m-1 carbine firing out of battery?

stinx · October 3, 1999, 09:54 PM

I have a Israel Arms Internation model M-1 carbine. This guns receiever is supposed to be of new manufacture, with the rest of the rifles parts mil-spec. I bought the gun new this weekend.
Firing the gun at the range I had several round not fire ,light primers strikes. I also had one round that I think may have fire out of battery. The rounds primer was blown and had light fouling on the sides of the case and also on the next round in the mag. In firing 100 rnds of Pmc 110 ball ammo the gun only did this once,but its got me thinking. Does this sound like the headspace is off? Could this just be bad ammo?

George Stringer · October 4, 1999, 07:06 AM

Stinx, headspace could be the problem. Naturally you see that more with older guns that have seen a lot of use but it is not all that rare in brand new weapons. It could also be a burr on the rails not allowing the bolt to close compeletly. Either way, if it were me I'd find out who is doing the warranty work for these and send it to them. George

Cheapo · October 8, 1999, 12:02 AM

The design of the M1 Carbine bolt is such that the hammer cannot impact the firing pin unless the bolt is fully forward. All bets are off if the right areas of metal are broken away, but that's unlikely enough to be almost impossible.

Really high pressure or a poorly made case head can cause a primer leak. The case head is supposed to be work-hardened, as contrasted with the often-annealed case necks. Anneal a case head and it's softer and can expand under firing pressure beyond the primer's ability to keep up and keep it's hole sealed against gas release.

A case body split can also cause the type of soot deposits you describe, but you generally see a rather obvious failure point on the fired case.

Check for proper light grease lube on the operating surfaces--if the bolt is not fully rotated closed, you can get those light strikes and failures to fire. The hammer falls and finishes closing the bolt but there's too little juice left to pop the primer. Just an unsatisfying click.

Gale McMillan · October 8, 1999, 07:52 AM

It did not fire out of battery or you would have had a catastrophic failure. If it was not locked up it would have blown the bolt back and split the case and made a hell of a noise. It sounds more like excessive head space. Either way don't shoot it till a qualified gunsmith checks it out

October 3, 1999, 09:54 PM	#1
stinx Member Join Date: August 31, 1999 Posts: 86	I have a Israel Arms Internation model M-1 carbine. This guns receiever is supposed to be of new manufacture, with the rest of the rifles parts mil-spec. I bought the gun new this weekend. Firing the gun at the range I had several round not fire ,light primers strikes. I also had one round that I think may have fire out of battery. The rounds primer was blown and had light fouling on the sides of the case and also on the next round in the mag. In firing 100 rnds of Pmc 110 ball ammo the gun only did this once,but its got me thinking. Does this sound like the headspace is off? Could this just be bad ammo?

October 4, 1999, 07:06 AM	#2
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Stinx, headspace could be the problem. Naturally you see that more with older guns that have seen a lot of use but it is not all that rare in brand new weapons. It could also be a burr on the rails not allowing the bolt to close compeletly. Either way, if it were me I'd find out who is doing the warranty work for these and send it to them. George

October 8, 1999, 12:02 AM	#3
Cheapo Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 1998 Posts: 986	The design of the M1 Carbine bolt is such that the hammer cannot impact the firing pin unless the bolt is fully forward. All bets are off if the right areas of metal are broken away, but that's unlikely enough to be almost impossible. Really high pressure or a poorly made case head can cause a primer leak. The case head is supposed to be work-hardened, as contrasted with the often-annealed case necks. Anneal a case head and it's softer and can expand under firing pressure beyond the primer's ability to keep up and keep it's hole sealed against gas release. A case body split can also cause the type of soot deposits you describe, but you generally see a rather obvious failure point on the fired case. Check for proper light grease lube on the operating surfaces--if the bolt is not fully rotated closed, you can get those light strikes and failures to fire. The hammer falls and finishes closing the bolt but there's too little juice left to pop the primer. Just an unsatisfying click.

October 8, 1999, 07:52 AM	#4
Gale McMillan Member In Memoriam Join Date: September 10, 1999 Posts: 411	It did not fire out of battery or you would have had a catastrophic failure. If it was not locked up it would have blown the bolt back and split the case and made a hell of a noise. It sounds more like excessive head space. Either way don't shoot it till a qualified gunsmith checks it out