TheGunMag: "M1 Carbine the Most Versatile Rifle"

[DaveHH]

After reading everything ever written by SLA Marshall, my opinion on the carbine in combat is all about how it did in Korea. It wasn't about freezing, or weak hitting power, it was about running out of ammunition in 10 minutes. There were stories of guys going out on patrol with 60 rounds as a basic load. Take that and have it in the hands of a scared to death kid with an M2 switch and those 60 rounds are gone in minutes. Because the carbine could not be replenished off stripper clips like say the M14 can today, the problem compounds. I've got 5 empty magazines and to refill them and put me back into the fight, I have to either hunt for that 50 round box I know that I have somewhere and put them in one at a time. Wait, there are 10 round stripper clips. But I need the little kit that comes with the bandoleer where is that little tool from the bandoleer? In Vietnam I had a full automatic M14. In the truck I would carry a laundry bag full of 20 rd magazines 15 or more. That's the answer to ammunition problems. The carbine just wasn't planned as a high volume shooter but they made it one anyway. Marines in WW2 made it work because it wasn't full auto and they were Marines, they ate and slept rifle accuracy and management.

Re gas piston cleaning: I actually took out the piston on my Winchester and it and the cylinder looked brand new and squeaky clean. A total waste of time. Staking also purposely damages threads to keep a nut from coming loose. When you override the staked/damaged threads you are looking for trouble. I put my Winchester back together by moving the nut back and forth like a tap would be used to avoid a cross thread. I'd advise anyone else making this mistake to do the same. I believe that the threads are more of a pipe thread than machined thread, they cut their way through problem areas making them candidates for damaging more than what's already been done.