Universal M1 Carbine Question

[Andyhighhat]

I am a new member and not sure just how this works.

I just purchased a Universal M1 .30 Carbine, S/N 89691 which appears in mint condition. I believe it is one of the first generation carbines made by Universal and would like to try to confirm that it is. Any suggestons?

My military service was USAF 1952-1973 and I have long wanted an M1 for shooting and boar hunting. @$400 I hope I have a good deal. A little worried about firing our of battery and need some reassurance.

Thanks for your thoughts.

AHH

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Bruce McAskill]

Andy, It looks like you may have one of the better ones by your serial number. If it has one recoil spring like a USGI carbine then it's most likely one of the first generation and if so USGI parts will interchange with the parts already on it as they most likely are USGI. Keep it clean and lubed. If your using commercial ammo you should not have a problem with an out of battery discharge. If your reloading then you have to measure each fired case and trim each time you load that case if needed. Kept to factory specs and you should not have anything to worry about.

[painter777]

Try here,
Universal Firearms Corp.

Charlie-painter777

[doncb]

Andy good luck with your carbine. I have a universal, serial number381799. Eaveryone has me gun shy on it and i sort of retired it, but i fired over 1200 rounds of surplus ammo through it and never had a missfire or any problems. Ive since added a Plainfield and Underwood to my collection and shoot them often. They sure are a fun gun and nice and light. Whay serial number did they start using the 2 recoil springs in? don in Fl.

[Andyhighhat]

Thanks Painter. Already went there after signing on to the forum. That is a great website! AHH

[landtrain]

To be an early Universal it should have one recoil spring and a solid recoil slide. You should not be able to see the locking luh on the bolt. As for the out of battery, just get into the habit of manually seating the bolt each time you fire. Remember that this is a commercial grade rifle and not designed to have the number of rounds fired through it as the GI guns were. Have your gun smith check the headfspace every few hundred rounds. Or buy a No Go gauge yourself. It's a very simple check to make. Good shooting. On the negative side. Sinch your going to spend $400 anyway, why not hold out ($250 more) for a GI Carbine. Hope this helps.

[doncb]

Ok guys ive got a Universal with 2 recoil springs that I have retired after shooting over 1200 rounds in. Im a fraidy cat from the bad things ive read. Please someone explain to me the worst scenerio that could happen fireing one of these guns. Thanks, don in Fl.

[Neal Myers]

The worst scenario? That would be having a bolt imbedded in your forehead, resulting in immediate death. (This round is close to a .357 mag.)

More likely, your face would be peppered with brass shards from the case, causing the loss of one or both eyes if you are not wearing eye protection.

I don't know if I would call this an "immediate life hazard", but we have at least one credible description of a late Universal firing out of battery. But, with good USGI carbines readily available & reasonably priced, there just doesn't seem any good reason to take a chance.

[doncb]

Thanks,ive retired mine and am now shooting a GI issue. YOU GUYS SCARED ME. thanks don in fl.

[Jim K]

The result of firing out of battery is never good, but the M1 rifle and M1 carbine are pretty well designed to keep the bolt from leaving the receiver. You are in far greater danger of that kind of problem with a conventional bolt action than with either of those rifles.

What usually happens with out-of-battery fire in those rifles is that the bolt will be blown back, the stock will be splintered and the magazine destroyed, and the receiver rails bulged outward. Injuries usually come from stock splinters and brass fragments in the off hand, and sometimes powder and gas "peppering" of the forehead. The receiver protects the shooter's eyes (and everyone should wear shooting glasses anyway) and lower face.

Actually, out-of-battery fire is quite uncommon with any rifle. Some folks think that any gun that fires as the bolt closes has fired out of battery, but usually the bolt has either fully locked or has locked enough to prevent a true out-of-battery condition. When a rifle does fire out of battery, believe me, you know it!

Jim