I didn't know Carbine but met his wife when I lived in Fayetteville. I had friends who knew him well. He was something of a mechanical genius and tinkered steel into highly complex shapes that were costly to cut. That expense was what got Winchester into other designs. I agree with Jim Carmichael that the Model 50 was the most beautiful automatic. It was also the fastest until recent designs surpassed it.
I shot one occasionally and have to agree the rear balance is an acquired taste, but specifically directed at shooting quail. Removing the recoil chamber from the stock and using a slightly longer barrel can work around that problem with custom loads.
My dearest friend who taught me the ways of quail, used a Model 50 like the sword of death. I was never slow, but he could kill three quail in the time I pulled the trigger twice.
Good days, good dogs, and a great gun.
Steve
