There are lots of YouTubes on this gun, and lots of honest reviews from real customers at pyramydair.com. Here's another good, detailed review that's worth reading if you're interested in buying one:
https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/springfield-armory-m1-carbine-bb-rifle-test-review/
You'll notice in reading reviews that a lot of problems with the magazine are mentioned. I asked Pyramyd Air about this before I bought, and they said that new guns are now shipping with new, improved magazines, and the replacement mags are the improved ones. This was reassuring. FWIW, in the shooting I've done with mine so far, the magazine hasn't had any problems at all, knock wood.
If you're buying this gun, your first decision is paper or plastic? Uhhhhh, I mean, wood or plastic. The base plastic-stocked model is around $229, with the wood-stocked model asking $329. After looking at pics of both on the net, I decided on the plastic, because the plastic stock actually looked better in the pics. The wood stock didn't have the correct shape (in my eye) in a couple places, and looked like a plank painted brown. The plastic stock's shape was perfect and its fake wood figuring looked great. And after all, three pigs is a lot of whipout for what's basically a toy, so the plastic it was. (More on this later.)
Initial impression was VERY favorable! Size and shape are right on the money, and the fake wood printed on the plastic stock is actually quite attractive. The level of detail and replication is amazing. The op-rod works (and reciprocates when shooting). The safety works just like the real thing. Rear sight is adjustable for windage (but not elevation. Mine shot right on the money but if it happens to be low, there's plenty of meat on the front sight blade for some careful, judicious filing). Even the M1's little bolt hold-open button on the op rod is replicated and works! The only way you can tell this from a real M1 carbine is that the magazine is slightly longer and fatter than the real thing's, and the white printing on the gun. Oh, the front sight arrived completely loose on mine, able to spin around the barrel freely, but this was easily remedied—it's secured by a set screw, and all I had to do was line the sight up plumb and tighten up that screw with a common 1/16” Allen wrench.
Pretty as the plastic stock is, I didn't care for the smooth, slick, shiny, “plastic-y” feel of it. And while very sturdy, it's still hollow and you can feel that's there's almost no weight in the butt end of the gun. After shooting the gun with the plastic stock on it, I placed an order for the optional wood stock (which comes with handguard and dedicated screws, but no installation instructions). The gun field strips exactly like the real thing except for one internal screw in the right side of the fore-end; you need not worry about springs or small parts flying out when you pull it apart. I made the changeover in about an hour, and had to shave a slight amount of wood off the front mounting tab of the handguard to get it to fit, but that wasn't a big deal at all. What a difference in feel! The gun now feels like the “right” weight, the wood feels much better under the fingers, and of course the butt no longer feels light/hollow/empty/weightless. (Interestingly, I bought the wood stock on sale and with free shipping, so now I have both stocks for about $20 less than the wood-stocked gun alone costs. Don't you love it when a bargain comes together?)
The mag isn't difficult to load with either BBs or the CO2 once you get the hang of it. Shooting the gun is exactly like shooting a real M1 right up until the instant the hammer falls. There's virtually no recoil (not that the M1 carbine has much) and not much noise. The op rod flies back and forth with every shot, which is pretty cool. Trigger pull is around six pounds with a little creep and a little grit—in other words, it's almost identical to my two GI carbines, which is exactly what I wanted and I couldn't like it more.
Accuracy? Remember, it's still a BB gun. It'll kill any soda can out to 10 yards, maybe more. If I shoot carefully, I can put a whole CO2 cartridge worth of BBs (@ 45-50 shots) into a “rathole” about the size of a quarter at 10 yards. Shooting faster, the rathole will be about the size of a ping-pong ball. A few shots will be outside these ratholes, but not many. I bought this gun specifically for cheap practice for my home defense gun, which is a 1943 Inland—quick shots from a high ready position, mostly shooting looking over the barrel, shotgun-style, not through the sights, at inside-the-house range. The gun is more than accurate enough for such drills. It does exactly what I bought it to do, and it does it extremely well.
When was the last time you shot your M1 carbine for about a penny a shot? (Hell, when was the last time you shot a .22LR for a penny a shot?) When was the last time you shot your carbine in your basement or backyard on a whim, and regardless of weather? I thought so.
I couldn't imagine being happier with this gun. Well worth the money spent and I expect it to bring me years of fun and cheap thrills.
Below: My 1943 Inland; 1968 Crosman M1 carbine BB gun; Erma/Iver Johnson EM-1 in .22LR; Springfield Armory CO2 BB M1 with plastic stock.
https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/springfield-armory-m1-carbine-bb-rifle-test-review/
You'll notice in reading reviews that a lot of problems with the magazine are mentioned. I asked Pyramyd Air about this before I bought, and they said that new guns are now shipping with new, improved magazines, and the replacement mags are the improved ones. This was reassuring. FWIW, in the shooting I've done with mine so far, the magazine hasn't had any problems at all, knock wood.
If you're buying this gun, your first decision is paper or plastic? Uhhhhh, I mean, wood or plastic. The base plastic-stocked model is around $229, with the wood-stocked model asking $329. After looking at pics of both on the net, I decided on the plastic, because the plastic stock actually looked better in the pics. The wood stock didn't have the correct shape (in my eye) in a couple places, and looked like a plank painted brown. The plastic stock's shape was perfect and its fake wood figuring looked great. And after all, three pigs is a lot of whipout for what's basically a toy, so the plastic it was. (More on this later.)
Initial impression was VERY favorable! Size and shape are right on the money, and the fake wood printed on the plastic stock is actually quite attractive. The level of detail and replication is amazing. The op-rod works (and reciprocates when shooting). The safety works just like the real thing. Rear sight is adjustable for windage (but not elevation. Mine shot right on the money but if it happens to be low, there's plenty of meat on the front sight blade for some careful, judicious filing). Even the M1's little bolt hold-open button on the op rod is replicated and works! The only way you can tell this from a real M1 carbine is that the magazine is slightly longer and fatter than the real thing's, and the white printing on the gun. Oh, the front sight arrived completely loose on mine, able to spin around the barrel freely, but this was easily remedied—it's secured by a set screw, and all I had to do was line the sight up plumb and tighten up that screw with a common 1/16” Allen wrench.
Pretty as the plastic stock is, I didn't care for the smooth, slick, shiny, “plastic-y” feel of it. And while very sturdy, it's still hollow and you can feel that's there's almost no weight in the butt end of the gun. After shooting the gun with the plastic stock on it, I placed an order for the optional wood stock (which comes with handguard and dedicated screws, but no installation instructions). The gun field strips exactly like the real thing except for one internal screw in the right side of the fore-end; you need not worry about springs or small parts flying out when you pull it apart. I made the changeover in about an hour, and had to shave a slight amount of wood off the front mounting tab of the handguard to get it to fit, but that wasn't a big deal at all. What a difference in feel! The gun now feels like the “right” weight, the wood feels much better under the fingers, and of course the butt no longer feels light/hollow/empty/weightless. (Interestingly, I bought the wood stock on sale and with free shipping, so now I have both stocks for about $20 less than the wood-stocked gun alone costs. Don't you love it when a bargain comes together?)
The mag isn't difficult to load with either BBs or the CO2 once you get the hang of it. Shooting the gun is exactly like shooting a real M1 right up until the instant the hammer falls. There's virtually no recoil (not that the M1 carbine has much) and not much noise. The op rod flies back and forth with every shot, which is pretty cool. Trigger pull is around six pounds with a little creep and a little grit—in other words, it's almost identical to my two GI carbines, which is exactly what I wanted and I couldn't like it more.
Accuracy? Remember, it's still a BB gun. It'll kill any soda can out to 10 yards, maybe more. If I shoot carefully, I can put a whole CO2 cartridge worth of BBs (@ 45-50 shots) into a “rathole” about the size of a quarter at 10 yards. Shooting faster, the rathole will be about the size of a ping-pong ball. A few shots will be outside these ratholes, but not many. I bought this gun specifically for cheap practice for my home defense gun, which is a 1943 Inland—quick shots from a high ready position, mostly shooting looking over the barrel, shotgun-style, not through the sights, at inside-the-house range. The gun is more than accurate enough for such drills. It does exactly what I bought it to do, and it does it extremely well.
When was the last time you shot your M1 carbine for about a penny a shot? (Hell, when was the last time you shot a .22LR for a penny a shot?) When was the last time you shot your carbine in your basement or backyard on a whim, and regardless of weather? I thought so.
I couldn't imagine being happier with this gun. Well worth the money spent and I expect it to bring me years of fun and cheap thrills.
Below: My 1943 Inland; 1968 Crosman M1 carbine BB gun; Erma/Iver Johnson EM-1 in .22LR; Springfield Armory CO2 BB M1 with plastic stock.
