M1 Carbine prone to stovepiping

[RangerJoe]

I have an M1 carbine that has developed a penchant for stovepiping. Fired 71 rounds today and had 7 or 8 stovepipes. Obviously this is not acceptable.

I had given it a very thorough cleaning prior to shooting today, field stripped it and cleaned it head to toe. It was quite dirty and I was really hoping that was going to be the problem but it wasn't. I oiled the gun after cleaning with a light gun oil (RemOil) and I was using PMC brass-cased range ammo today.

One odd thing I noticed is that after the cleaning, the brass (when it did eject) was doing so strangely. My memory is that this rifle used to basically eject spent shells straight up, more or less. Today, the brass was ejecting almost straight back. I was wearing a baseball hat while shooting and several of the ejected shells actually hit the underside of the hat brim. When I finally took the hat off, a handful actually hit me in the forehead, which this gun has certainly never done before. It's almost like the ejector is holding on to the shells longer or something?

Extractor seems most likely culprit, but my knowledge of this is pretty low. Suggestions welcome.

[Airsporter]

Maybe try another brand of ammo.  But, consider stripping the bolt and removing/cleaning both the ejector and the extractor and replacing both springs.

[Hank08]

you might also remove the gas piston and clean it if you havent already, sounds like you haven't shot it for awhile and old oil may have gummed it up.  If using reloads, try a heavier load or try some GI ball.
H08

[RangerJoe]

I am going to try cleaning the gas piston this weekend. The rifle has been in my family for 40 years, and I bet you the gas piston has NEVER been cleaned since.

[SHOOTALL]

Is the magazine 40 years old also ?

[RangerJoe]

No; I have some old magazines, but the last time I shot it I specifically used 4 different new magazines that I know have either never been used or used once or twice. So, the magazine should not be the issue here.

[Victor3]

When you remove/clean the piston, also make sure the gas port is clear. A spray can of brake cleaner is helpful here...

[GGaskill]

And don't get carried away tightening the piston retaining screw or you can strip the threads and THAT is a real downer.  Just run it up tight and stake it again so it won't unscrew.

[Mikey]

Joe - go with what Airsporter recommended.  Get new extractor and ejector springs from Wolf, in Ardmore, PA.  While you are at it, inspect the extractor to see if the extractor claw is not busted or rusted with age - you're only shooting a 60-70 year old rifle there. 

BTW - most stovepipe jams are (opinion and experience) caused by underpowered ammo that doesn't send the bolt/slide all the way to the rear or by faulty magazines, or dirt and a lack of lubrication.  I don't know if you recall basic training or AIT or any further weapons training but even with the older rifles, after a range session they would be disassembled and the parts dumped into a bin full of cleaning solution, shaken off and the reassembled.  If you needed oil during a extended range session you could give the bolt a couple of squirts from your oiler.  I recall the need to keep M1 Carbines well lubed and even the cleaners contained a lot of lubricant.  HTH.

[SHOOTALL]

I use lubriplate on mine and it runs good.

[RangerJoe]

How is the gas piston nut staked in? Will I have to un-stake it to get it out? Is there something in the hole by the red arrow that needs to come out before the gas piston nut will turn (pic attached)?

[Victor3]

 There should just be a stake made by a punch there; no pin or set screw unless someone has added one (you say there's a hole?). There's no way to "un-stake" the original stake; you just unscrew the retaining nut.

 You should buy the special spanner wrench designed to remove/replace the nut if you don't have one. Also, a squirt of liquid wrench or similar penetrating oil will be helpful in removing it.

[shot1]

The carbine M1 and the M1 Garand are meant to be lubed with grease not oil. Lubriplate is about as close to the real thing you can find these days

[SHOOTALL]

thought lubriplate was the real thing for cold weather ?

[RangerJoe]

I think worn extractor is gonna take it. I got myself a new extractor/spring and put it in, and did a bit of testing yesterday. The brass is back to ejecting like it used to - almost straight up, a little bit to the right hand side. Ran 50 rounds through it of the same ammunition and while I did get 3 jams, they weren't stovepipes and more mag-misfeed related I think (one was a double-feed, so that's definitely mag-related.) I had one 30-round magazine that ran 100% clean of all jams, so I am going to single out that mag and use it for more testing later.

Side by side comparison of the old extractor and the new one was pretty eye-opening; you never realize how worn down something has become until you see what it SHOULD look like right next to it. There was barely any lip left on the old one. I don't know how it was even still pulling the brass out of the chamber.

[SHOOTALL]

I have found after market mags not worth the effort. I look for and still find old surplus military mags wrapped in the cosmoline soaked wrap. They are a pain to clean up but work great.

[Victor3]

thought lubriplate was the real thing for cold weather ?

 IIRC it was actually because of rain (or other water) washing lighter lubes out of the action. There was a 'service bulletin' or some such thing put out by the govt during WWII on using lithium grease instead.

[1894cfan]

Is there something in the hole by the red arrow that needs to come out before the gas piston nut will turn (pic attached)?

That hole is lined up with the gas hole in the barrel. If/when you remove the gas piston, run a wire down through that hole to shove out any gunk that may have built up in the gas hole into the barrel. HTH