4.289xxx NPM

nice, sweet,sinful, awesome, extraordinary, sexy, and oh--it looks original

Say PingCMP, to address your concern about a lack of an updated NPM "manufacturer's update" article in the Carbine Club newsletters....there was never any lack of interest in NPM or UND or SG, etc., carbines.

But there was always a shortage of dedicated researchers/writers who were willing to spend the time and immense effort required to assemble accurate update articles that would stand the test of time. Some update articles took more than a year to complete!

Our last NPM update article (NPM 125, 126 in 1987) was an excellent product researched and written by Dave McClain, a pioneer M1 Garand collector and a founder of the GCA. Thankfully, he was also very dedicated to the Carbine Club.

By 2013, the few hardcore researchers/writers that we had left, were burning out and - unfortunately - no one was willing to step up and continue the great work they had started.

There is a lesson here; if collectors want accurate information on a manufacturer's carbines, they can volunteer their time and effort to research and write update articles. We've still got a lot to learn, but it all hinges on dedicated volunteers who will commit to time-consuming projects.

Regards, mb

Hi Charlie,

Re: the printed newsletters - by 2015, all of our researcher/writers were burned out and there were no manufacturers update articles planned for 2016. We need to give those guys a lot of credit for their time and hard work, especially because (with the exception of J.B. Powers), they were all still working full-time jobs while they worked on compiling update articles in their spare time.

By summer 2015 I didn't have enough completed articles, and no articles "in work," to allow me to plan for 2016 newsletters. Submission of data sheets and other material from the membership had all but ceased. I couldn't send out renewal forms, because I would run dry of material before the end of 2016.

Our membership was now spending their "carbine time" on the CMP Forum, MilSurp, and other forums. The "instant answers" and discussions to be found on the internet held the attention of collectors far more than our quarterly newsletters. The Carbine Club, as we knew it for 39 years, had run its course.

So I "shot the wad" with a large final NL 384 in Oct 2015 using up almost all of the material I had on hand.

Thankfully, Dan Pinto and Jim Mock volunteered to keep the Carbine Club alive by taking it online. They brought the Club into the 21st Century, where it needed to be. I had several military reports that Dan published to "prime the pump" of the new Carbine Collectors Club. He built the chat forum and Jim built the website.

So to answer your question, the paper newsletters are now history and will not be revived.

To answer your other question, historically, collectors have referred to those "case hardened" hammers and sears as "in the white" (just to differentiate them from blued or parkerized parts).

Your WJ recoil plate is a mystery to me also. If the finish wear on it is consistent with the rest of the carbine, and if the slot of the screw is not buggered up, I certainly wouldn't change it!

There are still a lot of things about carbines that we don't know. Many factory- original carbines, especially those by Std Pro, have been "corrected" incorrectly by collectors who were in a hurry to replace a part that didn't fit the pattern of other reported carbines. In my mind, if you come across a carbine with a "wrong" part, it is likely factory-original, because a previous owner - if he was a collector - would've changed out that "wrong" part. :-)

Regards, mb

Historically, collectors have referred to those "case hardened" hammers and sears as "in the white" (just to differentiate them from blued or parkerized parts).

The WJ recoil plate is a mystery to me also. If the finish wear on it is consistent with the rest of the carbine, and if the slot of the screw is not buggered up, I certainly wouldn't change it!

There are still a lot of things about carbines that we don't know. Many factory- original carbines, especially those by Std Pro, have been "corrected" incorrectly by collectors who were in a hurry to replace a part that didn't fit the pattern of other reported carbines. In my mind, if you come across a carbine with a "wrong" part, it is likely factory-original, because a previous owner - if he was a collector - would've changed out that "wrong" part. :-)

Regards, mb

The W on the WJ plates seems to match the W on the Wadsworth made plates, if anyone ever looked. 

Not really Dan,