M-1 Carbine

[smoothshooter]

I have an Inland M-1 Carbine in otherwise excellent condition that needs a new barrel.
I got it from a guy that said he got it thru the DCM in the sixties. Problem is that it has a chromed bore and chamber, and it looks like the chrome was applied over some metal shavings that were not cleaned out of the bore before plating.
I know that almost no Carbines were put together with chrome bores. But I have read that several hundred chromed barrels were made up and short-chambered by one contractor for installation later. It was discovered during the assembly process that when the barrels were finish-reamed it tore the heck out of the reamers, so assembly was halted and the barrels rejected. Do not know how my gun ended up with one of those barrels with the bore as rough as it is.
Overall, the gun is in almost new condition inside and out, and has the bayonet lug. I suspect it may have been arsenal refurbished for re-issue to the smaller-statured South Vietnamese troops during the war, and never taken out of storage until the DCM or whoever got a hold of it.
Interestingly, incredibly rough barrel shoots little bitty groups at 100 yards with WWII production FMJ ammo. But not with any commercial ammo I have tried.
One of the chrome bonded-on chunks of metal chunks sticks up at least .040” in the bore. The only thing I can figure is that the commercial ammo has a thinner jacket that is stripped off as the bullet passes the protrusions, whereas the military ball loads may have thicker jackets that do not rip partially off when they squeeze by the rough area that is several inches long.
Any recommendations on who does this work and will do it right?

[6518John]

I would pm Faulkner on here. He knows a ton about M-1’s.

[s&wchad]

I’d consider having the CMP do the installation. They also offer newly made barrels, but you may be able to find an original take-off elsewhere.

[.357magger]

James River Armory offers that, up to full restoration (not refinishing). I believe CMP also offers as a service if you've signed up. Fulton Armory also advertised this service.

But if it's a simple barrel swap, your local gunsmith (if remotely competent) should be able to this as well.

Hope this helps.

[merl67]

Having a proper action wrench is critical on these be sure whomever you choose has one. This isn't a job for a shade tree gunsmith.

[quikdraw67]

Originally Posted by .357magger

James River Armory offers that, up to full restoration (not refinishing). I believe CMP also offers as a service if you've signed up. Fulton Armory also advertised this service.

But if it's a simple barrel swap, your local gunsmith (if remotely competent) should be able to this as well.

Hope this helps.

I have used both JRA and FA services and I would recommend either one.

[K Frame Keith]

Try Fulton Armory. They rebuilt a Garand for me and the work was flawless.

[smoothshooter]

Originally Posted by .357magger

James River Armory offers that, up to full restoration (not refinishing). I believe CMP also offers as a service if you've signed up. Fulton Armory also advertised this service.

But if it's a simple barrel swap, your local gunsmith (if remotely competent) should be able to this as well.

Hope this helps.

No gunsmiths in my area that I am aware of would have the tooling or a clue on what to do.

[2152hq]

I may have it wrong but I think those chrome M1 Carbine bbls were chrome plated in the chamber and throat only,,not the entire bore.
That's what I have understood, but again I could be entirely wrong.

With that it's possible to have a damaged,pitted,rusted bore from neglect.
Only the chamber and throat is protected with the hard chrome plating.

The chambers & throat were apparently cut to spec when mfg'rd.
But after the chrome plate was applied, the build-up of plating made the spec/length too short (headspace too short) for the case which headspaces on the case mouth.

A normal HS steel chamber reamer will just skid over hard chrome and never even begin to cut it. A carbide reamer is needed.

The bbls I was told were also often off spec in the gas port area and the dia where the front sight slides on.

For these reasons the bbls were rejected and never used as replacements on rebuilds of US Gov't M1 Carbines by the US Govt.
The contractor that made the bbls was Herlo Corp, (Hawthorne?), Cal.
and were made in the early 70's.
I'd guess most likely to rebuild the Carbines for use in VietNam for the S-Vietnamese.

The rejected bbls made their way to the secondary market and have shown up for sale at various times from various sources as un-used/NOS US Govt replacement bbl's.
IIRC they don't have any mfg marking(s) on them and they shouldn't have any US Gov't markings on them either if they were never used.

I've heard that the rifling twist in the Herlo bbls is not US Govt spec either, descibed as too slow, though I don't recall what it has been said to be.

The only time I believe I came accross one was in the mid 80's and at that time I knew nothing at all about all of this.
I was given an M1 carbine to 'fix'. It was owned by an Uncle of mine. A USGI issue. Everything seemed to be as normal but the gun would not chamber a round fully.
That bbl was found to have a chrome plated chamber and needed a new bbl to get it back in order.
Replacement BBl's & parts were cheap at the time and an easy fix.

[HOUSTON RICK]

People who post about M-1 carbines and Garands should post pictures! :-)

[bummer]

I think warpath vintage out of Colorado does this. He's Chuck in Denver on the CMP forum

[ron 57]

NOS carbine barrels are available but pricey. The last couple I saw were north of $500.00. A good aftermarket barrel like a Criterion would be a good choice and much less expensive.
Chuck in Denver does good work.

[jeeps]

Shuff in Mich. Does carbines and refinish . CMP forum under carbine for sale had a new old stock inland barrel for sale.

[Mrnurse]

I use to fool with Carbines... stuck with the Garand...but to answer the question I would swap out barrels with a Correct GI Issue. Buffalo Arms was a contractor as I recall that Chromed barrels... some say they are junk. I bought and OH'ed about 20 when CMP was selling them. Easy to HS, Nothing to rebuild. Go to CMP post a WTB for a Barrel.

[SPEEDGUNNER]

FYI - NIW Inland bbl sold on CMP Forum last night for $600. Ouch! I remember when you could buy a carbine for that amount!

[Sistema1927]

Originally Posted by SPEEDGUNNER

FYI - NIW Inland bbl sold on CMP Forum last night for $600. Ouch! I remember when you could buy a carbine for that amount!

That's about what I paid for my Quality Hardware carbine a few years back. At that time I thought that I had overpaid.

[M1Garandy]

Herlo Corp made 70K+ barrels in the 1960's or 70's and all were rejected by the government.

Some of them were chrome lined, some were not.

GI Carbine barrels are getting expensive. Criterion makes a nice alternative, but even those list at $300+.

OP, where do you live?

[Faulkner]

Replacing the barrel is not going to be cheap, and you'll need someone who has the specific tools to replace a M1 carbine barrel. I've seen people ruin the receiver when they just stuck it in a vice and tried to twist off the barrel.

I assembled several M1 carbines from scratch using USGI parts as a fun project back in the late 1990's. I could pretty much find all the parts I was looking for at gun shows or on-line, and the only thing I didn't do myself was install the barrel to the receiver. I knew 3 or 4 gunsmiths who were former armorers who had the tools and knowhow to do the job and they'd do it for about 50 bucks back then. Today, those guys are well into retirement or have passed on.

These days a USGI barrel is going to cost $400 to $500+, I just did a quick check on eBay and GunBroker and both had several in this price range. To find someone who can change it out, index it, and headspace the chamber is going to be the challenge. With a barrel replacement these days, you could end up paying close to what it would cost to find another M1 carbine.

I agree that the place to ask this question would be the CMP forum, that's where guys who would do this kind of service would more likely hang out.

Also, I've dealt with Fulton Armory in the past and they used to be able to do this type of work, don't know if they still do or not.

[Faulkner]

Originally Posted by HOUSTON RICK

People who post about M-1 carbines and Garands should post pictures! :-)

Here is a picture of some of my bona fides with regards to USGI M1 carbine collecting. I've enjoyed messing with them for about 25 years and they can be as addicting as crack cocaine.

[Grayfox]

Back in 2006 I bought a Carbine only to discover the gas cylinder was cracked. I found a USGI 1970s replacement barrel on-line and the tools weren't very expensive, so I took a shot at it myself. Maybe I just got lucky, but the barrel swapped out just fine and headspaced perfectly.
I still have the receiver wrench, barrel block and headspace gauge if anybody is interested.

[Mrnurse]

With Regards to M2's... if you have a M2 with Semi parts its legal, but if you have a M2 parts kit ( sold some years ago) you have a No Reg MG. Just having the parts at the same location as the M2 Receiver will get you jail time.... I KNOW someone who had to spend 20+K$ to lawyer up to fight from getting jail time with a Kit at home...not in the weapon. As to Barrel swaps its way easy all you need is the wrench and a Finish reamer. the 20 FAT CMP I rebuilt were all easy to remove...staked rear sights are the issue.

[Mrnurse]

PULLER IS QUITE CORRECT.... IF SEMI PARTS ITS OK.. IT May be a Reg MG...I bought a Beretta 34 that had no paperwork from the last family member BUT contacted ATF and it was Reg in 1961, Family lost the ATF papers. got a copy of the Last will and testament showing ownership , went ahead and did the Buy.

[ron 57]

It’s always been my understanding that if the receiver was marked M2 it must be registered in order to be legal even if converted back to M1.
Many M1 carbines used some M2 parts and are perfectly ok.
An M1 carbine could have a registered trigger pack installed making it capable of automatic fire but when the trigger pack is removed the carbine would just be another M1.
Years ago, a friend bought a semi automatic carbine that started life as an M1 but was converted to an M2 by the military and the 1 was over stamped with a 2. A knowledgeable guy saw it one day and pointed out that the over stamp was a problem . An inquiry to the ATF proved him right and he was required to surrender the receiver as contraband.

[Culina]

have you tried knocking out the chunk of chromed material stuck in the bore? you should be able to buy a plug gauge of the appropriate bore size, maybe .001" and possibly be able to knock the piece out without damaging anything else

[Puller]

Originally Posted by Mrnurse

PULLER IS QUITE CORRECT.... IF SEMI PARTS ITS OK.. IT May be a Reg MG...I bought a Beretta 34 that had no paperwork from the last family member BUT contacted ATF and it was Reg in 1961, Family lost the ATF papers. got a copy of the Last will and testament showing ownership , went ahead and did the Buy.

Looks like there's been some post cleanup . . . probably a good call by whoever.