Choice/source for M1 Carbine magazines?

Ive used many of the Korean mags, both 15 and 30- they are GTG.

The problem with most "GI" 30-rounders is they are fake. Some still function fine, though. Expect to pay at least $100 for a real GI 30.

I always see several vendor tables at local gunshows with GI 15s ranging from well-used to still in wax paper, so have acquired a pile of those too.

The 15 round KCI's as sold by Outdoor Limited are just about all I use and they are very reliable. I bought some 15 round Korean examples from Gunmagwarehouse, but they have the bolt hold open feature, which I detest. Can't say much about the 30's....I have a couple but never use them.

By the way, love your avatar, I'm a HUGE Sinatra fan. "Ring-a-ding-ding!"

35W

Another vote for the KCI 15 rounders. I have nine that work just fine in three different USGI M1 carbines. My three KCI 30 round mags were GTG once I swapped the factory spring for Wolff +15% mag springs.

Another boring vote for the boring KCI M1 carbine mag. They're so boringly reliable that they are ......... boring.

AIM Surplus has the Korean 15 and 30 round mags at a good price, the 30 is on sale now for $10.95, the 15 is $11.95.

www.Keepshooting.com has 10 round mags that work in my GI Carbine.

Ken Hackathorn shared a number of observations about the M1 Carbine in this interview, including his preference for Korean-made magazines -- presumably KCI, but he don't recall that he actually mentions the brand:

You now have to be careful of the "still in waxed paper GI" as those are being produced for sale.

The actual GI ones are unmarked, and you'd need fancy equipment o identify the rosin paper used, so they are easy to fake.

One thing I have found is that 15 round magazines are inherently more reliable than 30 round ones overall. Which ought not be a huge surprise as the curved bit was grafted on the straight part as a wartime kluudge for expediency's sake. And the 15 rounder was a smacked together knock off of the 32 WSL magazine as a "good enough" answer for wartime expediency, too.

Will join the KCI work as they should.

I have found that the ProMag magazines are decent, but I've had to take one of them apart to fix a scraping follower...

Bayou52

KCI = yes, Promag = no.

Swing said:

Hey thanx all. I just ordered 5 15-rounders and 2 30-rounders, all KCIs. Should be a good start. (Still looking for a flush-fitting 5-rounder, though this one might not be necessary after doing some reading.)

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I cut a 15 round mag down just using an estimate as to length to make a 5 round mag.

I was off a little, turned out to be a 4 round, but that was fine, just wanted to meet state hunting law at the time.

Swing said:

Hey thanx all. I just ordered 5 15-rounders and 2 30-rounders, all KCIs. Should be a good start. (Still looking for a flush-fitting 5-rounder, though this one might not be necessary after doing some reading.)

Click to expand...

I might have a 5 rounder in my m1 carbine box. But my hazy recollection is that it was kind of rusty.
I also have a couple dozen in-wax wrap usgi mags an uncle gave me back in '95. And a spare barrel. Heck, I forget what is in that box.

I bought mags from Sarco. I asked the friendly customer service gal if they were Korean. She said her.computer didn't say. Haven't tested them at the range yet.