M1 Carbine

If there has ever been a tribute to American manufacturing ability it is the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1. Over six and one half million M1 Carbines were manufactured. By and large, they are reliable and trouble free. The single most common complaint was poor wound potential, but this occurred when the rifle was pushed beyond its role as a Personal Defense Weapon. It isn’t a 200 yard rifle, it is a PDW, even though the term was not yet coined in 1942 when the Carbine entered service.

The Carbine is a neat little long gun. It is traditional with the exposed barrel and cut down stock of a carbine, as in Krag and Springfield style. However, the carbine uses a low power cartridge rather than the full-powered cartridge of the service rifle. Tank crewmen, truck drivers, ammo bearers, and officers had previously been armed with a handgun and the idea was to give these troops a service weapon superior to the handgun but not as heavy and difficult to manage as the Someone has damaged the screw head.

Below center: It was simple to move the barrel band forward. Only finger pressure was needed. 30, M1 was a great success in sales and military use. full-powered, full-size M1 Garand service rifle. Winchester succeeded admirably with the M1 Carbine and it remains popular for personal defense, some forms of competition in special side matches, and for recreation. While normal repairs sometimes center upon a lack of lubrication and a need for cleaning, some shooters will wish to have the rifle accurized.

Increasing accuracy potential is possible and the effort is minimal. Disassembly Remove the magazine and set it aside. Open the bolt. Press the bolt stop on the bolt and lock the bolt to the rear. Check the chamber to be certain it is not loaded, then close the bolt. The first step in disassembly is to loosen (or remove) the barrel band that secures the stock to the barrel. Usually you can just loosen the screw holding the barrel band with no need to remove the barrel band.

Depress the barrel band spring with a proper punch. Use a brass hammer to tap the barrel band toward the muzzle. With this done, remove the handguard by pulling up and out of the lower stock.

The receiver is removed from the stock by pulling the barreled action up and out. Set the stock apart from the receiver. Drift out the trigger housing pin with a proper fitting punch. The trigger housing may then be removed by pressing the housing straight back and pulling it from the receiver. The recoil spring guide can be used to compress the recoil spring with the tip end of the guide pulled back to compress the spring and moving it from the recess in the operating slide and removing it.

Look close at the receiver and find the notch that releases the operating slide. The operating slide should be pulled to the rear slowly while exerting pressure to move the slide to the right. When the operat- If it does, replacing the extractor can be troublesome. This bolt is in good shape. ing slide reaches the notch in the receiver, the operating slide may be removed. Push forward on the operating slide while putting counter clockwise force to the body as you do this.

The operating slide will come away from the receiver when it reaches this notch. Press the bolt fully forward as far as it will travel when in its locked position, then reverse motion and pull it to the rear, rotating counter clockwise while moving the bolt. The left front lug of the bolt must reach a gap in the receiver where it will disengage. The bolt is then pulled forward and up to remove from the receiver.

Occasionally, the bolt will catch during this operation, requiring the bolt to be pressed down and clockwise to move forward. Trigger Housing Hold the hammer back as you press the trigger. Do not let the hammer slam forward; lower it gently. Insert a pin punch into the hole at the front of the hammer spring plunger. Be careful that the punch is only inserted as far as needed. The hammer spring may be compressed and moved either right or left and away from the hammer.

The hammer is moved to allow the hammer spring and hammer spring plunger to be removed. Use an appropriate punch to drift the hammer pin out and remove the hammer. Drift out the trigger pin, tilt the trigger housing sideways and allow the sear to fall out. Be careful here as the sear spring sometimes becomes trapped in the trigger instead of falling clean away. Push the trigger up and tilt it back to disengage the trigger spring and remove the trigger. If the sear has fallen into the trigger, it will now fall out.

The trigger spring can now be removed by pushing from behind. You may also punch it out through a hole in the trigger housing. At the very base of the trigger housing is a small hole to access the safety spring plunger with a thin punch or very small jeweler’s screwdriver. Insert the punch or screwdriver and hold the safety spring plunger back. To remove the magazine catch, press it to the right to remove from the trigger housing. The magazine catch spring and plunger may be

Most will be reliable. pressed out along with the safety spring plunger. The safety is another press fit removed with pressure on the left side. Some effort may be required to do this. The Bolt The bolt assembly may be disassembled for care and cleaning or parts replacement. The extractor is held in place by the extractor spring plunger which must be depressed to drive out the extractor. While it seems simple, it isn’t that easy in practice.

Secure the bolt in a padded vise and select one of your smallest screwdrivers to depress the extractor spring plunger. When depressing the plunger it is possible to wedge the screwdriver in place, making for better operation for removing the extractor. With this done, the extractor can be removed with a punch or screwdriver. Press down on the plunger while simultaneously wedging out the extractor. Small parts are inside the bolt and you will find them taking flight if you are not careful.

The small extractor spring plunger usually falls straight down. The ejector and its ejector spring usually come out together. I apply tape over the ejector before disassembling the bolt. These parts seldom move more than a few inches from the bolt if you do manage to let them fly—I certainly have and probably will again—and a wide, white piece of paper under the vise usually captures them well. The parts removed here include the extractor, extractor spring, ejector and ejector spring, and firing pin.

The M1 Carbine does not use a firing pin spring; the firing pin floats free. Reassembly is more difficult. To reassemble the bolt, line up the extractor spring plunger first, then replace the ejector. Depress the ejector and then the extractor as the extractor holds the ejector in place. Move the extractor spring plunger into place so that the extractor may be put back into its normal position. The action bar or operating slide may be disassembled with a punch with the slide lock driven out from top to bottom.

The slide lock spring may follow or it may need to be shaken out to remove from the operating slide. The gas piston is located on the underside of the barrel. Unscrew the gas pistol nut. A punch may be needed if it does not rotate easily with the first effort. Take down the magazine for cleaning or spring replacement by driving out the magazine floor plate and pressing it forward from the magazine body.

The stock doesn’t require more removing the butt plate and recoil shock plate that rides in the stock at the rear of the receiver. Take a look at the stock and give it a good going over. The stock is important if accuracy improvements are undertaken.

Above center: Commercial stock compared to a GI stock (right.) Accurizing The Carbine The M1 Carbine was intended for use at moderate range as a pistol alternative. I have found that many issue Carbines will group three shots into four inches at 100 yards with good ammo. GI issue ammunition is reliable, as are most generic loads, but not designed for accuracy.

Hornady’s 110 grain FMJ .30 Carbine round is a leader in affordable accuracy and their Critical Defense softpoint load is among the most accurate factory offerings. Handloading and careful experiments can pay off big dividends for the shooter, but that is another story. We gunsmiths will work with the firearm’s metal and wood. The action must be modified to recoil to the same point time after time. Inspect the stock and be certain it isn’t cracked or warped. Check the barrel band.

There are several types and some are important variations to collectors. The smaller half-inch wide bands are less accurate; the one-inch band is better. The narrow bands sometimes move under recoil before finding a place they stay for a few shots. Carbines with bayonet lugs use a larger barrel band and this type should be chosen for best accuracy. Next up, the recoil plate or "end hooks" depending on terminology. This part sets in the stock and the action connects to it.

The receiver must be a wedged fit into the stock with the recoil plate fitting under the Insert an M2 .30-06 ball round into the muzzle of the .30 Carbine. As you can see, this one passes the test as the bullet doesn’t enter into the muzzle up to the case mouth.

The wider barrel bands are preferable for accuracy. receiver. This fit is very important. Inconsistency here yields either poor accuracy or decent accuracy with occasional fliers. When fit tight at the rear of the receiver, the barrel will generally run about 1/8 to 1/4" above the stock and pressed down to fit the band and be in line. There is some finesse involved in fitting the recoil plate. You do not wish to press fit the wood to the point of cracking or compressing.

Place the action in the stock and slap the butt end to seat the action. Align the recoil plate and have the barrel band on the stock. Tighten the recoil plate screw. Check to see if the barrel floats or if it is tight on the stock. There are several ways to insure a tight recoil plate fit. One is to bed the recoil plate, which isn’t difficult. Another is to peen the plate. Take the plate out, place it on a wooden block, and strike the front edge where it meets the carbine with a brass hammer.

Try the fit, repeating as necessary. This technique has worked to tighten the action and also raise and float the barrel to an extent. Bedding the recoil plate seems to last longer, as the peening technique may require another treatment later. When reassembling, strike the butt plate hard with a wooden board, length wise, to seat the action. The action lug and recoil plate must be seated. More M1 Carbine barrels have been worn with improper cleaning than by firing.

The easy test of a worn barrel is to insert a .30-06 ball cartridge bullet first into the carbine barrel. If the bullet stops, the barrel is usable and may be good. If the bullet goes in the barrel up to the case mouth of the cartridge, the barrel has been damaged and may be very poor for accuracy. Another accuracy concern is a too-thick forward handguard. This happens when the semi circle that butts into the barrel band is simply too thick to allow a good fit.

This piece may be addressed with sandpaper in order to produce a good fit. I always do a safety check of any carbine before firing. After triple checking as clear and unloaded, depress the trigger while working the bolt. The hammer should not fall but he held back unless the trigger is released and then pressed. Ammunition Normally, 110 grain loads must exit the muzzle at 1,980 fps (2,000 fps is standard) for reliable function.

As an example, I experienced function problems in one M1 Carbine due to the ammunition, a foreign produced load at 1,940 fps. On the other hand, Korean surplus ran just fine. In modern ammunition, American Eagle .30 Carbine seems a good buy in 50 round boxes and has excellent performance. I have also proofed the Buffalo Bore 110 grain 2,100 fps load and found it also functions well.

It’s worth noting that your customer’s non-standard handloads or any load of insufficient velocity may not properly function the action. AG Overall, a robust design.