M1 Carbine mag feeding issue

jonnyboy1014

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Hello.

I have an inland div M1 Carbine with a USGI mag marked IA. The gun will always chamber the first round but then jams half way on the brass for the next one, the bolt will be on top of the round. After some testing and trying different things I've come to the conclusion it's either the mag, or whatever holds the mag in place. I figure this because when I rack a round and pull the mag towards me tight, it will load the next round perfectly, it does seem to wobble in the magwell a little bit too. I would say there is about an 1/8" of play back and forth.

How can this issue be corrected?

Note: I have not yet fired the weapon, merely just function tested it. Ammo used: 110grain S&B FMJ, PPU SP RN FMJ and PPU SP FMJ

TIA

photos from google, but pretty much looks the same:

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9/10 M1 Carbine problems originate with worn out or bad quality magazine springs. Order up a service rifle pack from Wolff in the US (they ship to Canada) and toss a couple magazine springs on your order.
 
9/10 M1 Carbine problems originate with worn out or bad quality magazine springs. Order up a service rifle pack from Wolff in the US (they ship to Canada) and toss a couple magazine springs on your order.

I had a feeling this would be the answer.

On that note, would a new KCI mag fix the issue? interwebz say they are Korean made surplus (basically USGI)
 
My buddy bought one and it was a constant jammomatic. he offered to sell the rifle to me, but after watching all the "jamming" video's on U tube I decided not to. It seems to be an inherent issue with those as well as the original.
my buddy tried all the internet fixes & had it apart more times than I can count.
every time he thought he had it solved......Jam.!
too bad, I really like the rifle. I wished he would have solved the issue, then I could have had some positive fix info to spread.
 
I had a feeling this would be the answer.

On that note, would a new KCI mag fix the issue? interwebz say they are Korean made surplus (basically USGI)

It might fix it, wouldn't hurt to try. At worst, you have a spare magazine. I'd still recommend ordering a complete spring kit for your rifle and a couple mag springs. Eventually you'll want a cool GI mag which could use one and replacing all the springs will give you a better basis from which to diagnose possible issues in the future.
 
One of my mags was doing the same thing. I ended up buying a couple of pinned 30 round mags. problem solved. After a couple of months I compared the mags and the lips where bent. Took me a few tries to get them right but it now works. Without a good mag to compare to I couldn’t fix it. Try another mag and see if that fixes your problem.
 
Another thing to try is take the mag apart and flip the spring so the front of the spring under the follower is now at the back
I had a mag that would never work until I tried flipping the spring and now it works good
 
I've found more often than springs being the issue, it is the fact that the two detents at the rear of the magazine body have been worn out
with use. If these detents are not proud enough to lock solidly on the magazine catch anymore, you will find the excess movement in the magazine will
cause feeding issues.

So again, unfortunately the most likely way to solve the problem is attaining another magazine. I can't speak for post war commercial carbines and mags,
but I find with my USGI M1s, there will be one GI magazine out of several that will fit just right with a particular carbine.
 
I had that same issue with two new Auto-Ordnance M1s. I solved the issue for the most part by installing surplus M2 mag catches. The factory one did not hold the mags high enough for the bolt to catch them reliably. I'd guess yours is doing the same.
 
I've had several M1 Carbines that had feeding issues. As already posted, most of them were magazine related, some due to bubba adjusting the feed lips for different shape bullets than the little rifles are designed to feed. Other common issues were weak or broken return springs.

However, a some had other issues, Anything from weak return springs to really rough feed ramps. Some of the Inland feed ramps looked more like file surfaces than smooth feed ramps and a bit of careful stoning and polishing had them feeding properly, even with exposed lead, half jacket bullets. I had a post war Universal (1st model) that had a burr on the bottom edge of the feed ramp. It was fine with fmj ammo but wouldn't feed anything with a lead tip. That was an easy fix and unusual.

Then there are the new NR auto ordnance M1 carbines. The rifle I personally owned for a short time never had a hiccup. Some others weren't as lucky. One of the unlucky rifles had a feed ramp that was to steep and rough. The owner had played with the magazines, which threw things off. It was only after some real head scratching that I compared the feed ramp with another rifle. Again, some tedious stoning and polishing fixed the issue.
 
Yep, awesome handy little rifle, but never get through a mag without issues. I like the gun a lot, but not enough time or interest at the moment to bother going through for a full fix.

Once my 20mm big bore bug fades back to normal levels, I'll get back to it.
 
Buy a wolf Spring kit for the rifle, the recoil spring could be another culprit, along with worn mag springs or the mag maybe so old as to be totally out of spec. KCI are the next best thing to usgi. Let me know your source as I would love some more. Please pm me.
 
I have many m1 carbines all GI with 2 palinfields as well

feeding problems

NEVER had feed ramp problems

GI mags several things to look for
spring make sure its in the right way there is a front and back google it
pinning the rivet if too long will bind the spring and cause problems
fed lips not likely with GI mags unless someone did it
mag detents as above sometime worn and wont sit in rifle correctly
lastly length of magazine spring these are 70+ years old and if left loaded..... try and find GI springs NOS

Rifle
recoil spring measure it and google it to see length I find GI springs are the best I don't like wolff recoil springs
mag catch I have a very early postal meter that would not feed the mag catch was my problem
lube use grease
gas piston can come loose you NEED the correct wrench or you will Destroy it


you NEED to fire it to see it is a feed issue I had a Garand that would misfeed every single dummy rnd while hand cycling BUT was 100% reliable when live firing
 
gas piston can come loose you NEED the correct wrench or you will Destroy it


you NEED to fire it to see it is a feed issue I had a Garand that would misfeed every single dummy rnd while hand cycling BUT was 100% reliable when live firing

I bought a surplus tool kit from numrich, that wrench included.

I'm hoping the feeding issue is hand cycling. Maybe it'll be better when I fire it this weekend. Could be a good winter project
 
I have many m1 carbines all GI with 2 palinfields as well

feeding problems

NEVER had feed ramp problems


That doesn't surprise me one bit. They were built to be dependable under all sorts of adverse conditions.

I've had rifles with feed ramp issues. I also had a Plainfield with an issue with the sleeved liner in one of their early barrels. Stuff happens.
 
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