(Editor’s note: This article was a submission from freelance writer Max Slowik)
The “Advisor,” a nice home defense firearm?
The new Inland is announcing a pistol model of their American-made, new-production M1 Carbine. Called the “Advisor,” the pistol is based on a style of chopped M1 and M2 Carbines that were spotted throughout the Vietnam War.
There was never an Advisor standard, but two elements stand out. Barrels were cut down, with just a bit of muzzle left poking out of the handguard, and the often the stocks were shortened, shaped into bird’s head grips or replaced with vertical pistol grips.
Inland took a look at these field-modified carbines as well as various commercial Advisors that followed in the post-war period and decided to build a new model as if they were actually building them for military use with proper sights, furniture and a conical flash hider.
Field-modified Advisors often lost their front sights in the conversion process. That was clearly not a concern for guys shooting down tunnels, but Inland went ahead and left enough barrel to mount a standard M1 front sight on to, which most shooters today will appreciate.
Specifications:
- Caliber: .30 Carbine
- Weight: 4.5 pounds
- Barrel: 12 inches (including flash hider)
- Overall length: 21 inches
- Stock: American Walnut
- Capacity: 15 rounds (as sold)
- Accessories: Military-style sling and one 15-round magazine
- MSRP: $1,239
The American walnut furniture is basically a Paratrooper stock minus the side-folder. A wire stock can be added to the pistol to build a short-barreled rifle–all NFA and local laws apply, naturally, but this thing is begging to get the SBR treatment.
Inland lists the Advisor as having a 12-inch barrel, but that includes the flash hider. When building an SBR the flash hider is not included in the rifle’s barrel length and it will have to be measured without it. The conical flash hider is detachable and mounts on 1/2-28 threads.
A standard threaded muzzle is a great feature for anyone looking to upgrade to a more modern flash hider or brake, but the real gem is that it makes the Inland Advisor suppressor-ready.
And why wouldn’t you want to put a can on this thing? The Advisor is good to go for a pair of stamps–and because it’s not an original M1, a piece of history, there’s nothing wrong with a little anachronistic tweaking.
As a gun for self-defense, it’s not bad, either. It ships with a 15-round stick magazine and 10- and 30-round magazines are easy to find locally and online. Like its military counterpart, it’s chambered for .30 Carbine, which has long proven its worth as an effective cartridge. At 4.5 pounds it’s light enough to handle quickly, and with an overall length of 21 inches it’s long enough to shoot with precision.
If there’s one catch it’s that the Advisor priced on the high side. With a $1,239 MSRP, and a real-world price probably closer to $1,000, it’s more expensive than most including some originals and other reproductions.
But it would be just as, if not more expensive, to take a repro and build it into an SBR with all the features that the Inland Advisor has, and that makes it stand out. Even as a pistol it’s pretty neat.
The Advisor pistol is scheduled to hit the market in March of 2016. Inland currently offers a standard M1 Carbine and a Paratrooper version, along with their reproduction 1911 A1.
I just picked one up new for $510.00 so for that price…..
I will say that the stock is horrible compared to a John Bianchi stock. The rear sight is not great. Peep hole looks a little smaller. Wood groove for sight s/b a little deeper. Might go to a flip sight. Why use a safety design that was quickly redesigned-? Why not use the later, improved rotating switch?
I have an AMT AUTOMAG III in .30 carbine. It’s a blast t shoot.
This .30 carbine pistol has been around for ages. Way back when it used to be called ‘THE ENFORCER’.
Ruger has been making a .30 cal. single six revolver for years. Priced about $500.
I’ll stick to my 7.62X39 XO26…
Is there a point to this? And does taking the stock off a rifle automatically makes it a pistol? The title on my email makes it sound like a new invention. Heck, I will just saw off the stock off my Bushmaster M4 and maybe it will become a pistol.
I picked up an Enforcer back in 70-something at a pawnshop for about $100. It was always fun to shoot, but I agree in a fire-fight it would more likely be the gun you use to lay down cover fire, while someone with a little more firepower moved into position. As for the ballistics on it, sure 110 grain FMJ factory load isn’t too threatening, but that doesn’t stop you from reloading something better. Using 125 grain JHP with max powder charge, well let’s just say the watermelons would run for cover when they saw me coming. And you have to admit it does have a lot of “shock value”. To the unenlightened it would look a little scary – standing on the wrong end of it. However, as much as I liked that little gun, I never would have laid out $1200 for it. Way too steep for something that’s more for fun and “shock value” than practical use. Go for an M1 carbine with a paratrooper stock – only a few inches longer and a few hundred $ cheaper. I’ve fired both the Enforcer and a standard M1 carbine and trust me, the extra few inches of barrel makes a big difference when it comes to targets more than 25 yards away.
where can I buy the m1 pistol piece by piece …….
Why would you put 1/2×28 threads on a .30 cal barrel. That’s just asking to ruin a .223 suppressor.
5/8×24 and it would be suppressor friendly.
Friends,
I understand I’m an old foggy and out of touch with what is “In Vogue” this month regarding weaponry. However, we carried an extending skeleton stock “Paratrooper” M-1 Carbine as our police, CBQ piece for decades.
I’d love to have another, but WOW!!!! This thing is ridiculously expensive for what it is. I can see any M-1 Carbine priced at around $500-$700 depending on goodies these days. (Got mine brand new in the box for $139.95 back in the 70’s!)
We have preached for years, that the M-1 .30 Carbine gun and ammo is actually an ideal law enforcement tool, in that it is compact, accurate out to 200-300 yards, can take a beating, has multiple magazine choices, can be rigged as a full stock long gun, an assault rifle configuration or even a pistol like this one (sort of pistol anyway), etc.
Yet the .30 Carbine is lowly enough as a cop you don’t have many stray rounds penetrating multiple walls and taking out expensive stuff in another room or the neighbor across the streets TV as the .223 often does, resulting in civil lawsuits for “Unintentional Hits, Reckless Endangerment, Reckless Use of a Firearm, etc.”
The .30 Carbine vs 9mm, .40S&W and .45ACP as a short rifle round is never going to be settled, we know that. Everyone has their own opinion. However, based on extensive comparison testing (for several agencies) and real world firefight CBQ experience, we can tell you that our personal choice is the .30 Carbine.
It has always amazed us that the.30 Carbine is only allowed in a couple states as a deer hunting round, too. Wait a minute! The .30 can take out a human, but not good enough to take out a deer????
God Bless and Merry Christmas to all,
Orrin M. Knutson
Peace Officer/Firearms Instructor Retired
Author of: Survival 101 How to Bug Out and Survive The First 72 Hours
I suspect that the only reason for not permitting it on deer is that unless you’re a really good shot you might have to chase the deer quite a distance before it drops, thus theoretically making it less-than-humane compared to a 30-30 or .308. Even though I’m aware of most of the carbine’s limitations (cranky magazine seating causing FTF. etc). I still love the old thing. Back when I had my FFL I bought one for myself ($139.95 wholesale) and my wife commandeered it permanently — so I had to order two more just in case. All things being equal, I’d feel more secure blasting a bad guy with a .308 rather than a .30 cal carbine, but I have little doubt that any decently-placed carbine round will stop a human in his tracks.
However, like most others here, I think that twelve hundred bucks is WAY overpriced. I could take one of mine down to the basement and make something like this with not much effort.
Just a quick note to say than you for your service. Appreciated your comments.
Another weapon turned into a foolish toy for goofs. On auction sites there are brand new Auto Ordnance mil spec folding stock paratrooper carbines going for under $700. With the stock folded it is only a couple of inches longer than this clown pistol and won’t have a muzzle flash visible from nearby planets.
I had a Ruger Blackhawk with a 7.5″ barrel in .30 Carbine and we would wait until dark to shoot it and marvel at the two foot flame coming out of the muzzle.
I love the .30 Carbine. It is really annoying to see junk like this when you could buy two new AO or Kahrs and sometimes a couple of good running GI carbines for the factory price of this.
Ridiculous price but I’m sure they’re only building them for the rich and stupid. There’s a few of them left out there.
Nothing new. I owned an Iver Johnson carbine pistol back in the 80’s that was “milspec” in that it would take ALL military parts….hammer, disconnector, slide, everything. I think I finally sold it for around $250… yeah..like a lot of other stuff I used to own…
Can’t buy it in Kalifornia, anyway… it’s an “assault rifle” LOL
I’ll stick w/my paratroop model.
I had one back in ’75; they suck, and aren’t worth any $1200.00.
I have one back in ’75; they suck, and aren’t worth any $1200.00.
As Jeff Cooper once said “It seems like an ingenious solution to a non-existant problem.”
As a collector of milsurps I love the look of this and would love to have one but there’s no way that’s worth $1,200. A third of that price yes, but otherwise it’s just another toy for the wealthy.
Good lookin gun. I love anything .30 carbine. But, twelve hundred balloons? Minchia! Prob go for a grand retail. If I had a grand to burn I’d score one of these. Short and sweet. My underwood is accurate out to around 200 yards sitting at a range. This piston would be half that beat case. More so good for clearing a room. Looking forward to YouTube reviews and demonstrations.
a Plainfield Enforcer reborn
Why would someone pay $1,200 for garbage like this with so many other rifle caliber pistols out there now….marketing fail!!
Fact check needed. Google up “Enforcer” carbine pistod.
I remember back in the 60’s the Iver Johnson’s sold for about 100 dollars.
This write up is ate up like a soup sandwich. This is old tech. Universal and Iver Johnson both made pistol carbines in the 60-70’s. I own one the were called enforcers by the way. Furthermore THEY SUCK. they look cool but truthfully the 110 grain .30 carbine is a weak .357 round with poor terminal ballistics and without and real defensive ammo out there you’re left with FMJRN or HMJSP not ideal.
Sorry
Yeah, I actually used to carry one of these in the commercial ‘Enforcer’ in our car as a back-up while my partner carried a chopped 12 ga 870 in his ‘go-bag’ for raid work and such, When our duty pistols were revolvers or 1911’s . So For me it was mainly because it had a 30 round capacity and extra mags were pretty light and compact because i always prefer superior ”Suppresive’ firepower in my tacical applications. But I never really cared for it too much.
A lot of my ARVN Mike force people in the platoon carried the M2 full auto version back in Nam but they were always having problems, especially with the magazines. And I agree with James here. Not a very good tactical choice especiall for the price when compared to a Glock 22 (you can also use a Glock 20 C for heavier hitting) with the conversion barrel firing a maxed-op .357 Sig ruond in 30 round extended mags in one of those nice Israeli compact tactical drop in SBR folding stocks. Now THAT’S a potent, reliable, and optimal personal defense package! And for LESS than what this is going for!
But it is still a glock . . .
Hey, don’t apologize. I completely agree! In fact my uncle fought in Korea and drove deuce-and-a-half’s and WC’s for a bit so he was issued aM-1 carbine. He told me that a lot of those North Korean troops wore multiple layers of clothes, blankets and ponchos which, at even close range, would absorb the tiny .30 carbine round, without any reaction at all… no impact reaction, and when they were eventually killed the bullets from the carbines could sometimes be found within the layers of clothes! The guns are sexy, no doubt. But aside from being a pretty great jackrabbit/coyote gun, they just don’t cut the mustard… I do love mine, though; It was my uncles…
More retro ’70s Patty hearst Symbionese Liberation Army terrorist bank “expropriator” chic. Or something. Hornady makes .30 carbine FTX bullets, and SP ammo is widely available. Pay the NFA tax and fit it with a repro M1A1 folding stck, and hey presto, you’d have a retro “stake out squad” piece to go with the double barrel shotgun, revolvers, and Ithaca Stakeout sotguns.
WOW you remember that PattyHearst bank robbery. One thing you forgot to add is the selector lever on the M 1 carbine.The .30 carbine round might work in a sub machine gun.
Dude,
I don’t think you can be anymore WRONG!! That HMJSP drops deer REAL EASY as I know for a fact, so one can only imagine what it would do to a human being.. No need to apologize, some folks don’t really know the deal.