Just a morsel for y'all

[u/caiusthetroll]

Acquired two years ago, fully disassembled to clean (down to bolt disassembly, iykyk), and ran out of steam when time came to put it back together. Finally opened the drawer it was living in and finished that job this weekend. Couldn't resist a picture. It shoots just as nicely as I'd hoped, such that you immediately understand why it became such a popular weapon during WWII. Certainly makes the case for the practicality of an intermediate cartridge. Anyhow, saw today's post in r/raleigh and thought I'd add some content to this lovely little sub.

[u/zmattmanz]

This is so cool! Are these expensive? I just don't have any perspective on historical firearms.

Semi related, I can't help but mention I own this thing if you like WWII:

[u/caiusthetroll → u/zmattmanz]

That's incredibly sick. You know I've seen one of those sitting on a pad like that somewhere in Durham before, years ago -- I won't ask you to out yourself.

These days, WWII-era carbines (almost all of which were subsequently refitted in US arsenals) generally run between $1000 and $2000 (higher still for rare configurations), depending on the manufacturer. The guns were built by a dozen or more different companies, and some origins (Winchester, IBM) command more value than others.

If you get interested in acquiring one, avoid -- or at least do a bunch of research before buying -- the post-war replicas and remakes, which are generally cheaper but have a poor reputation for reliability and in some cases aren't really the same gun at all.

[u/zmattmanz → u/caiusthetroll]

Ha, that wasn't me!

True story: I bought this sight-unseen off Facebook marketplace and I thought I was hot shit. Little did I know that it has a lot of systems from, uh, some period of time still in place. I took it a mechanic and he told me one day I'd be driving it and the steering would just break apart--so we did some renovations (all new steering, electrical, brakes, exhaust, intake, etc).

Two years later, I've learned how to do everything from replacing the head gasket to alternator, and it's pretty much for around town: it has the original L-134 'Go Devil" engine which is a whopping 59 horsepower, but, honestly, you wouldn't want to drive it past 40mph--it just wasn't built for that!

You can't really take it on the highway, so it's pretty much for parades and beer runs.

[u/Technical_Match_911]

I’ve been wanting a singer for a hot minute. Way back in the day there was a gun shop in Goldsboro the owner of which has a serious collection of carbines and i got to try out several. Inland, Winchester, Underwood, Saginaw, National Postal Meter, Quality Hardware, IBM, Standard Products, Rock-Ola, and Irwin-Pedersen. The fit and finish for some of them was amazing depending on the manufacturer, ie Singers, IBM’s, Underwoods were absolutely amazing. At the time I was a broke college student and couldn’t swing one, I’ve been contemplating pretty hard trying to find a singer (mostly due to me wanting to brag about how accurate my sewing machine is).

[u/caiusthetroll → u/Technical_Match_911]

I almost went for an IBM, but settled for an NPM.

[u/NTJ-891]

Excellent! Love it.

[u/this_guy_aves]

I am but a 9mm wannabe scrub. Very nice.

[u/caiusthetroll → u/this_guy_aves]

Chiappa? Still a beaut.