First M1 loading questions.

[T-Bird]

I just got my 1st M1 carbine. It's a 1945 era Win. seems to be in good shape. The LGS said the RIA stamp on the left side of the buttstock indicates it was reconditioned at Rock Island Armory. I got it to shoot it- and have! I've had a Ruger Blackhawk 3 screw for a lot of years in 30 carbine so I tried the same load I shot in it which is 12 gr IMR 4227 with Lee 309-113f sized .309 and CCI SR primer. Shoots good in the blackhawk but in the M1- not so much. I whipped up a load with same boolit sized .310 and 13 gr H110 and the group at 50 yds got tighter, 4 of 6 were within 11/2 in the whole group was 23/4 in. I got the load out of that Lee load manual. That is the only place I could find H110 loads for lead in .30 carbine. For a boolit around 110 gr. I've seen some of you seem to go with more pwdr than that in your posts. I'm not really looking for hot loads, but I have read it's not good to download H110. Advice with this powder/boolit combo in 30 carbine would be welcome. Also, an unrelated question. This gun shoots badly to the right. I've had to adjust the rear sight all the way to the left to get the windage right. The front sight appears to be straight any ideas? Should I get a smith to tilt it slightly? It's hard to line your eyes up on a peep that far to the left when you're left handed.

[azrednek]

For starters take a good look at the crown. Going back to the 70's I had a M-1 Carbine that the broadside of a barn laughed at me. The previous owner removed the front sight to add bayonet lug. He boogered up the crown beating the front sight back on. He claimed he used a rubber mallet to beat sight back on but he was obviously full of guano. After a professionally done re-crown it shot like it was supposed to. Been to many years to recall what the recrown cost but I had it done right. The gunsmith removed the barrel and put it in a lathe.

[mattw]

I have shot a ton of 11.7 grains of H110 behind any of the assorted cast lead carbine bullets... just works! Second the suggestion to check the crown, crown damage will do strange things to a barrel.

[T-Bird]

OK, thanks guys.

[Outpost75]

Rear sight can be drifted to correct windage. Rear sight is usually staked in position, but it might not be.

[T-Bird]

The rear sight is staked. It is SLIGHTLY rt of center, but not enough to account for the windage adjustment on the peep that was necessary. If there is anything wrong with the crown, I can't tell it. I may just have to live with it. windage is ok with the above load as is

[T-Bird]

Is there any way that if I bought factory fmj which it was designed for, that it would affect the poi windage wise? If it does, it doesn't make sense to me. I don't think anybody in WW2 shot cast.

[Texas by God]

You should try it with regular fmj factory ammo and see what/what. I’ve read that bent M1 Carbine barrels can be encountered as well. Mine likes the 296/113 Lee combo but not as well as jacketed. So far.

[T-Bird]

yeah, I guess I could do that.

[Larry Gibson]

"The front sight appears to be straight any ideas? Should I get a smith to tilt it slightly? "

By this do you mean the blade is straight or 90 degree vertical to the receiver? Many times if the barrel is screwed in too far the front sight is not vertical. That requires the rear sight to be adjusted way left to zero the rifle.

[T-Bird]

Yes, it appears to be vertical to the receiver. As far as my eyes can tell. That's what I meant.

[T-Bird]

I shot factory 110 fmj in it today, same results. As far as POI is concerned. In fact, my cast was slightly tighter yesterday, but not enough to just call it day to day variation in my shooting.

[Possumcop]

What 110 grain factory ammo were you shooting for your comparison?
I've had better accuracy with PMC or old Korean surplus than I have with the more expensive stuff.

M1 carbines can be puzzling accuracy wise. I ended up trading off an excellent condition 1944 Inland. I never could get that rifle to consistently shoot better than @ 7 inches for 5 shots at 100 yards whether with cast or jacketed.

On the other hand, I've got a beat up commercial Plainfield with a gollywog
retractable wire stock that'll usually shoot around 3 inches with powder coated Lee 120 grain round nose over 2400.

[T-Bird]

I was shooting PMC. I really looked at the front blade with respect to it's "perpendicularness" to the receiver, I think it might be slightly tilted to the left meaning Larry's suggestion might be correct. Or at least part of it.

[RG1911]

I was shooting PMC. I really looked at the front blade with respect to it's "perpendicularness" to the receiver, I think it might be slightly tilted to the left meaning Larry's suggestion might be correct. Or at least part of it.

If you remove the stock and look at the bottom of the action where the barrel screws into the receiver, there *usually* is a lightly-stamped line on the front of the receiver and another one at the rear of the barrel. These lines should match up if the barrel is correctly installed. Note that I've never seen a mismatch on any of my USGI M1 Carbines.

If there is a mismatch, it can be corrected, assuming you have a couple M1 Carbine tools. Sarco has them available. If the line on the barrel shows that it has been screwed in too far, unscrew the barrel until the lines match and, using feeler gauges, determine what the gap is. Then get the correct thickness of shim stock and make a washer to go between the receiver than the should on the barrel.

If the barrel cannot be screwed in far enough (do not overtighten the barrel), you will need to have the should set back the necessary amount. I'd recommend a gunsmith with a good lathe. If you were really careful, you could use files, but I don't recommend it.

Finally, if all else fails, get a new barrel. Sarco sells them. I have one on a carbine I assembled on a stripped receiver using a bunch of parts I have. It's an easy firearm to assemble.

Cheers,
Richard

[T-Bird]

thanks Richard

[T-Bird]

this gun is FUN! Had planned to only shoot cast in it. Might get me some of those Hornady 90 XTP to try.

[RG1911]

Hadn't thought of trying those in the carbine. I've been using them in the 7.62X25 loads for my Tokarev.

And you're right; the carbine is just plain a fun rifle to shoot. I actually use one in our 3-Gun competitions because, right now, we're limited to a max range of 60 yards. I don't need a high-powered rifle for that.

Cheers,
Richard

[jeepvet]

Both of my M1 Carbines love Sierra's 110 gr Varminter HP over IMR 2400. Insanely accurate.

[one-eyed fat man]

You may want to re-examine the muzzle for cleaning rod damage. It may not be as bad as some milsurps out there, but years of overzealous scrubbing by diffident draftees may have worn the thing egg shaped. A condition made more likely by the fact the carbine cannot be cleaned with a rod from the breech end and the steel jointed rods ol' Private Snuffy like had to use.