Posted on 05/25/2014 5:07:20 PM PDT by kingattax
The .30 Carbine is one of those conundrum things. It’s in practical effect — if not in actual fact — a handgun cartridge, actually, a magnum length one. It has the same case length as the .357, .41 and .44 Magnums. But, it has no case rim which would make it work far better in revolvers than it actually does.
Yet it was definitely developed as a “short rifle” or carbine cartridge. Many people think with regards to its performance as a carbine round it was no great shakes. But there are mitigating circumstances regarding its military performance — namely full metal jacketed bullets.
Before World War II someone in the American military hierarchy studied Germany’s World War I wound reports and was amazed at how few were caused by .45 caliber projectiles fired from US Model 1911 semi-autos and US Model 1917 revolvers.
Therefore began a movement to develop a “short rifle” to replace handguns. Until well into World War II, say about 1943, US soldiers and Marines serving as members of crew served weapons teams, communication specialists, NCO’s and officers were issued handguns.
The idea was these men were not supposed to fight with small arms, but “just in case” needed a weapon to protect themselves
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
The .30 carbine was a good gun in almost every respect. The only weakness was the cartridge lacked power but it actually had as much energy as the .44 magnum.
The problem was the light fmj bullets did not expand or even tumble.
Hmmmmm.....been reloading a long time....never seen a .30 Carbine, .357, .41 Mag, or .44 mag that were the same case length....somebody sold me an inaccurate caliber....God Damn them to Hell!!
I have a WWII .30 M1 Carbine made by Saginaw Steering Gear
Division of General Motors. It is a hoot to fire, and, is
dead-on accurate out to 200 yards. I also have the same
soldiers 1911 A1 .45 cal. side arm, plus his 1903 Springfield
30-06 bolt-action rifle manufactured in 1936.
Both are treasures to me. The .45 was made by Ithaca Arms in 1942.
You have some real treasures, especially with the provenance.
Personally, while I do like the .30 carbine round, I'd like to see something along the lines of the original M1A1 chambered in 10mm.
The only positive thing I can say about the gun and cartridge is that it held more cartridges. had more velocity with a better trajectory than any .22 LR rimfire gun at that time.
It served its original, intended purpose very well. Any center fire carbine or rifle is better suited to combat than any pistol.
Period. To me, the M1 Carbine has many of the same characteristics and deficits as the Marlin Camp Carbine chambered for the 9mm Luger chambering. Both are a lot of fun to shoot but greatly deficient for any serious work.
It has never been a good idea to chamber rifles with pistol cartridges or pistols with rifle cartridges.
Me too. Real fun to shoot and accurate. Makes a good combo with the carbine.
Try to use the fastest powder you can and it will help the muzzle blast.
I’ve heard stories of the .30 carbine not even penetrating the winter clothing of Chinese troops at normal combat ranges.Why would the Ordinace Dept of the Army allow such a weapon to be issued?
I doubt there have been any Remington Rolling Blocks made in about a hundred years. It is possible that yous is a reproduction or more likely someone put a new barrel on it.
Pedersoli makes reproductions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vEAwIIUXvs
Well I was going to go back to the top but I’ll just start right here. I’ve got 3 Blackhawks chambered in 30 cal, two 3 screws and a new model. The old 3 screw rides the ranch with me daily and has taken it’s fair share of coyotes and feral hog’s out past 100 yards using the truck door as a rest. I think I can honestly say I’ve owned one ever since they made. Tried an AMT back in the early 90 and junked it, too heavy and two unreliable. The only misfires I’ve had was due to old military ball ammo but I never had an ejection problem like the author of the story suggested, I suspect that’s the ejector rod bending due to contact with the bullet instead of the base of the case. Over the years I’ve developed some interesting hand loads for this round that have proven quite effective. One is a 125 grain load with a flat nose hollow point designed for the 30-30 all the way down to a 85 grain bullet. With proper powders they give impressive results especially the 85 grain bullets where I’m getting almost 2000 fps from a 7 1/2 inch barrel and that load is my standard carry load.
My buddy in Dallas is building a few suppressed 30 Carbines and is have good success with them when we keep the bullet weight up and the velocity down. He’s in the process of designing a better barrel system with a fast twist for the heavier loads. We took a couple on a night time feral hog hunt and I must say I was impressed 50 to 60 yard head shots were a piece of cake and rolled them where they stood.
My loads now don’t have the extreme flash of the Ball Ammo but I run a few through every now and then just for visual effects. Always wear hearing protection.
Friend had a 45-70 revolver. He fired it 12 times with gloves, then set it aside as a safe queen curio. He said the pain was not worth trying to impress people.
Have you tried the V-max 110 grain?
I’m really limited by bullet length and magazine length but we’re working on swaging bullets and giving them a different profile to work with the shorter case and velocities. I’m working on a subsonic 165 grain from a full length 30 Carbine barrel but we have to change the twist.
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