M1 Carbine problems

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Ron91710

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I bought a new Auto Ordnance M1 Carbine about 3 weeks ago and have fired it on 2 trips to the range. The first time I had some feeding problems and LOTS of ejection problems. I think the feeding problem was that I did not have the magazine completely seated. The 2nd time shooting I had very few feeding problems. I am still having ejection problems and it may be that the bolt is not fully unlocking.

I am using 2 brands of ammo. Magtec (Turners) & Talon (from the gun show). I have measured the cases of each with calipers and find the Magtec to be .5/1000 larger in diameter at the base, middle, and just under the bullet. The funny part is that the slightly larger cases are ejecting better.

Any ideas or anyone else having similar problems?

Thanks for any help,
Ron
 
When I first shot my AO Carbine, I also had some feeding issues as well. It only came with the factory 15 round mag and I hadn't gotten more at the time. It was having feeding issues as well, but the mag was seated all the way. I have no idea what caused the problem, but i took the mag apart and put it back together and it's functioned flawlessly since.

I have no experience using the ammo you are using though. All I have used is American Eagle and Privi Partizan. It may be the ammo, but that is just a guess.
 
Start with a really good bath. Especially the bolt. Then change ammo. Not all factory ammo is created equal. As with any rifle, particularly a semi-auto, you have to try as many brands as you can to find the ammo your rifle will both shoot well and cycle the action.
Keep the brass and reload.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. I am using break free as a lube but very little. Would I be better off with a little gun grease. I haven't yet done a complete breakdown but will do that before the next use so I can see the areas that should be lubed and hope fully that will take care of the problem. I thought it would fire better "out of the box".

Oh yes, I keep brass and will reload when I have enough.

How reliable are military surplus magazines?

Ron
 
Can't help with the AO brand. I have 5 M1 Carbines, all different WWII suppliers and have never had a malfunction. I always use original military magazines and Lake City surplus ammo from Korea and Vietnam eras.
 
I believe that the factory 15 round mags are surplus. I've never had any issues with it except for the initial problems which have seemed to work itself out.
 
"...thought it would fire better "out of the box"..." All new firearms need a bath out of the box. They're usually greased all over to prevent rust. That grease needs to be cleaned out. Especially the bolt. Good ammo makes a big difference too. Used Winchester in my Plainfield, at first. Nothing but my handloads since. Speer 110 grain HP's or SP's with IMR4227(makes a fabulous BARK! sound) and regular small rifle primers. 13.5 to 15.0(compressed).
The CMP is selling 500 rounds of reloadable, Aguila, 110 grain FMJ's for $155 and shipping. (Jump the hoops, shoot the matches even if you don't have to(great fun) and look into an issue carbine too.)
"...How reliable are military surplus magazines?..." As daft as it sounds, they're much better than any aftermarket mag. Aftermarket mags vary considerably in quality. Gunparts is listing new 15 round milsurp mags at $26.25 each. $29.95 each for used 'fair' condition milsurp 30 round mags.
Mind you, sometimes, if you buy on-line, you can get rusted milsurp mags. How big a deal that is depends on how bad the rust is. Light rust is no big deal. 0000 steel wool and some oil will clean that off with no fuss. (A fine brass wheel in a bench grinder with a light touch is faster though. Eye protection is mandatory if you can do that.) I wouldn't bother if the steel is pitted.
 
For Garand/M14/M1 Carbine type of rotating bolt rifles, you need to use Mil Spec Lubriplate:

http://www.lubriplate.com/webstore/detail.aspx?ID=12

Military recommends using this grease on their M14/M1 carbine.

If this grease still does not solve your problem, it is your magazine. But I think grease is your solution. Make sure to lube the two rotating rings of the bolt as well as the concaved rails for which the rings travel through.

My M1A had some problems with returning to battery, and this grease solved the problem. I also got ride of all the Chinese-made magazines, and purchase USGI mags instead.
 
Sunray,
By "out of the box" I did not mean to imply that I did not do a little cleaning first. I did clean the bore well before firing. I did not remove and clean the bolt though. I'll field strip it and clean it more.

I am not surprised that the surplus mags work better. I thought that might be the case. I'm in the slave state of California where you can only have 10 round mags unless you had them before 2000. Somewhere... I have a box of old gun parts and I might have some 15 or 20 rnd mags in there. Gotta go looking.

I will have to look into CMP. I know that there are several requirements to purchase from them. Also, I would have bought the M1 from them if I had known about them first. I like the idea of having a weapon that has seen combat.

Retro,
Thanks for the info on what to lube. I agree, no more new magazines. USGI only.
 
I use breakfree on all the parts and use a good rifle grease on the bolt lugs and in the slide slot. I would clean it properly and lub, cycle the action manually 30-50 times (unloaded), wipe off excess grease and relube as needed. Put 2-3 drops of breakfree in the bolt and use a spent round to exercise the bolt parts. My M1 Garand needs more grease then the Carbine. I have also seen guys gum up their carbines with grease so don't get carried away.
 
You might also want to take a very close look at the chamber face (breech area) I did a repair on an M1 carb. for FTF and FTE, what I found was brass buildup around the breech that had a detrimental effect on the extractor (would not grip the rim of the cart. enough to pull it out), Some times it would pull it part way out and let go.

I had to use a "dental pic" to clean the brass out, Then I had to soak the gas piston it "blaster" pennitrating oil for two days and pull it out with pliers, and replace the trigger group, as it had a tendency to go full auto some times.
 
AO M1 Carbine feed problems too!

Bought mine late Oct 2008. Noticed barreled action moves fwd and back about 1/16". The movement in the stock could be causing my misfeeds? Replaced recoil plate with GI recoil plate and no more movement. Will take out to range again for test run. Other than this, no other problems so far. Does this sound familiar to anybody? BTW, only using USGI 15 rd mags.
 
This is probably unrelated, but my AO Carbine's bolt got very stuck after several weeks. :confused:Stuck, as in jammed on the right side, somehow out of the track :(. It was never mistreated and kept oiled and cleaned, using only Rem. ammo (then did not know about Wolf).
First gun I ever bought.

The gunsmith at the store which sold it to me brand-new sent it immed. to the factory for a free repair. Won't mention my next actions after it came back. It was my first and very last retail brand-new purchase of any gun.
 
Ignition Override. Sorry to hear :(

Here recently I cannot remember a US manufactured firearm which I have purchased at retail that did not need to be returned to the factory for obvious defects which would have been uncovered had the factory exercised even a mote of diligence. I'm to the point of purchasing foreign source firearms, or if it is a US firearm, just take it from the retailer to the UPS and ship it back before even opening the box, so certain am I that there will be a problem with it. It is very disheartening.
 
I had some issues with my AO carbine early on. Occasionally, it would fail to feed completely, in other words, the round was stripped from the magazine but failed to lock into battery by about 1/16 to 1/8 inch.

This has pretty much disappeared with more shooting ("breaking it in") and sticking to GI surplus magazines. The last time I had it out for 100 rounds ... not a problem.
 
Today was the third time out shooting this Carbine. Even after stripping the weapon and lubing the parts that slide together I could not get 3 to 4 rounds out without problems. The bolt even locks shut and will not open.

IT GOES BACK tomorrow with the 2 mags I have. I have never had a "gun" that did not work out of the box before.

Update later.
 
Mine is an old USGI one that came out of my grandfather's basement. It jammed by feeding problems plenty at first, but worked fine after a good cleaning.
 
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