My Grandfather has a WW2 vintage M1 Carbine. He carried it all over the Philippines and Japan. Actualy I think he picked it up in the Philippines off his landing craft, he dropped his Garand, landing craft was hit and he grabed the Carbine. Carried it with him until he got back, on the train and bus, the country was different back then. He is very fond of that rifle, says it always shot, never let him down.


Anyway AFAIK it hasn't been fired in 30 years, and that was with WW2 vintage ammo which he still has. I told him he needs to get rid of the old ammo. I want to buy some new ammo and take it to the range. The rifle itself seems to be in pretty good shape, he refinished the stock which he admits was probably a mistake. He should have kept it original. It has a few knicks and bumps but the action seems to be clean if not a bit dry. I don't doubt that it would fire if I stuck a good mag into it, but thats probably not a good idea. Can I just take it apart and lub it? If so what should I lub it with? What should I inspect or replace? I don't know much about guns other then how to shoot them, but it doesn't look to complicated I could probably pull it apart myself. I have pulled paint ball guns apart and my friends Mossberg, I could probably figure it out.

Or should I take it to the local gunshop and have them service it?

I want to keep it in working order and keep it in the family.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

clean and lube it is probably top on the list

I'd take it to the gun shop and have them service it if I was not sure how to do something.. but I would ask if they could show me how to care for it..

I bet you could find the manual for it on ebay ^_^

The ww2 ammo will probably fire but I think I remember dad saying if you fire it you have to clean the gun every day for a week afterward or such.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

that would be corrosive primers. and yes that is correct about cleaning process. look online for a manual. clean it very well. the barrel needs scrubbed as it probly has rust in it. clean with hopps no9, saturate the barrel then scrub. many many times. if you do decide to put it away again coat it with cosmoline

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

Put a nice wet patch (Hoppe's No. 9 cleaner) through the barrel. Do it again. And again. But a clean patch doesn't mean you're done, after it's been sitting. The solvent will get into the metal and raise contaminants, so let it sit for a few hours and go through the process again, with just three or for patches each time.

Once it looks clean, put a metal brush saturated with the same cleaner through the barrel a few times. Only push from the breach to the crown and DO NOT REVERSE DIRECTION with the brush in the bore. Pulling it back through once it has cleared won't do much damage, but it's better to remove the brush for each stroke. Then do the patches again.

Finally, you need to shoot some bullets through the bore. Be sure to get cartridges with non-corrosive primers. If you have some old WWII ammo, save it or sell it on eBay. Don't shoot it.

If you don't know what you are doing take it to a gunsmith. Firing a round with a fouled barrel is not only dangerous but can damage the bore.

There should be some take down manuals online - somewhere.

http://www.alpharubicon.com/leo/M1carbinestrippingserger.htm

or

http://www.auto-ordnance.com/images/aom110_manual0304.pdf

Take it apart - Check for corrosion (rust and heavy old grease) - buy WD-40 and spray the metal down if needed to remove any old grease and oil.

Check the barrel - for obstruction or other issues.

Safety - make sure there are no bullets in the action or chamber:

Lube the bolt (Contact points) (drops of oil, not pints - 15W40 Rottella should work or synthetic - probably more guns have been lubed by a car's dipstick than you know)

Buy new ammo - forget the WWII ammo - unless there is lots to shoot. If it is only 20-50 rounds - not worth the trouble cleaning the rifle after firing corrosive ammo.

Load and shoot - Safely.

WD-40 - Great solvent, crappy lubricant, crappy preservative.

Corrosive Ammo - Use Windex with Ammonia – Great on the corrosive salts.

Oils – Buy some CLP (Breakfree) – It will provide all the lubrication and preservative needs.

Hope this works - Sorry there are a few blanks in the info above

Geoff in Oregon

Can't you and your gramps oil it up? Surely he oiled it up himself in the war.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

excellent advice. It's worth having it looked at and checked, plus the smith will give it a good clean as well.

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-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

check the headspace too

Those carbines are fun to shoot!

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

I'm not sure what caliber those shells are or how hard they are to locate. You might want to keep them and have the brass reloaded.

Many gun ranges have target shooting leagues, and lots of people reload their own shells for better accuracy. That might be a place to ask around as well.

Chuck

i have one and they are fairly easy to strip.the only problem is the slide mechanism,they fit together like a puzzle.it will only go together one way.also if you push the sling thru the stock the original oiler is holding the sling on.also if he has had shells setting in the clips the springs will get weak and after about 10 shells they won't want to feed.so look for empty clips.i can probably find a few banana clips if you want to go that route.i have more then i know what to do with.i love shooting mine but i hate paying for the ammo.i think i have a set of dies but they were super expensive.i have just never got around to reloading.does he still have the bayonet for it??they are very hard to find.

Thanks guys, I'm pretty handy with mechanical things so I will take a look at it before sending it out. I think I could probably figure it out. It actualy sounds a lot like cleaning a fishing reel, or sailboat winch.


He has maybe 20 rounds of the old ammo left, but I don't trust it. Its probably a collectors item now anyway right? I'd rather just buy some new ammo.

One problem that was mentioned are the clips. I don't know how many he has but the one I saw was loaded and had been probably since the war. So I bet that spring is DOA. I might end up buying another clip.

When my uncle gets back from his long weekend I will call him and see if I can get my hands on it for a bit. When I take it apart I will report back as to what I find. Knowing my Grandfather it was probably lubed with ATF.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I might be taking you up on one of those clips I'll let you know. Thanks!

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

It's called a magazine, and you can almost certainly buy the spring separately.

A clip is a different thing entirely; it holds the cartridges to make them easier to insert into a magazine.