Has anyone disassempled M1 carbine while chambering a round?

[Oleg Volk]

A friend tried to use my M1 carbine and, when chambering the first round, he pulled the charging handle just right out and up to get it out of the groove. That also pulled the bolt bolt half-way out of the receiver!

I've never had that happen before but was able to duplicate the problem by deliberately pulling the bolt away from the receiver when it got to the disassembly cutout. Didn't take much force at all.

This seems like a potential problem for any social uses of the carbine...

 

[jjmorgan64]

Never done it, But I've heard that the troops over in the Pacific in WWII were pretty darn good at this, they could pop it out whenever they wanted.

 

[hps1]

Suspect your op-rod is somewhat worn or this would not be possible.

I have never had that problem w/carbine, but had a Garand that had this problem. I used the side of my right hand to force bolt back while inserting clip and pushing it down with right thumb when loading. When clip locked in place, would twist my hand to the right and up in order to keep thumb clear as bolt closes. This would slip op-rod out of its track with great regularity.

Managed to get a few more miles out of that op-rod by bending the handle end slightly toward the receiver and making conscious effort to move hand upward (and not twisting to the right) when loading. Later made permanent repair, replaced op-rod.

Regards,
hps

 

[BigG]

Suspect your op-rod is somewhat worn or this would not be possible.

Ditto. That or sumpin else is worn.

 

[Oleg Volk]

I called IAI, they said "send it in, receiver or the rod might not be right."

 

[buford1]

I have two of them and never had my rifles come apart. Need to get it to a gun smith.

 

[JIH]

Ditto on the "it's not good."

 

[KSFreeman]

That's why Bok gave us gunsmiths.

Another argument in favor of multiple copies of the same weapon.

 

[Jim Watson]

Saw one dislodge the op rod from its track when fired.
The receiver was cracked and the rail bowed.

 

[James K]

Since the slide is supposed to come off if pulled back and up and out at the same time, it will certainly do so if the user handles it that way, no matter what the intent is. Nothing has to be badly worn, though wear would make the "disassembly" easier.

FWIW, it is possible to remove the bolt from the carbine just by popping off the slide, letting it go forward around the bolt lug and then pulling out the bolt. No need to disassemble anything else.

Jim

 

[Cheapo]

All of the above applies equally to the M1 and the M14 series/clones.

Heck, my daddy broke a firing pin on the line one day and removed the bolt, popped the extractor out, replaced the pin, and put it all back together, without ever pulling out of the sling.

That was prone, mind you.

And I popped the op rod out of its track while charging an M1 once, too. It's all in whether you let go when the lug it at the dismount cutout. ALL THE WAY BACK, BOYS, BEFORE YOU LET IT GO! Or if you're single-loading for slow-fire, get it FORWARD of the dismount cutout.

 

[Blue Duck357]

I've heard it's a little easier on the Carbines and makes this less likely to happen if you use an overhand motion on the charging handle and pull the bolt back with downward pressure as opposed to back with upward pressure which sometimes feels a bit more natural as it gives more leverage.

I've always done it this way with both my carbines and no problems yet...

 

[BigG]

Could be Operator headspace.

 

[Clemson]

I laughed when I read this one. When I was in the army in 1971, I had a CO who had just returned from a tour in Viet Nam and whose job had been to fly a Bird Dog as a spotter. He had to put the plane down in a rice paddy one day, and he pulled his trusty M2 carbine out from behind the seat in the plane. He had traded an ARVN for it thinking it would be better than the issued pistol if he ever got into a firefight. Well, he pulled back the operating handle to jack a cartridge into the chamber, and the bolt flew out an splashed down into knee-deep muddy water leaving him with a weapon somewhat less useful than a five iron. This thread is the first time I have ever seen it confirmed that other M1/M2 carbines had experienced the same problem.