Mags for M -1 carbine

[Cartwright Jones]

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.

Yes there are. It's called "tuning" your mags and it works. Once tuned, modern M1 mags work excellently.

 

[Rovernut]

Snip....Have an M1A1 and I play heck finding 30 rounders that work. Snip

I have a fair number of Checkmate Industries 20rd that I've had zero issues with. Never had the desire for 30rd, or even 25 which they also make.
Cheers,
Tom

 

[chief38]

The 30 round magazines I have are "somewhat reliable" ( I know - an oxymoron ) with 28 rounds loaded into them. That said, the the best reliability is from the GI 15 round mags. Swapping out a spent mag in an M1 carbine is easy and quick. It also makes for a much more compact package to tote around. I would never use a 30 round magazine for anything but fun at the range. It's 15 rounder's for anything else!

 

[M E Morrison]

I have never found any magazines, original G.I. surplus or cheap knock offs that were reliable. As a matter of fact during WWII the Soldiers used to throw the magazines away after they were empty and for two reasons, 1. They were so thin the fed lips were easily deformed and the mags they got were already loaded with ammo.

I like others, even famous others like Ian McCollum, could never get any M1 Carbine to work reliably. Nothing helped, including replacing recoil springs, using original G.I.Ammo, Commercial ammo, handloads etc. The M1 Carbine design was never really perfected. As a matter of fact I once watched a very respectful video by an M1 Carbine expert that gave all the advice he had on trying to make an M1 Carbine work, none of which was worth a tinker's dam.

How odd. I've had three of them, never had a problem with any of them.

 

[Dave Haynes]

The Carbine is ammo sensitive more than mag sensitive. An untrimmed case that exceeds specs will cause guns to blow up. It was enough to have the ammo manufacturers check 100% of case length as the rounds were made, If you treat the mags nicely no slamming, pounding or abuse, they work fine and last. 30 rd mags work in all carbines but to work well they need the late style mag catch which has an adjunct arm at the side that stops side to side slop. If ammo is slightly too long it drags the rounds at the front in the mags and causes poor function. Generally a new GI operating spring cures all function problems. Also lubing and grease helps a lot. Inside the op rod slot and rails and on the bolt lugs like a Garand. Wolf springs are just a bag of industrial springs that happen to fit. In my opinion not needed or used. I bought the whole bag and used exactly one. The original springs still operate fine.
They made 6M carbines and probably 20 times that many mags. People condemn the carbine because almost everyone doesn't lube them like a Garand. That's because the manual says only use light oil (Korea....Cold...) and they are shot bone dry with questionable reloads.
All US Carbine ammo is non corrosive, most French and Chinese IS corrosive.

 

[Kal.38]

I feel your pain looking for carbine parts. Marco is one of my favorite places but they have lots of repro stuff. What parts you looking for? I might be able to help.

Thanks for the offer.
I was in search of an R marked front sight, but found one on ebay. My buddy has an excellent matching numbers Rockola. It was passed down to him recently. I explained to him what a rare M1 carbine he actually had. I pionted out the barrel band bayonet lug and front sight. Are the only parts not properly marked.

 

[DWalt]

All US Carbine ammo is non corrosive, most French and Chinese IS corrosive.

At one time, Dominican Republic carbine ammo was fairly common, and it was also corrosive primed. There was an interesting story about the Dominican ammo and the Christobal carbine, but that was too long ago for me to remember. I still have a box of the ammo somewhere.

 

[Puller]

I have never found any magazines, original G.I. surplus or cheap knock offs that were reliable. As a matter of fact during WWII the Soldiers used to throw the magazines away after they were empty and for two reasons, 1. They were so thin the fed lips were easily deformed and the mags they got were already loaded with ammo.

I like others, even famous others like Ian McCollum, could never get any M1 Carbine to work reliably. Nothing helped, including replacing recoil springs, using original G.I.Ammo, Commercial ammo, handloads etc. The M1 Carbine design was never really perfected. As a matter of fact I once watched a very respectful video by an M1 Carbine expert that gave all the advice he had on trying to make an M1 Carbine work, none of which was worth a tinker's dam.

Seems you and Ian could probably use some help from someone who actually has some experience with M1 carbines. Your experience is not typical.

 

[zeke]

A M2 mag catch enabled reliability using 30 rd mags in the 3 carbines owned. First thing done to each was replacing the recoil springs. Also have had good experiences with the S Korean mags.

 

[RebCop]

I have a IMI 5.7 Johnson carbine and it works fine with 30 round Korean mags. I found a deal of buy 10 for 12 bucks each. They work great.

 

[Dave Haynes]

Folks might think about not using the 30 round magazines at all. They are the reason that the M2 Korean war carriers would be out of ammo within the first 10 minutes of an attack. Basic load was about 120 rounds and that is four 30s. On full auto on the excitement plan they were gone very quickly and were a slow painful process to reload. The 15s were much easier to reload and the stay open followers interchanged. The worst part of a 30 rd mag is that it turns a handy beautifully balanced little rifle into a club. Just like the stock pouch ruins the balance and handling of a sweet 5.8 lb weapon. Looks totally cool spoils the best thing the carbine has to offer. If we were in a war, sure, but we are shooting beer cans and small game. Very few can afford an M2 so why get involved in that? Ammo is no longer a nickel a shot.

 

[AJ]

As you can see at one time I had quite a few M1 & M1A1 carbines. Sold most except one. Had boxes of carbine magazines, sold a lot of those too. Now for the one carbine that I still have, I have 30 magazines. All are U.S. issue. Back when I was buying magazines, if I was offered an aftermarket mag I put it down and moved on.

 

[Rudi2]

I've had more success with the 15 rounders functioning properly vs. the 30 rounders. JMHO & YMMV

Agreed, haven't shot the carbine in a while, but I never had a problem with 15 rounders, I have both GI and Korean mags. The 30 rounders were another story, I sold or gave them all away.

 

[Matt_X]

Some posts here on what to look for when diagnosing feed failures related to the magazines. Of course it goes without saying that the condition of the nibs is important, and that as already mentioned, 30 round magazines should have the magazine catch that supports the additional nib.

MAGS for a early WINCHESTER arsenal rebuild - The Carbine Collector's Club

i've read, and seen that mags have a lot to do with feeding issues. after further inspection of...

www.uscarbinecal30.com

Bullet penetration myth busted - The Carbine Collector's Club - Page 1

Yesterday I had a need to test fire just a few rounds from my carbine after some repair. So, not wanting...

www.uscarbinecal30.com

Side note: I've watched the Forgotten Weapons and In Range youtube videos on the M1 carbine and don't recall Ian having feed issues. He had an issue with the rear sight coming loose on the replica carbine made by AO. Karl had a misfeed, but he says he often has misfeeds which leads one to suspect his technique may be in play.
I agree with the earlier post about proper maint and lube. IMO the full 1944 edition of the field manual covers this better than the first edition. (Nicolaus Associates has an enlarged reprint for $12.50)

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

The 30 round mags generally don't work very well. Have an M1A1 and I play heck finding 30 rounders that work. For general use, the KCI 15 rounds mags work well. Collectors want the mag that matches the carbine manufacturer.

The magazine catch is different for the 30 rounders.....2 catches instead of one......Search M1 carbine.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

The Carbine is ammo sensitive more than mag sensitive. An untrimmed case that exceeds specs will cause guns to blow up. It was enough to have the ammo manufacturers check 100% of case length as the rounds were made, If you treat the mags nicely no slamming, pounding or abuse, they work fine and last. 30 rd mags work in all carbines but to work well they need the late style mag catch which has an adjunct arm at the side that stops side to side slop. If ammo is slightly too long it drags the rounds at the front in the mags and causes poor function. Generally a new GI operating spring cures all function problems. Also lubing and grease helps a lot. Inside the op rod slot and rails and on the bolt lugs like a Garand. Wolf springs are just a bag of industrial springs that happen to fit. In my opinion not needed or used. I bought the whole bag and used exactly one. The original springs still operate fine.
They made 6M carbines and probably 20 times that many mags. People condemn the carbine because almost everyone doesn't lube them like a Garand. That's because the manual says only use light oil (Korea....Cold...) and they are shot bone dry with questionable reloads.
All US Carbine ammo is non corrosive, most French and Chinese IS corrosive.

Your second sentence is not true.........Show evidence or proof.........I own/shoot/reload for multiple carbines.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

How odd. I've had three of them, never had a problem with any of them.

I have 3...........No problem with any of them..........Lots of "smoke & mirrors" and "old wive's tales" out there..........Search Audey Murphy............Carried a carbine through out WW11.............called it "Old Lucky"

Old saying............"Believe nothing you read and only half of what you see".
.

 

[Dave Haynes]

Your second sentence is not true.........Show evidence or proof.........I own/shoot/reload for multiple carbines.

It absolutely is true! Do you have "War Baby"? or W.B II ? I'm looking it up can't remember where it is exactly...I'll be back

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

It absolutely is true! Do you have "War Baby"? or W.B II ? I'm looking it up can't remember where it is exactly...I'll be back

I have read both...........Show PROOF of blow ups.............I've never trimmed a carbine round and never had a problem.

 

[Dave Haynes]

War Baby: Page 212 "Dealing with unexplained blow ups"
You owe me about six hours.
I've never trimmed a carbine case either. Probably because the makers watch their case lengths.