first M1 carbine one more question

[T-Bird]

What method should I use to decock this gun when I store it. Should I snap it, leave it cocked, do the make 30 carbine snap caps?- guess I can answer that last part myself with Google.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Assuming the carbine is unloaded and going to be stored for awhile I just snap it. I do not have a snap cap, but they do make them. If it's not snapped, then the hammer spring is compressed needlessly. But, to be perfectly honest in my opinion, I doubt very much if there is any practical difference, as like most US military guns the carbine is a very stout animal and forgiving of misuse. Consider that when carried in combat it is likely cocked with the safety on, perhaps for days and even months at a time. I keep one for a home defense gun, have for years, and it's been cocked for years with periodic maintenance at which time it is snapped several times to assure function. No deterioration of firing ability has been noted. I might add that the presence of a snap cap in a chamber for extended periods might not be desirable under humid storage conditions.

So -- your choice, really. I'm not sure there is a right or wrong to leaving the gun cocked, but I personally snap them for storage.

DG

[Outpost75]

^^^This^^^

Same here. Hornady .309" diameter 90-grain XTP with 7.4 grains of AutoComp, about 1650 fps, cycles well, drops the brass at your feet, and is devastating varmint load.

[Larry Gibson]

+ another on the 90 gr Hornady XTP for varmint and SD with the 30 Carbine I load them over 15 gr H110 for 2151 fps out of my M1 Carbine with excellent accuracy.

Attachment 245966

[jimb16]

To avoid damage, just pull the slide back about half an inch then pull the trigger. The hammer will hit the rear of the bolt, but not the firing pin. The carbine was designed to not fire if the bolt was not completely closed so it wouldn't slam fire.

[jeepvet]

On all of my rifles I just hold the trigger as I close the bolt. That releases the firing pin without dry firing on most rifles. I have read all kinds of stuff from "DON'T EVER DRY FIRE" to "practice all you want by dry firing". Personally, I don't think that an occasional dry fire will hurt much, but I will not make a frequent practice of it. And I will Never dry fire someone else's rifle without permission. However, unless I am keeping the firearm loaded for defense purposes, I do not store it with the hammer spring under tension.

By the way, I have an Upland M1 and a Universal commercial M1 and I LOVE them both. Very fun to shoot and great accuracy. I have taken many a white tail doe at less than 100 yds with a neck shot using Sierra's 110gr Varminter HP bullet over IMR 2400. It has been so long that I don't remember the load right off, but if you are interested I will look it up for you.

[lefty o]

it doesnt need to be "decocked". springs do not wear out by being left in a compressed state.

[avogunner]

To avoid damage, just pull the slide back about half an inch then pull the trigger. The hammer will hit the rear of the bolt, but not the firing pin....

This has been my practice for as long as I’ve owned my 1943 Inland - over 40 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[T-Bird]

Thanks for the responses guys. I was always told by my father not to dry fire guns. In my bolt guns, I hold the trigger down while closing the bolt, and that does it. Didn't work on this gun. I will probably shoot it a bunch getting it sighted in (and just 'cause I want to) then pull it out every now and then for fun. So I will use the 1/2 in retraction of the bolt trick to make me feel better when I put it away for awhile.

[jimb16]

Holding the trigger while closing the bolt doesn't work because the trigger/sear doesn't reset until the bolt closes. Its not like a bolt action/cock on closing rifle or pistol. You can do the same hammer drop on the m1 Garand as you can on the carbine.

[Walks]

I never worried about it as a kid. Still don't, 60+yrs later.

But if you want to practice by dry firing, then buy snap caps or make them.

[Gtek]

Pulling the op rod to 70-80% rear with index finger holding op rod. As you are easing it forward (op rod RH finger) left hand is holding weapon and rapidly pulling trigger, you will feel hammer release and contact bolt and then slide into battery, works the same on M1 Garand. The dog leg design firing pin is to contact the receiver bridge retracting pin as bolt rotates into battery to prevent inertia firing.

[koehn,jim]

Instead of a snap cap I use a fired case and leave it . I also favor the Lyman 311410 cast. It comes out at 130 grain and functions perfectly.

[T-Bird]

that 311410 is plain base isn't it? I have the mold I think. Tried it in my Blackhawk but not for long. Does it work well in the rifle even tho it's got no gc?

[Larry Gibson]

I've had M1 Carbines since the mid '60s and am US Army depot level armorer school trained in their repair. It does not hurt to dry fire them. Dry firing them (and other US made military rifles) is done extensively in training, system check and maintenance and is/has always been a common practice. Yes, there are some firearms that should not be dry fired as they may be damaged......the M1 Carbine is not one of them.

[koehn,jim]

t-bird yes it does and no gc makes it cheap to shoot.

[T-Bird]

kj are you running it full tilt?

[T-Bird]

thanks Larry, I've read that and it's nice to hear it from someone that I respect their opinion.

[Winger Ed.]

In the Service, we dryfired hundreds and hundreds of times before we got live ammunition,
as had the folks who had the same rifles before us.

I'd heard the dry fire issue is with rim fire firing pins getting dinged up from dry firing,
and guns with 2 piece firing pins like some revolvers. If the spring fails that retracts the floating part of the pin, it could cause a jam.

I never heard of that actually happening, but dinging up the end of a rim fire's pin makes sense.
That's probably what got the whole dry fire issue going.

[T-Bird]

Yeah, I never knew why not dry fire, I just was told not to by my Dad for a lot of years (not continually). I just figured it had something to do with the pin not being supported by a primer on impact by the hammer repeatedly. I don't know That's why I asked. I have snap caps for my shotguns.