How is the .30 Carbine in terms of power and self-defense?

Question

I have heard that it is in the .44 Mag. territory.

Answer 1

It's not 44 mag territory, more like .357 mag. Yes you hear some reports of problems in Korea but it was thirty degrees below zero, people had lots of clothes on to stay semi unfrozen, and the gun oils used were not developed for such cold weather. Interestingly enough lots of guns suffered from these same problems!

The M1 itself has plenty of great reviews from people who could actually shoot. Do some research on the the Marines during the Island hopping campaigns of WWII, "Advisors" in Vietnam, the Israelis , and police in the 1960's. You'll find a wealth of good reports about the effectiveness of the lightweight, easy to aim and accurately fire carbine.

It is always recommended to use soft point ammo. For a gun that under stress you need to accurately fire, the carbine or long gun always comes ahead over the pistol especially inthe hands of the average user. It's the whole reason the Army looked at replacing the .45 handgun with a carbine.

It is one of the guns I would use for self defense...

Answer 2

The .30 Carbine is reviled by most who were infantry in WWII and Korea as it would not stop an enemy with 1, 2, or even 5 shots most of the time. The .44 Mag is also not a good self-defense caliber as it has more kick than most people can quickly recover from, and it over-penetrates so badly that you are opening yourself up for trouble there. Forget the .30 Carbine and the .44 Mag for self-defense and look to what Law-Enforcement uses. A hit from a 9mm or a .40 cal or a .357 Mag is much more effective than a miss from a .44 Mag eargashplittin loudenboomer. That said, I do use a .480 Ruger for hunting, but I would not even consider it for self-defense unless attacked by a bear or mountain lion.

Answer 3

You were told wrong. The .44 RemMag even in a handgun outpowers an M-1 .30 Carbine.

The .30 Carbine is an adequate mankiller, but it is not the best as a manstopper. For hunting, I'd rather have a .30-30 WCF levergun, or a 7.62X39mm Soviet SKS than a .30 Carbine.

In handguns, only two models were ever chambered in .30 Carbine. The Ruger Blackhawk, and the IAI Automag II. Both are big for concealed carry and in a handgun, they .30 Carbine produces tremendous muzzle-blast, and does not perform enough better than the .357 Magnum to be worth mentioning. Additionally, I believe that both guns are out of production.

If you want a concealed carry handgun, go with a .38 SPL, or a .357 Magnum revolver, I suggest Smith & Wesson J-Frame or K-Frame revolvers. But only after you've mastered handling a .22 LR revolver.

Doc

BTW, carbines make fine home or farm defense weapons, you just can't walk around town with a rifle in your hand without attracting unwelcome attention. LMH

Answer 4

Nah, the .30 US M-1 carbine is not even close to a .44 magnum. Remember, it is military caliber and military issues are different than home/personal defense issues. It is 'better' for an enemy soldier to be disabled (tying up more of the enemy's resources) than to kill him outright.

For purposes of self-defense the .30 M-1 will do and do very well with its large ammo capacity but power wise you're looking at a .32 Magnum. It can be fired accurately by the average person say further than a .44 magnum revolver but in a home/self-defense scenario how far are you looking at? Across the room? So you see, it is a moot point.

If all you have is a .30 M-1 carbine, then you are well armed but if you are looking to buy a defensive weapon you're better off looking at a quality .9mm or bigger.

Good luck.

H

Answer 5

With a *soft point or hollow point bullet* (Core-Lokt or Cor-Bon), a .30 Carbine round fired out of a carbine will indeed out preform a 110grn .357. The .30 Carbine rounds needs a long barrel for a complete burn of its powder to achieve good velocity and energy.

The only reason most people think its not an effective round, is because the military only used 110 grain FMJ ball rounds - only good for passing through things, with no expansion and little energy transfer. Its good out to 100 yards, like most pistol cartridges.

A 110 grain soft or hollow point bullet at over 1900fps is going to some damage when it hits soft tissue, period.

A carbine isn't as compact as a pistol, but it does do a job and do it well, especially as a home/ranch defense arm. The M1 carbine is short, and very light (under 6lbs), quick to handle, reliable, and has good capacity of 15-30 rounds depending on the magazine. Follow up shots are quick (very fast cyclic rate) and little recoil.

Hell stick a 30-rounder in it and put a bayonet on the end, and any intruder will **** his pants when he finds you pointing that thing at him.

Answer 6

You heard wrong, but it doesn't matter. Neither is a good choice as a self-defense weapon, and either will be better than nothing. The nice thing about 40+ caliber pistol bullets is that they make a big hole. People who obsess over energy tables and such miss the whole point of these rounds.
The 30M1 carbine shoots a little 100 grain bullet pretty fast. It's known not to have very good stopping power despite having paper ballistics similar to the 357 magnum.
Nobody's sure why the 44 magnum doesn't work well as a defensive round. It's theorized that it's just too powerful, and overpenetrates, but it may just be that it's in big, clunky revolvers that aren't handled well in defensive situations. The carbine isn't going to be as handy as a handgun or as powerful as a shotgun, bringing the worst of both worlds to the table.

Answer 7

Not even close. It does have a higher muzzle veocity, but it's power is probably loser to the 9mm range. It is important to look at the intended purpose for the M1 Carbine. It was designed as an alternative to the Colt 1911 pistol, for those people that needed a little range, but didn't have room or weight capacity for the M1 Garand. These would have been vehicle drivers, mortar/artillary crews, runners, messengers, scouts, and other various weapons crews. It is a sweet little gun, fairly accurate in the 100-200 yard range, light weight, and fairly simple to maintain.

Answer 8

I don't think its in .44 mag territory, but for self defence I think that it depends on your comfort level. The round is relatively low recoil. I can put all 20 rounds in a silihoutte in rapid fire becuase it walks very little. The short length is good for self defense, but the round selection is poor for stopping power. You'll put every round right through the guy, but since its hard to find anything but FMJ rounds I'd look for something with a bit larger diameter.

Answer 9

The M1 Carbine was originally designed for those who in general were not involved in combat but needed a gun just in case, like the 1911 for officers. It is pretty weak as far as a military rifle goes but compares well to the 45 ACP.

I would NOT recommend a rifle for self defense, even a short one like the M1 Carbine.

However, if you are talking about just the round itself and not the gun, there are some handguns that fire that cartridge. (Ruger Blackhawk). You lose considerable power due to the short barrel of the handgun and full metal jackets are poor for self defense. You would be better off using a 357 mag as that has been prove to be the best one-shot stopper around and it allows you to use 38 specials for practice.

Answer 10

Very good for defense! Listen to me, I know. I've had 4 .30 carbines and have shot plenty of PSP (pointed soft points) thru them!!! The Geneva convention agreed that we not use psp's or hollow points.Well, now it is not war. Try some bullets that are not full metal jackets. .30 cal hole in, and HUGE hole out WOW! A hole you could drive a truck thru. My .30 carbine is next to my night stand with a 30 round clip in the drawer.

Rick