M1 Carbine Mag fix?

[Remmy4477]

Picked up an M1 carbine last week.
IAI brand, this one seems to be one of there better made ones.
It came with two new evil 30 round mags, unmarked so clueless as to who the maker was.

Loaded up 20 rounds in one mag, put it in the mag well, clicked right in but very loose in the mag well, mainly sideways play. Not impressed!
Ran 15 rounds flawlessly but the 16th one did an outstanding ftf on me! Went to pull the mag and it was firmly stuck in the mag well, the mag release was working like it should, but the mag was stuck!
Close examination of the stuck mag and magwell, I found one of the mags detents had broken off and was jamming the mag against the well, used a knife to push the detent up enough to get the mag out, once it pulled out the other detent fell off! Argh! junk mags!!!

Needless to say I did not use the other new mag as it also fits loose in the mag well.

So with this being said is there a way to prevent the new mag from coming apart during use? And is there a way to repair the mag that lost its detents??

Only reason I want to try and save the mags is the hicap ban here in colo, Oh and you just have to have a 30 round mag!!

[Gtek]

Looks like spot weld to me, strip mag and find somebody with a spot welder. Do GI mags fit? Might save a lot of aggravation.

[Larry Gibson]

As you've found there are some really soft metal 30 round mags for the M1 Carbine out there. Best bet is to find U.S. milsurp ones. Yes they will cost more but then they work. If you know someone with a tig welder they may be able to weld up a protrusion in that area. With a little judicious filing inside and out to shape them correctly it might be salvageable. Personally I wouldn't bother.

Also if your Carbine doesn't have the M2 mag catch you want to get one before you use other 30 round mags, it's what the catch on the side of the mag is for.

[TNsailorman]

what Larry said. You have to approach 30 rounders for the carbine with caution. I would never buy any magazine for the carbine that was not GI Surplus. just my opinion with past experience myself, james

[jimb16]

If you don't have an M2 mag catch on the carbine, that can happen with any 30 round mag. That is why there is an extra nib on the side of the mag and an extra arm on the M2 catch. Even the military mags had that problem. Cheap aftermarket mags can fail that way even if you do have an M2 catch. Just get the right catch and some GI mags.

[Speedo66]

If you can’t find military mags, I have had good luck with the Korean ones sold by AIM Surplus.

[lefty o]

agree with the above, the korean mags are priced well and work pretty good. USGI is also excellent. i believe the mags that come with the repop carbines are promag or some other 2nd tier mag manufacturer, and thats not a good thing.

[Scorpion8]

I prefer the USGI surplus 15- or 20-round mags for my Carbine, just for that "classic" Carbine look. And way less problems. Never had a bad mag in that bunch.

[Speedo66]

I don't believe any USGI mags were 20 rounders, 15 and 30.

[308Jeff]

If you can’t find military mags, I have had good luck with the Korean ones sold by AIM Surplus.

Those have worked good for me as well.