Can we discuss the reliability of M-1 Carbines?????

[ABPOS]

Im not saying you do. But when I was a rangemaster I would see FNGs with their M1 Carbines they got from Granpa, or Uncle George that passed, or the local gunshow. They had the habit of trying to close the bolt by hand. They did this even after I told them they had to pull the op-rod back and let it go to advance a round into battery. Instead they seemed to think that they had to hold the op-rod and push it home by hand. Something to think about.

No, I let her fly. The problem isn't typically the first round in. Although I'm sure it has been at times. It seemed to be anywhere in the mag.

INLAND44. That probably would be a really good idea. Since I've never had it out. Like I said, I was always afraid of messing it up. As it was on there tight.

[Patrick Chadwick]

I am assuming that -like me - you keep your rifle clean and lubricated as appropriate. But maybe - like me - you do not have one of those bolt take-down tools. Having gained the impression that dismantling the carbine bolt was well-nigh impossible without one, the carbine was - up to now - the only one of my rifles which had not had the bolt assembly dismantled, cleaned and re-assembled.

Big mistake!

Training for an imminent competition, my (previously) flawlessly functioning carbine started to mess up the ejection. First one "half-stovepipe", then every now and again, then every single time. The cartridge ended up half out of the chamber, with the next round jammed in underneath. I had to finish the training session by loading rounds individually - very, very tedious!

At first, I thought that the extractor was badly worn, so that the rims were slipping out of engagement with the extractor as the case started to come out of the chamber. But examination under a watchmaker's eyeglass showed that this was not the case. The extractor looked fine - the trouble was simply that the extractor could not move in close enough to the bolt body to hold the rim reliably. I suspected a "foreign body" in the gap.

So I dismantled the bolt without a takedown tool. For those who have not done this, I can assure you that it is an exercise to be avoided. Nevertheless, I managed it, and discovered that the cause was not a foreign body, but quite simply hard-packed residues that required a brass brush to remove them.

For those who have not tried to re-assemble a carbine bolt without the takedown tool, I am now able to confirm that this is an exercise that is even worse than dismantling, and requires three hands with steel fingers. In the end, I had to make an impromptu jig to hold down the ejector stud while finagling the rest.

But having re-assembled it all, the extractor closed up properly, and is now fully functional.

Lesson 1) In accordance with Murphy's Law, you may have got your machinery 99% cleaned and oiled. It is the 1% you missed out that will cause you pain.
Lesson 2) If you are an active shooter, get yourself a bolt takedown tool a.s.a.p.


Patrick

[rokwell]

ABPOS: When I first started playing with these carbines I too broke the little 'finger' that's on the bolt takedown tool. It's easy to do it you don't rest it perfectly on the extractor plunger before tightening the screw. If you are lucky, you will find just the little swiveling part at a gun show, they are only about 10-14 USD, cheaper than buying a whole new tool. Just unscrew the broken one, replace with the new one. Good to go then. Also, when disassembling the bolt, it helps to put it in a big plastic bag, stick you hand in there with it. That way, when/if the extractor plunger or ejector zip out of the bolt, the bag will contain them, and you won't spend all day looking around the garage.....(happened to me too)

[tenOC]

I've only had poor results with the Carbine due to aftermarket mags. MADE IN USA meant that one mag will work and the other won't because the lip is just a little bent. I mean REALLY little.

[ChipS]

If the trigger housing is loose & wobbly on the receiver you can tighten it up laterally by squeezing the two front lugs of the trigger housing in a vise to pinch them tighter against the front receiver lug when assembled. This is easier to do and less scary than peening the rear trigger housing lug shoulders as noted above. The front trigger housing lugs are very maleable and will bend (without heating) easily with little ot no danger of failure. Just go slow & easy with the vise pressure out on the ends of the lugs and check the fit often so you don't over tighten the lugs. I pad my lugs with brass shim stock to avoid damaging the finish. If you do close the gap too much you can spread the lugs back out a little with a couple of steel wedges pretty easily. You can get a very snug fit on the front receiver lug and eliminate all of the lateral movement and rotation (wobble) in your trigger housing. This won't help any vertical slop at the rear mounting point (which is usually negligible) but it is easy to do and it will make your trigger housing mount a LOT more solidly on your receiver. If you do have a lot of wobble in a loose trigger housing this may a part of your stoppage problem. Forgive if my technical nomenclature is not 100% correct but I hope you get the point.

DO NOT TRY TO MODIFY OR 'TUNE' OR BEND OR PEEN OR MONKEY WITH YOUR RECEIVER FOR ANY REASON - IT IS EXPENSIVE, IT IS HARDENED AND IT WILL BREAK. hth

[Capt Mil Coll]

Yes me too. Started taking the bolt apart by hand before I knew there was a takedown tool for it. Did it a lot and got to be pretty good at it. But when I found out there was a tool to make it a lot easier I had one right away.

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

And the bolt tool is fast and easy to use. Makes taking the bolt, firing pin, extractor, ejector apart a piece of cake.

Ebay has repo pawls with bids starting at $12.
Or originals with buy it now for $12.
That is a good price. I paid $16 each in packs of ten many years ago.

repo
M1 CARBINE replacement pawl for bolt tool m1 | eBay

original
M1 CARBINE,ASSEMBLING TOOL SPARE PART, UNISSUED, GI | eBay

[fn111557]

ABPOS – If you have become totally disgusted with the problems of your carbine; I will trade you a couple certified autographed rookie football cards of Aaron Rodgers for it.
Just a thought!
Good Luck, and by the way I shoot BOTH of my IBM’s weekly for the last year with no problems. Clean & lube after each use.

[Sarge1998]

I re-read the reply's and didn't notice if this suggestion was supplied, but isn't the gas piston nut staked? If so that may be why he's having trouble removing it, and why another reply was that his was loose (someone had not re-staked after removal/cleaning), just a thought.

And another reason that it could be extremely difficult to remove I hate to say, is that someone cross-thread the damn thing when reassembled, again, just a thought.

[ABPOS]

Couple things here. First, thank you all for the responses.

Second, as expressed in one of my earlier posts, as far as the bolt goes. I bought the tool, rebuilt the bolt TWICE, and then the bolt tool busted. Some of you caught that, some of you didn't obviously. As far as I know, the bolt should be gtg. I'm pretty sure I always got my parts from BilliRicca for the carbine. I might've gotten the op slide spring from Fulton Armory though. I forget.

Thirdly, Sarge1998, very very good points. I forgot about the staking on the piston nut. It doesn't LOOK cross threaded, but it might not mean anything. I may have come to that conclusion a while ago not to futz with it because of those possibilities. Because I have the tool, and I'm not overly weak, and I could never get the thing to even budge. Although I don't think I put it in a vice because I was worried about hurting the barrel or receiver. If they made a tool like the AR has where it has a block that encases it, and holds it in place for your vice, that would be nice.

Fourthly. I was down there last night looking at it. I should've took pictures but I can if anyone thinks this has anything to do with it. I swear, any mag I put in there I can rock it forward and aft at LEAST 1/4". And same with left and right. And when I do, if I have the bolt pulled back, when I go left and right with it, I can see about a 1/16" gap between the receiver and the mag, or more. Is this normal? I DO have an M2 mag catch on there, and the mag seats directly against it. But the mag catch has a lot of play in it. That's where most of the movement is from. The mag catch seats directly to the mag, but allows for a LOT of movement. And then there is some movement in the trigger group. Not nearly as much as what the mag catch allows though. Someone suggested a long time ago to me that this is all normal. Is it?