Iver Johnson... Yay or nay?

[gwp]

How can you tell the age or year?

The dates of manufacture are available on the site ChipS posted.

http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbine_ij03.html

[Sunray]

Iver Johnson took over Plainfield Machine Company and quality went down hill. A Plainfield(had mine for 40 years. No issues a bath didn't fix. Never required any parts) is an exact copy. IJ's are lower end.
"...relatively cheap..." If you think $350 plus is cheap. Mind you, there's a Plainfield on Gunbroker running $225.
Early Universals are OK, but after their idiotic redesign(look for the poorly made stamped op handle, that breaks, a toggle for the bolt hold open and two return springs) they're junk.

[mp40man]

I'm with GWP, a Hoosier neighbor and Tuna on this one. I had an early Universal chrome or nickel plated..even the 30 rd. mag was plated and beautiful wood. I acquired this in a trade in the early seventies but traded it off years ago. A buddy of mine had an Iver Johnson back then and we ran a ton of ammo through em..surplus was so cheap back then it wasn't an issue. Iver Johnson made some quality firearms back in the day..prior to 68. I never had a problem with my Universal or my friend's Iver Johnson. It'll hold ya over till you get a military carbine. They are a lot of fun and welcome to the forum I wish you well in your quest. Rich

[CHW2021]

The earlier production was a direct copy of the military rifle, the later design was different insofar as the piston and guide rods were changed. I do not recall any changes to the bolt.
Later production was "spotty" on quality and shooting results varied wildly. Remove the action from the stock and if it is the same as a military rifle you are good.

[Johan412th]

So my local shop has a new never been fired iver Johnson ww2 commemorative edition (1941-1991) for 695... Is it a good rifle and/or a good deal? Also, one of the carbines has an m14 style flash suppressor... Does anyone know what make it is and where can I get one?

[bonnie]

So my local shop has a new never been fired iver Johnson ww2 commemorative edition (1941-1991) for 695... Is it a good rifle and/or a good deal? Also, one of the carbines has an m14 style flash suppressor... Does anyone know what make it is and where can I get one?

Up to you.
For $695 I would pass quickly by. $450.00 at the most and I wouldn't be interested. It may be a WWII commemorative but it has no collector value. For $695.00 and $100.00 (+/-) more and you are within striking distance of a decent, genuine USGI gun that will retain or increase in value.

Have no knowledge of an M14 type flash suppressor for an M1 carbine. Commercial add on ?

[Tuna]

The flash suppressor is not a normal carbine accessory for any commercial or USGI carbine and was most likely added by a previous owner.

[gwp]

So my local shop has a new never been fired iver Johnson ww2 commemorative edition (1941-1991) for 695... Is it a good rifle and/or a good deal? Also, one of the carbines has an m14 style flash suppressor... Does anyone know what make it is and where can I get one?

I have one of the Iver Johnson with the "1941 -1991 50th Anniversary" marked slide and the flag disk on the stock. These carbines were the last carbines produced by Iver Johnson before they went bankrupt. The quality was varied on the last production. My example required a little adjustment to prevent the hammer from following the bolt occasionally. After the repairs it has functioned as reliably as other commercial M1 carbines. My Iver Johnson has a very well figured stock and a good finish on on the metal. I purchased it many years ago for less than half the price of a military M1 carbine.

I also purchased an IJ stainless steel carbine when they first were produced and it was OK but nothing special. Someone was willing to pay more than I paid so I pocketed the money and they took the stainless IJ.

[coastie]

I now have four [4] Iver Johnson .30 caliber carbines.
And one has a reproduction folding stock.
They are ok.
The first stainless model split it's extractor.
Replaced with a standard mil-spec and it is fine.
Found a pawn shop SS with a plastic stock.
Some failure to fire at the range, will need to strip and clean it.
Hey, it shoots and that is what counts.
The SS models have a lower quality metal, in my opinion,
than other firearms, but they were "pioneers" for the time.
Oh, Houston Police Dept. recovered my Plainfield stolen in
1991! Court date on my notes, soon. The Plainfields have
different manufacturing "shortcuts".

[gwp]

I The Plainfields have
different manufacturing "shortcuts".

I have two Plainfield carbines built from CMP receivers. Both receivers had military barrels and accepted GI parts. I believe some Plainfield carbines were returned with the Military Assistance Program rifles from South America. I think the receivers were the only non GI parts on the export carbines.