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So... after years of wanting one and never being in the right place at the right time.... I finally got myself an M1 Carbine.

Its in pretty good shape... Saginaw S'G' receiver, Underwood bbl, the rest is a hodgepodge of Inland, NPM, Saginaw, etc

Only drawback is the chamber is gouged up pretty good and Ill have to rebarrel it most likely.
Ill have to sell some other stuff to make that happen, but so be it... See me in the Classifieds to help me out:D


Questions...

*Are there ammo concerns with these like the Garands?
*I know Garands need grease in some spots, oil in others... same true on the Carbines?
 
They are very forgiving when it comes to ammo. No need to worry about bending anything.
Criterion makes a great replacement barrel for that. They come short chambered by .030 or so.
Just a little grease and your ready to go.
 
Should I wait until the barrel/chamber has been sorted out before firing?

Id love to test function, etc before dropping another $300+ into it.... any risks in shooting it with a scratched up chamber?

I have a box of steel case that came with it.
 
Should I wait until the barrel/chamber has been sorted out before firing?

Id love to test function, etc before dropping another $300+ into it.... any risks in shooting it with a scratched up chamber?

I have a box of steel case that came with it.

Is the chamber real bad, or can you polish it a little and remove the issue? I had a Remington 700 that came from the factory with a chamber that looked like it was cut with an angry beaver. I wrapped some steel wool around a brush and was able to clean it up quite a bit.
 
Carbines were issued with a oiler. That is a big hint! The Army did not have fancy oil formulations then as we do now, but it still needs oil, more not less.
 
Is the chamber real bad, or can you polish it a little and remove the issue? I had a Remington 700 that came from the factory with a chamber that looked like it was cut with an angry beaver. I wrapped some steel wool around a brush and was able to clean it up quite a bit.

It's gouged pretty good... It's very visible when looking into the action... but when I slide a metal dental pick across it, it doesnt feel that deep. Not sure, never seen damage in a chamber like this before.

That said, I can drop a round in there without any trouble and if I tip it up and give it a jiggle the round falls right back out.
 
The ammo for these was always non-corrosive, even when military .30-06 ammo was still corrosive, because of the not easily disassembled gas piston.
Of course, when the French were using them post WW2, THEY made corrosive
.30 carbine ammunition. Fortunately, you're unlikely to run across any of that, just a heads up.
Otherwise, they're kinda elegant simple little rifles.
A lot of aftermarket magazines can be iffy.
 
You are not going to feel right about it till it is re-barreled, just do that and get it over with. You will feel safe and have a better, likely more accurate gun.
 
Saginaw S'G' receiver, Underwood bbl,

M1 Carbines marked Saginaw S'G' made by the Saginaw Steering Gear Division of General Motors after they took over the failed Irwin-Pedersen Grand Rapids, MI plant are one of the less common makers with only approximately 191,620 so marked out of a total of 5.5 million M1 Carbines (not including M1A1 and M2 Carbines) produced. Because they are less common Saginaw S'G' M1 Carbines have more value to collectors.

The Underwood barrel is likely the original barrel - Saginaw Steering Gear Grand Rapids like other main contractors who didn't make their own barrels used barrels made by Underwood and others. Underwood supplied by far the most barrels to Grand Rapids, 146,757. The carbine will retain more collector value if it has its original barrel, less so with a USGI replacement barrel, least so with a modern commercial replacement. According to Larry Ruth's War Baby! "Underwood excelled at barrel production, and Underwood barrels were highly regarded by other contractors."

.. but when I slide a metal dental pick across it, it doesnt feel that deep.

If it was mine I would not rebarrel that carbine if the scratches are as shallow as you are describing and are lengthwise in the chamber (parallel to the bore). HK-91s have frickin' fluted chambers

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and I doubt your carbine's scratches are as deep as those HK flutes.

By the way, here is my original Saginaw S'G' M1 Carbine. Saginaw Steering Gear used up the serviceable Irwin-Pedersen parts after they took over the plant so it has a mix of IP and S'G' marked parts.

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Last Edited:
I would say, it'll be too much of a hassle for you to deal with. I'll shoulder the burden for you.

Sell it to me, since I saw that ad thirty minutes too late... ;)
 
I would not rebarrel it without shooting it first. Actually, on that rifle, I probably wouldn't even bother with the whole tire/string deal (granted I haven't personally seen it). If I was a little concerned, I'd go to the back pasture away from anyone and hold it at arms length for the first shot. Then proceed to see how it functions. I strongly suspect it will be fine.
 
HK fluted chambers are to aid in extraction of the spent case. They are evenly spaced in the chamber.
Dents, dings, scratches don't aid in extraction. In some cases brass swells into the damaged area and causes the case to stick.

Easy way to tell on this one is to shoot it:)
 
I saw the photos in the ad. The gouges looked pretty bad but it's hard to tell depth from a photo.

They're not going to cause the gun to blow up. They'd have to be far, far deeper to be a real safety hazard. The worst thing they could do would be to cause the brass to stick, like Velzey says. At a guess I'd say the rifle will probably cycle but your brass could be damaged or ruined for reloading.

I had an SKS a long, long time ago that had a chamber damaged by rust. It would occasionally rip the rims off the brass, until I honed it carefully to clean it up.
 
I suppose the steel case rounds I have won't swell into the gouges.

I'll still be taking it in to get a professional opinion... Maybe a honing is all that needed.
I will eventually want to reload for this and keep it as a shooter.
 
Do you know the mfg. of your steel cased ammo? A bit of googling indicates at least some corrosive French .30 carb. had steel cases. Some people are deathly afraid of corrosive ammo and wont shoot it. I'm not one of them with the caveat that the gun be cleaned THOROUGHLY with water or something containing water to dissolve the chlorate salt residue and SOON after firing. I'd probably try the ammo you have but unless I could prove otherwise I'd presume it to be corrosive and immerse the stripped barrel/receiver in the bath tub with hot soapy water and manually work the gas piston a number of times to flush lots of water thru it. Rinse in more hot water and wipe/blow dry. Compressed air a plus with that closed gas system. Or, just get some modern brass non-corrosive and give it a try.

As for wear and tear on the brass for reloading, over 4 different rifles I've dealt with, stretching due to generous chambers is more of a problem. After all, reloadable brass was not a design criteria. Functioning in dirty conditions was.
 
.....
The Underwood barrel is likely the original barrel - Saginaw SG Grand Rapids like other main contractors who didn't make their own barrels used barrels made by Underwood and others. .......

I'm not as knowledgeable as BSG75 regarding carbine production but Saginaw Steering Gear did indeed make their own barrels at some point.
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This one is on a Winchester receiver. Im guessing an Army created mixmaster since it was purchased in 1966.
 

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