Mags for M -1 carbine

[AnnieRea1920]

Are their any good after market mags for the M-1 carbine ? Or are we de pendant on old surplus I just picked up an Underwood carbine from my local pusher (pawnshop) and like to get some mags 10 , 15 ,20 or 30 which will work best. I have always wanted one of these.

I have a few and no carbine, so sell cheap. Annie Rea 1920

 

[Greyman50]

Here's a few books on the 30 Cal. M-1 Carbine, my copy of " War Baby" is in workshop. Suggest those interested in 30 Cal. M-1 Carbines BUY some reference books. There are some errors in most books but no one is perfect.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I have used the KCI Korean made 15 round mags with complete success. Haven't had a single one that didn't work properly. Most of the bigger places that sell magazines carry them.

CMP even sold these.....They are good.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

The M1 Carbine was considered successful in its day because it was new technology. Semi-auto longarms were still somewhat experimental.

Thus, their standards for reliability were different than todays. Then it was felt the pros outweighed the cons and they considered the trade-off worthwhile. Today, if the M1 Carbine was introduced, with all of its inherent issues, it would be a massive failure.

It's a cool piece of history and I enjoy mine for that reason. But, as a practical weapon in the here and now? Absolutely not.

Today IS NOT yesterday..............

 

[AJ]

Here's a few books on the 30 Cal. M-1 Carbine, my copy of " War Baby" is in workshop. Suggest those interested in 30 Cal. M-1 Carbines BUY some reference books. There are some errors in most books but no one is perfect.

Greyman50, is right. I collected carbines and associated equipment for about 10 years. I have seven reference books on the subject. Never have to many!

 

[Brian Parrish]

Are their any good after market mags for the M-1 carbine ? Or are we de pendant on old surplus I just picked up an Underwood carbine from my local pusher (pawnshop) and like to get some mags 10 , 15 ,20 or 30 which will work best. I have always wanted one of these.

Always people refer to the magazines as if they work by magic.
Aftermarket mags fail simply because of the word "aftermarket", and the factory mags work because "factory" or in this case, "G.I. They ought to be able to explain specifically and scientifically why magazines don't work and how they could be modified to work.
Even comments on the thread referencing single use, (and I concur with AJ's opinion that reusing mags is NOT part of combat,) those comments still do not explain what happens to the mags when they are used once that destroys them, or how to fix them.
Another comment on "tuning" your magazines was helpful.
My experience:
The M2 mag catch is necessary to prevent movement of the front of the 30 round magazine during firing.
The hold open follower is a pain. If it works. All it does is make magazine changes more difficult because you must pull that follower off of the bolt as you pull the mag out, and then the bolt slams home anyway. So either way you must operate the handle all the way to charge the weapon. You can learn how to make mag changes work so this is nothing to worry about.

 

[Greyman50]

Gee could have taken several M-2s apart in Vietnam and sent parts home with 0 problems as all they " were looking for" was dope. Wonder how many were mailed home???.

 

[Phenix]

Are their any good after market mags for the M-1 carbine ? Or are we de pendant on old surplus I just picked up an Underwood carbine from my local pusher (pawnshop) and like to get some mags 10 , 15 ,20 or 30 which will work best. I have always wanted one of these.

15 rounders usually work the best and are the most practical.

 

[AJ]

Gee could have taken several M-2s apart in Vietnam and sent parts home with 0 problems as all they " were looking for" was dope. Wonder how many were mailed home???.

It wasn't that long ago the pieces/parts to convert an M1 to M2 were available at gunshows. As I understood it, it was not illegal to have them as long as they weren't installed in an M1.

 

[Greyman50]

The " mystic" of shooting class 3 is ok for those of us that " have been there and done it" and shooting MGs at many shoots since the 70s. IMHO many get carried away from seeing tv, movies and online junk and go crazy. Realize many states don't allow such but there are a few indoor ranges in many states that one can rent class 3 to shoot. If one has " the itch" go find a range and shoot one.

 

[Matt_X]

It wasn't that long ago the pieces/parts to convert an M1 to M2 were available at gunshows. As I understood it, it was not illegal to have them as long as they weren't installed in an M1.

My understanding is an individual piece or two is OK, but owning the full group or significant portion of the full kit needs to be registered. That is of course a problem if not already done.

 

[Dave Haynes]

Certainly. Bolt hold open is certainly nice but again, under duress he may not have recognized that the bolt was open and the mag empty. I have witnessed plenty of police officers shoot till empty and not recognize the condition until they pulled the trigger. I'm not arguing for or against a hold open, only that in a gunfight most know they need to reload when they pull the trigger and nothing happens. Street stress is not reproducible in range training and rarely understood.

My point was there was no hold open on the 15s which is all they had at that time. He didn't know it and a squad of dead to rights Japs ran away. Tactical (the most overused word in firearm history) and speed didn't matter to that guy on Tarawa. He didn't know he was empty and had the mag follower been a hold open I guarantee that he'd know it. The weapon acts and feels different when not cycling as expected.

 

[AJ]

My understanding is an individual piece or two is OK, but owning the full group or significant portion of the full kit needs to be registered. That is of course a problem if not already done.

As it was explained to me was: You could own all the pieces to make it full auto. You could have all except the selector lever in the trigger group and in the carbine. Once the selector lever was installed you were in violation. Bought a carbine when I was early in my collecting of carbines phase that had an trigger group with all the M2 parts except the selector lever at a gun show. I about had a heart attack when I saw it. I talked to a friend that owned a gun store and he explained to me that I was fine as long as the selector lever was not in place. At the time all M1 and M2 parts were plentiful and for sale at gun shows and on-line.

 

[AJ]

The " mystic" of shooting class 3 is ok for those of us that " have been there and done it" and shooting MGs at many shoots since the 70s. IMHO many get carried away from seeing tv, movies and online junk and go crazy. Realize many states don't allow such but there are a few indoor ranges in many states that one can rent class 3 to shoot. If one has " the itch" go find a range and shoot one.

Shot enough full auto weapons in the Corps to know that I don't really want one and for sure can't afford to feed one even if it was .22LR!