Bad Day for the M1 Carbine

SKScanuck

SKScanuck

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I went out to the range to sight in my M1 Carbine, (I had parkerized it, (except for the bolt and trigger group).

So I get things pretty good windage wise and I put in my third 5 round mag to check the zero..

And on the second shot..bang....I blew a lug off the bolt...:eek: :runaway:

I was shooting 110 g cmj over 15 g of H110. I guess I better stick to 14.5 g with my new bolt....


Anyone else evry do this?
 
SKScanuck said:
I went out to the range to sight in my M1 Carbine, (I had parkerized it, (except for the bolt and trigger group).

So I get things pretty good windage wise and I put in my third 5 round mag to check the zero..

And on the second shot..bang....I blew a lug off the bolt...:eek: :runaway:

I was shooting 110 g cmj over 15 g of H110. I guess I better stick to 14.5 g with my new bolt....


Anyone else evry do this?
Click to expand...

Without looking at a manuel to be sure I can't say, but if you load any hotter then military spec, you will roach your rifle:( . You might be better of with FMJ rather then plated bullets if your going to bump the pressure limit, as they tend to give more velocity for pressure then plated. Sorry bout you luck:(
 
Nope you can munch up USGI carbines if the load is hotter then mil-spec. Like the M-14-M1 Garand they where made to operate at one pressure level/curve and if you change it somethings gonna break:( . It's the one gun I don't load for as for the amount of shooting she gets, remington UMC or winchester white box is fine.
 
Just checked two of my reloading manuals.
Max. load with 110 grain bullets, Nosler 14 grains of H110,
Speer 13.8 grains of H110.
I would suggest loading light, just enough to reliably cycle the action.
How much power do you need to punch a hole in paper?
 
was it a usgi bolt? flat or round bolt

if it was round it was WAY over pressure as the round bolts were made to fix the lug breaking problems of the 1st flat bolts
 
Well it is the right lug that snapped off. The lug with the extractor.

Round or flat bolt? I have no idea. You guys can tell m.

And the Lee Manual says max load 15g H110 with 110g. I am going to drop the next batch down.


Here are some photos:

DSC02809.jpg


DSC02808.jpg


DSC02807.jpg


DSC02806.jpg


DSC02805.jpg


And the rifle. It is a "no-name" the markings were ground off when I bought it. Still had the rear sight so i figure it is not one of those "german ploice ones". Though I could be incorrect.

DSC02810.jpg
 
The Lee manual lists different loads for jacketed vs. cast bullets. With plated bullets, you load as though they are cast. 14.5gr is WAY over pressure for cast loads in the M1 carbine. You got off lucky!
 
On the 3rd pic it looks like it was already cracked (I might be wrong).
Maybe the previous owner tried to improve the performance
of the puny cartridge.
FYI it's a round bolt, looks like US GI carbine.
Look under the back sight, in the rear for any markings.
 
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same thing happened to me 3 weeks ago with a 43 USGI flat bolt. Got a complete bolt at the ancaster show for 50 bucks, a round bolt. Not a FLUKE just a 60 year old bolt with many thousands of round through it im sure
 
No, not copper jacketed bullets should not be loaded as cast. The PLATED bullets should be. There is a difference. Plated bullets are just cast lead bullets that have been thinly plated with copper using electrolysis to lower lead fouling. Copper jacketed bullets, on the other hand, either have the lead core swaged or cast into a thick copper jacket.
 
It's a round bolt that was cracked before you shot it. 15 grains is max for H110, but that load wouldn't have done that to a carbine in good condition. A stripped bolt from Marstar is $49. You'll need headspace guages too.
 
yes you need to headspace it BUT in my hundreds of m1 carbines ive yet to find a serious headspace problem even the ones ive built my self useing all usgi parts have been within specs

but check it still

order 2 or 3 bolts in case you need to swap around to get in spec
 
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