M-1 Carbine Mags

[Stephanie B]

For no damned good reason that comes ti mind, I'm thinking of getting a M-1 carbine. The issue for me is that I'll need ten-round magazines,

So, are any of those magazines any good?

Yes, I have friends who are telling me "don't do this, just get a 9mm PCC once the noise dies down." I'm trying not to listen to them.

[Gater]

No personal experience with 10 rounders (I'm tempted by the M1, but have yet to pull the trigger on a buy, and my shooting has been with GI mags), but curious about your question...knowing Fulton Armory's M1s have a pretty good reputation and that they are also in a mag cap state, I looked to see what if anything they sold themselves in a 10 round version...they're selling a 15 rounder blocked to 10, with an M2 follower:

https://www.fulton-armory.com/magazinecarbine15roundnewfultonarmory-2-1.aspx

I don't know CT's law, but my guess is that those won't be an option for you if they can be unblocked.

That said, we're here to enable--if you haven't seen it already, here's a link to Lucky Gunner's multi-part series on the carbine...some good stuff in there. They're cool little guns!

https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/category/m1-carbine/

[Borderland]

I don't know where you live but a generic magazine ban may not affect those older USGI magazines. I know NY has a ban but the 15rd USGI magazines are legal if you register those with the state police. Has something to do with relics. It might be worth checking your state code on magazine restrictions or asking on the CMP forum. There's a lot of knowledge there for the asking.

https://forums.thecmp.org/forumdisplay.php?f=6

I run 15's in my carbine and know nothing about after market 10's. Also original USGI mags can be identified by the code stamped into the mag by the manufacturer. I had about 2 dozen of those at one time and they were all stamped. I've never seen one that wasn't.

[fatdog]

I purchased a few 10 rounders, Korean I think, back during the ban, they appeared to be just shortened 15 rounders, my recollection was they ran in my GI carbines with ball ammo. Pre-bans were still abundant during that period and I mostly used those back in the dark days.

The only magazine problems I have had were off shore manufactured 30 rounders, some from the Phillipines, some Korean, some who knows where.

I think Fulton Armory is the go to place for all things USGI M1 carbine. If they sell it, I would expect it to work.

There are a lot of technical gurus who post or answer questions in the CMP forum, it would be worth registering and posing the question there as there are certainly a lot of CMP Carbine purchasers in the 10 round states.

[Salamander]

Love my M1 carbine, 1943 Inland. They're fun to shoot, light, fast handling. bad light right now but maybe I'll pull it out in the morning and take a photo to help enable.

My dad carried one in Europe in the early 1950s, never fired under stress but he liked it a lot. My uncle carried one on Attu Island in 1943 under somewhat harsher conditions... and he also liked it. One thing that I may have heard from him, can't remember for sure, was that in battlefield conditions they just discarded the mags after use and got new ones, they wore out and became less reliable over time.

Mine came with a 10-round magazine of unknown origin. I ordered two more from the modern Inland Mfg https://www.inland-mfg.com/product218.html (ignore the thing about "can't sell to" they sold me two no questions asked and 10-round magazines are legal in CA, so that may be boilerplate from the 15-round page). Mostly they're OK... I did need to very slightly file the spot where they lock against the mag release, they were really tight fitting until I did that. In any case they feed cheap Aguila and better quality Hornady ammo with no issues, I don't shoot that rifle a whole lot but had no stoppages in about 100 rounds.

[okie john]

I had one as a kid. Fun to shoot but considered substandard for deer where I lived. The 10-round mags fit flush with the bottom of the stock and sometimes didn't drop free.


One thing that I may have heard from him, can't remember for sure, was that in battlefield conditions they just discarded the mags after use and got new ones, they wore out and became less reliable over time.

Ken Hackathorn reports the same thing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF0qH_zvfdU


Okie John

[Caballoflaco]

The fifteen round mags are so small that I think anything shorter would make the handling difficult. Plus they wouldn’t work in a mag pouch on the butt of the rifle, which really is a nice way to have a couple of spare mags with the rifle.

If 10’s that are the same size as 15’s are available that’s what I would look for.


Stephanie B I think you’ll like it a lot more than the sks if you decide to get one. I know you dig vintage guns, but Ultimak makes a rail that would make adding a flashlight and red dot easy without altering the gun if that’s something you wanted to do. Or you could go hill billy like 90’s me and just tape a maglight to the forend (has to take care of an armadillo problem for my grandmother).

[Duelist]

I’ve always been tempted by the M1 carbine. Two men who influenced me a great deal used them to good effect - one as a Marine in combat in the island campaign, the other as a police officer.

[LittleLebowski]

I really like my Inland.

[Dave J]

I’ve no experience with 10-rounders, but the 15 and 30 round Korean mags work great in my CMP carbine, and I have no reason to think the 10’s would be any worse.

This is all in the context of a “fun” gun for me, which isn’t subject to the same level of vetting as my “serious” guns. I have no expectation that any M1 will approach modern standards of dependability. If I anticipated using an M1 carbine for anything serious, I’d send it to Fulton Armory for a complete inspection first.

[Borderland]

I’ve no experience with 10-rounders, but the 15 and 30 round Korean mags work great in my CMP carbine, and I have no reason to think the 10’s would be any worse.

This is all in the context of a “fun” gun for me, which isn’t subject to the same level of vetting as my “serious” guns. I have no expectation that any M1 will approach modern standards of dependability. If I anticipated using an M1 carbine for anything serious, I’d send it to Fulton Armory for a complete inspection first.

Not a bad idea. Springs are pretty easy to replace but the major problems most people have are the bolt extractors and ejectors. Those aren't so easy to replace. I've rebuilt mine several time and it runs about 98%. That isn't good enough for a SD carbine however. Better off just forgetting about running one for SD. That's what I did.

[Coyotesfan97]

The M1 Carbine is one gun I’ve always kicked myself for not buying when they were cheap. :mad:

[Salamander]

Here's mine with 10-round mags. Ruger Ranch for scale.

64859

The mags actually fit tightly enough in the mag pouch that being shorter isn't really a problem, if anything they fit too tightly. Some kind of filler in the bottom of the pouch so they project would work pretty well. I haven't bothered because it's a classic used very occasionally at the range and not for hard field use.

I picked this one up several years ago, watched patiently, passed on several that were either overpriced or in rough condition, ended up getting a pretty good deal on it although usually they're not cheap anymore. Should have bought several when I was young, I once helped a friend's girlfriend pick one out for him for a birthday gift and they were very reasonable then, about mid-1970s.

[Borderland]

Bores need to be checked before purchase. Some are pretty well worn out. The first one I bought was used up. I wised up and checked the muzzle on the last one. There are cheap gauges available to keep sellers honest. Highly recommended.

[Horseman]

I've got a 10-rd. Pro Mag brand that functions well in an Inland carbine. Sample of one, but it seems to do the job.

Brownells shows them out of stock but available for backorder.

[ECVMatt]

I have a nice Winchester and could use some 10 round mags for travels to the west coast. I usually take my Mini, but the Carbine would work just as well.

EDIT: As a side note California has lost two cases now involving standard capacity magazines. If they lose again it would be a good win for the 2A movement. If the state should win, it might be a good case for SCOTUS and hopefully would end the need for 10 round magazines. Sorry for the divergence from the OP's topic.

[Jaywalker]

CMP forums discuss ways of altering 15-round magazines into lower capacity. Some alterations are permanent and some just appear so.

[NuJudge]

I had an M1 Carbine in my teens, and traded it away because it lived down to its reputation in so many ways.

About a decade ago, the Civilian Marksmanship Program got a lot of them back from Italy and who knows where else. CMP also started having a match for Carbines at Camp Perry, something they stopped about 1960. I went through racks of them at the CMP North Store, and got one of the Italian returns, a mixmaster, with most of the parts "carried a lot/shot little."

The magazines are a problem with these rifles, but there are others. The CMP website had instructions on how to set them up to improve your chances of it shooting well...most of the time. Even when set up right, expect sudden shifts in POI, for no reason. The adjustable sights you will find on most, do not work very well, storing up clicks with no movement, then giving you a bunch of movement when you don't want it. Virtually all the military ammo you find out there is underpowered, and shoots worse than most soft point ammo, and some don't feed soft points reliably. Don't expect the bolt hold-open to actually work, if the rifle is jarred. ...and the magazines will go bad quickly: buy new ones at the first sign of trouble.

[Shades]

When I bought mine - a 1944 Underwood rearsenaled in 1951 - it came with 10 rounder of undetermined origin. Worked ok, but I subsequently got some GI 15 rounders. Agree that Fulton is probably a good place to start for reliable stuff and info. As far as ammo is concerned, I've found PPU a bit underpowered, resulting in FT ejects. Some Lake City GI ammo from circa 1970 runs reliably. I have found the spontaneous POI shift one time. A fun gun and a piece of history, but an 80-plus year old design and a 70-plus year old gun make it range toy, not a serious defensive arm. Worth having, if only for the vibes.

[Xrslug]

I’ve used new 10-rounders (Korean manufactured) and had no issues. I don’t shoot my M1 carbine much but every time I pick it up I’m struck by how tiny and light it is relative to a modern AR carbine. It feels more like my old Daisy Red Ryder — that’s a good thing. You can also pick up a replacement for the hand guard that is a metal pic rail. Forget who makes it but allows to you put on a light and a red dot if you want to bring the M1 up to date.
ETA: this is the one I have: http://ultimak.com/m6.htm

[Tokarev]

Plainfield. Not USGI but still fun.

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