M1 Carbine Troubles

[raftman]

Trying to diagnose an issue with my new AO M1 carbine but can't seem to find the culprit. Shot it for the first time today and the first few mags went off without a hitch. Was shooting Tulammo. The first box gave me no trouble at all, but part way into the second box, after firing a round, the bolt would only travel maybe a quarter inch back and lock up there (though occasionally it would almost go back far enough to eject the spent casing.) Manually cycling the rounds seems to work fine, and the gas piston seems to move freely. Took the rifle apart but couldn't find anything amiss. Any insights?

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[ma96782]

Lube?
Under powered ammo?
Chamber issues?
Ammo issues? (say like: Lacquer problems is well known issue with Russian ammo.)
Burrs on operating parts?
Magazines.....because, they can be a problem with most any magazine fed firearm.

Anyway....I'd shoot it with well known high quality ammo for a break in period. And, that goes for the break in of most any "new" firearm.

Aloha, Mark

 

[raftman]

Lube?
Under powered ammo?
Chamber issues?
Ammo issues? (say like: Lacquer problems is well known issue with Russian ammo.)
Burrs on operating parts?
Magazines.....because, they can be a problem with most any magazine fed firearm.

Anyway....I'd shoot it with well known high quality ammo for a break in period. And, that goes for the break in of most any "new" firearm.

Aloha, Mark

Lube? Adequate and not excessive.

Ammo? Maybe. The manual does specify brass-cased ammo, but don't a lot of them say that? Also not sure why one box of the stuff worked great and problems started into the next box.

Burrs? Not that I've been able to locate.

Magazine? It's not a quality mag, but the issue occurs even with no mag inserted.

Will have to check for chamber issues.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Do that, I bought a Universal .30 Carbine and it had a seriously rough chamber!
A quick hone with xtra fine emery followed with automotive valve grinding compound, and better than new. New having been krappy! Ran like a jackrabbit after that!
I hope it's something simple, like that! Best of luck!

 

[HB of CJ]

raftman: what manufacture is the Carbine? Is it USGI?

 

[Pete F]

My guess would be ammo. I had the same problem with a AR clone, piston driven. My dad reloaded ammo for me and didn't full length size the cases. They would chamber fine, but would only partially move the bolt back, and seize up. I had to use a rubber mallet on the bolt handle to get the case out. The ammo that you are using is probably out of spec or close to it and expands enough after firing to jam.

 

[Velzey]

Tula steel cased ammo is the worst stuff to run thru it. The chamber is still new and that heavy lacquer on the Tula builds up fast. It slows the the extraction from the chamber and throws it out of time. Solvent the chamber, bore brush the heck out of it and see if that helps.

@HB of CJ it's a new mfg carbine that Auto Ordinance is making.

 

[Alexx1401]

Ditto ammo. First and easiest fix it to try some other brass cased stuff. Try at least a couple more brands and see what happens.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Ok, so it's cheap. Is there any other reason for using that nasty, Warsaw Pact krapp? Seriously!
I do shoot the stuff, in commie weapons! I prefer to shoot cleaner, brass case, western ammo!

 

[ma96782]

I have a feeling that.......

The Russians put that amount of taper on their ammo and chambers for a reason. Designed for steel cased ammo.

Conversely.....American ammo and chambers usually don't have as much taper. We use brass.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Captain O]

Trying to diagnose an issue with my new AO M1 carbine but can't seem to find the culprit. Shot it for the first time today and the first few mags went off without a hitch. Was shooting Tulammo. The first box gave me no trouble at all, but part way into the second box, after firing a round, the bolt would only travel maybe a quarter inch back and lock up there (though occasionally it would almost go back far enough to eject the spent casing.) Manually cycling the rounds seems to work fine, and the gas piston seems to move freely. Took the rifle apart but couldn't find anything amiss. Any insights?

Tula ammo is your problem.

 

[raftman]

raftman: what manufacture is the Carbine? Is it USGI?

It's a modern repro from Auto-Ordnance.

In regards to the ammo suggestion everyone has made. Of course I will try a different variety as soon as I am able. It just doesn't seem like a very compelling explanation in that I've never had problems with Tulammo in any gun before, Western or otherwise... and I've used a lot of it. Additionally the reports from other M1 carbine owners is that steel-cased stuff seems to work pretty well.

 

[jbett98]

Read this guys review explaining a similar issue he had.
I found it on Rugerforum.net


https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...s.html&usg=AFQjCNFkK3xLzVo0KVQrd-JKo8xujqVXag

 

[Mikej]

$3.00 savings doesn't seem worth the possible hassle. Besides, seems sacrilegious to shoot RUSSIAN/steel ammo in such an iconic U.S. firearm. And yes, I realize the Armscor is Korean. Armscor USA .30 Carbine Ammunition 50 Rounds, FMJ, 110 Grain - F AC 30C-1N - 812285020112 I've had no issues with the Armscor in my new Inland .30 carbine. I sure hope you didn't buy a whole bunch of that Tula stuff. You'll probably have to find someone with a handgun in .30 carbine to sell it to.

 

[Alexx1401]

It's a modern repro from Auto-Ordnance.

In regards to the ammo suggestion everyone has made. Of course I will try a different variety as soon as I am able. It just doesn't seem like a very compelling explanation in that I've never had problems with Tulammo in any gun before, Western or otherwise... and I've used a lot of it. Additionally the reports from other M1 carbine owners is that steel-cased stuff seems to work pretty well.

It "May" not be the ammo. That is just a FAR easier thing to check first. The Russian stuff may work in 50 of these and not yours. Could yours be made to work with it? Sure, but if yours will work with everything else is it worth bothering? Long ago when I ordered my First Sub2000 I ordered up a lot of .40S&W ammo since I did not have anything in that caliber. All was going fine second time out till I got to some Magtech ammo. All of a sudden it would not feed an entire mag. That was the only ammo I had left so I went out front and bought a couple boxes or something else. Fed smooth as silk. I gave the kid at the range the last of the Magtech to give to someone. He said "well the gun should feed this". He's right it should. Why it will not I don't know. Did not feel like fighting it to see what would make it work since it seemed to love everything else. If that stuff turns out to be the only ammo your new rifle does not like, well it may or may not be worth working with it to see why.

 

[MrMillspecer]

New rifle w an unseasoned boar and chamber, new springs, new parts getting to know each other and weak ammo. Hmmm

Feed her something good for a while, at least 200 rounds. Then try the cheap ammo again.

 

[R3dundantC]

Check the gas piston nut and make sure that it's properly in place.

One time I had a m1 carbine where the gas piston nut came off while firing. It was doing the exact same thing you described.

 

[raftman]

Status update: Did check the gas piston but as this seemed a likely culprit but it was tight.

Cleaned the rifle and tried again with 50 rd's Aguila brass-cased and 100 rd's of Prvi Partizan (also brass), along with the handful of remaining Tulammo. With all of the above the rifle ran well. Had a couple of FTE's throughout but that's to be expected with M1 carbines; the way I see it, they're kinda like Alfa Romeo's, you don't really get them for their reliability. Long story short, the rifle seems to run to my expectations now.

 

[Captain O]

Put 1000 rounds through it and polish the feed ramp a bit. Buy some good .30-round magazines from Keep Shooting. If you get the proper magazines, you can expect decent feeding and cycling.

Look up the M1 Carbine "Sheepdog Project" and it will give you step-by-step instructions concerning making the Auto Ordnance Carbine reliable.

Good luck.

 

[raftman]

Another update: an additional 200 rounds have been put through the carbine (Prvi Partizan) with only one FTF (occurred when a friend tried to do a mag dump). I think she's gonna be alright.