M1 Carbine magazine question.

I used to put the follower from the 30rd mags into my 15rd mags so the bolt would hold open after the last shot.
Easy to switch over.
The 30rd mags were aftermarket that I took the followers from. But they worked fine in the 15rd GI mags and held the bolt open on last shot.

I had a few GI 30rd mags but never thought they were too awful handy for much.

Still have some 15rd magazines around, some still in the wrap IIRC. Some GI pouches.
But the Winchester M1 carbine went down the road a while ago.
 
Mike said:
One thing I like about the Korean mags is they have a bolt hold open slot milled into the magazine follower.
Click to expand...

A very good point that a lot of folks seem to miss.

The original WW2 production 15-round mags did not have a bolt hold-open feature. The later Korea-era 30-round mags did have the bolt hold-open feature, actually just a different magazine follower to lock the bolt open on an empty magazine.

Over the past 25 years or so I have seen magazines from Korea, Malaysia, and other countries that adopted the M1 Carbine after WW2. Quality of these has been quite good; I think they were produced on original US equipment provided by Seymour or others. They have all had the bolt hold-open feature.
 
Ya'll have saw this one before. Underwood Elliot Fisher. High wood. Marked on the receiver Bavarian Forestry Police. They took very good care of them and this one is in good shape. Carbines loaned to Germany after the war for police work were marked on the left side of the receiver with the German group that used them.
BTW I shoot a lot of cast bullet in my Carbines and Garands. Sometimes they smoke like a muzzle loader. Never clogged a gas port and probably never will. If it ever happens it's an easy fix.
 

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I have original WW2 carbine mags that I unwrapped from the wax paper. I also have some of the newer Korean mags. In 15 round, all of them work. I have extra springs from Wolff, but haven't needed to change any yet. I stay away from the 30 round mags, finding them to be problematic.
 
Funny, I read somewhere recently that USGI .30 Carbine mags were unreliable, cheap, and originally built to be used once and thrown away. Not my experience at all but that's what the guy said.

I have a bunch I bought when they were $2 or $3 apiece. But I pretty much use the same two or three I have on the carbines. Over the years I have never had a problem. The prices quoted in this thread amaze me.
 
I have a rebuilt 43 IBM. I keep it in the safe with a loaded mag in the well and 2 on the buttstock. They are loaded with Winchester HP ammo. That is my wife's go to self defense rifle. If 45 rounds doesn't cure what ails you, you bit off too much or are already dead!

I bought a case with 100 used GI 15 round mags in the 90's for $100, and sold about 80 of the for $6 each, and the WWII vets said I was ripping them off, but they bought them anyway! I have a few 30 rounder GI's.

Once I built a toy Sterling submachinegun for my 4 year old (now 41) and used a M-1 30 round mag. I drilled holes in muffler pipe, put a sheet metal mag well on the side, and a counter bored 5/8x 8" bolt was the barrel. A very crappy spray paint job looked like a Sterling from across the room. The banana mag was a hit with the gunstore folk.

Ivan
 
I pretty much agree, USGI 15 rounders tend to be good. Aftermarket not so much. I've never owned a GI 30 rounder, my one aftermarket really stunk. But now with NYs Safe Act its all a moot point. I'm restricted to 10.

Interesting point, although there were no GI 20 rounders, I think there was perhaps an experimental one in the development phases. I know of a picture of a carbine with a straight magazine CLEARLY longer than the issue 15 rounder. I think its in Small Arms of the World, among other places, at least my 1977 edition.
 
Dillon Precision...

is offering KCI 30 round M1 30 carbine mags in the current catalog for $19.99. I ordered two but they haven't been shipped yet. Probably over-sold. We'll see if they're any good.
 
I can remember buying the USGI 15 round mags that were still in the green wax paper for $5 each at the old Great Western Gun Show in Pomona CA. There were bins full of them and I sneaked a peek at a few until I found a couple of R-O marked ones for my Rock Ola M1 Carbine.
Makes me sound like an old timer. Wait.....
 
I believe when the carbine was being developed it had a 20 round magazine.
 
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