment
point and a cut-out rear point in the wooden stock, which
was secured by threading the strap through the cut out
and attaching a small canister of gun oil, accessed from
the other side in a small recess (simple and effective - great
idea). This was usually accompanied by a canvas twin, snapshut
magazine holder fixed to the stock. Adjustable iron
sights could be found at the back and a wing-protected
front post sight at the muzzle were “adequate” for the
typical ranges needed. Initially the carbine did not facilitate
a bayonet to be fitted but this was quickly remedied in
1943 with the simple introduction of a bayonet lug, after
all, we are talking close range combat back in those days.
There is no doubt that this reproduction from King Arms
is a very well made high class piece of kit. You only need
to pick it up and feel the quality, the balance and sheer
comfort when you tuck it into your shoulder and feel the
silky smooth wood against your equally silky smooth skin -
but how does this baby perform when the spit hits the fan?
and so I was lucky to find that our great friends, supporters
and retail industry suppliers, I WHOLESALES (UK), had
received a delivery from King Arms and, nestled amongst
the shipment, was a batch of M1 Carbines - I was there in a
flash to collect mine!
Very often, at this point, product reviewers seem to
spend a lot of time and effort on “the great unboxing”
(especially on You Tube) but for me this is a bit of a pet
hate because unless it is something really special, then “it’s
a cardboard box” - end of! Yes, it’s supplied in a cardboard
box but, not unlike a KFC, I was only interested in what is
in the box... And there it was, a sexy medley of dark beech
wood and matt black zinc alloy.
These are special moments indeed because it can be a
defining experience, as in first impressions, etc. but what
made this special was THIS WAS MY RIFLE (okay, carbine)
- and I was definitely having “a moment” when I lifted it
from the cardboard box and it felt soooo good! Finally to
have and to hold, for richer, for poorer until death do us part!
Weighing in at approx 1.9kg (4.2lbs) naked and 91cm
(3ft) from butt to barrel tip puts this in a great place,
somewhere between a full-size rifle and a pistol. It was
PERFORMANCE
In keeping with authenticity, the magazine holds just 15
rounds and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.
A CO2 bulb is housed in the mag also and when locked ‘n’
loaded, you really do need to make the shots count, unless
you have won the lottery and can afford a battle belt full of
spare mags because my research indicated that you won’t
find one under fifty quid and for your average skirmish, you
will definitely need a good few. As for shot count-per-Co2, I
was getting around 40 shots before the power dropped (in
fine weather) but oh! That recoil was really, really satisfying.
Now, the subject of power. These reputedly average
approx. 400 fps out of the box so we’re already in DMR
territory, but the power drops to a more user-friendly
340-360 fps as the new bulb settles in. However, that isn’t
going to get you through the chrono testing before the day
commences unless you empty half a mag beforehand (and
any site worth its salt is going to check it with a fresh bulb
installed, just to make sure).
And let’s not forget the accuracy factor… is it or isn’t
it as it feels like it should be? I’m happy to say that the
accuracy is great (as is the range) and I was hitting a human
torso-sized target at 50 metres nearly every time with .28’s
“IN KEEPING WITH AUTHENTICITY, THE MAGAZINE HOLDS JUST 15 ROUNDS AND
THERE’S NOT A DAMN THING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. A CO2 BULB IS HOUSED IN
THE MAG ALSO AND WHEN LOCKED ‘N’ LOADED, YOU REALLY DO NEED TO MAKE THE
SHOTS COUNT”
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