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

[ABPOS]

Probably from the title you all can tell this might be a loaded question.

So let me give you a little background, to fuel the discussion.

I have always been a big fan of the M-1 Carbine. When I first got into shooting, and decided I "needed" a home defense weapon, I had decided on the Carbine. I read an Article by that Thunder ranch guy, Clint Smith and he was praising it for certain people. Well, to be honest he was praising it for women because it was light and handy and easy to operate. Well, maybe more so than like say a pump action shotgun, for home defense. Well, I always love the looks, the mag capacity, the history, etc etc. It just seemed like the perfect deal.

I have never really been a recoil junky and the light weight, well, it just is so nice.

So, I got one. Well, it never turned out to be what I wanted it. I trusted any AR I owned 17 times more so than my carbine. Problem is, I like the traditionally stocked weapon better. They just seem to feel better to me.

So, the reason it didn't turn out the way I wanted is I could never get that thing to run good. I had major malfs when I first got it. And I did what you're supposed to do. I rebuilt the bolt, I got new springs from reputable places. The only think I didn't do was get that gas nut off off the piston and clean it out. But it would always pass the "blow" test. If you cover up the chamber and blow on the muzzle and that piston moves free, you should be GTG. I bought USGI mags. I rebuilt mags. I even had to rebuild the bolt a second time because the frickin ejector plunger busted. And something else. Of course any 30 round mag I had wouldn't work well. They would feed for about the first 20 rounds and then it would start spewing ammo out. But 30 rounders always had a bad rep anyways.

So, to further this, My Dad had bought one at the same time I did, and it didn't fare any better. I rebuilt his bolt, gave it all the once over. And regardless, both of ours experience jams on a frequent basis. Then, I was discussing this with a friend the other day and he has heard that they weren't very reliable also. And this is from a very knowledgeable gun guy who owns quite a few weapons and is not one prone to be duped by Gun Store lore.

So, since I've never asked on here, I'd like to hear the opinions. Is there something inherent in the design or execution of manufacturing that lends itself to them not being all that reliable? Am I the only one experiencing this? I don't have a problem with the fact that maybe I did something wrong. But I feel rather conscientious about all this stuff. I got my Garand to be one reliable mojo and I even had to work at it a little. And I've had AR's that have never malf'd, once. I have some that have also, but from what I could tell it was due to old mags.

Maybe that's the deal with the carbines, but I'm not sure I know where to get good ones. I have rebuilt some with kits from Brownells. But the rifle still jammed with those to a degree. It was better, but not what I would've like to have seen. Most of the malfs are FTE's or stove pipes even. I don't think I had too many not go boom if the hammer dropped, but I don't really remember. What I remember most is stovepiping and FTE's. It's been a while since I shot it.

So, you guys tell me, have you gotten yours to run well? Am I all wet and full of it? Do any of you shoot them extensively? I would imagine some of you do. Has anybody else been frustrated with the reliability of theirs?

I can give more details on mine. It's a Standard Products, arsenal rebuilt. If pics would help, I can take the time to put them up. I will say one thing, that I don't know if it affected reliability or not. Mine is drilled and tapped on the left side. I didn't know it when I bought it. My Dad actually went and picked it up. So I wasn't there to break it down. Plus at the time, I don't know if I would've known better to look for that. But keep in mind, my Dad's IBM faired no better.

Thank you for your time.

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