M1/M2

[wmdaniel70]

Does anyone have any experience with converted M1s to full auto? Assuming one in very good condition, how durable and reliable are they? What about repair if needed? Thanks very much.

[GHEN]

Does anyone have any experience with converted M1s to full auto? Assuming one in very good condition, how durable and reliable are they? What about repair if needed? Thanks very much.

Before you get dog piled, can you please add a disclaimer that you know all of the NFA restrictions regarding "new" machine guns and are not planning on doing anything illegal?

OR...Dude unless you are an SOT with a bunch of other caveats (or are outside the US) you can't.

GHEN

[wmdaniel70]

No, I didn't mean to imply a "new" gun. I am talking about a transferable form 4 M1. Everything is all within NFA compliance.

[3154tm]

after receiving my stamp a few days ago i got my M1 to M2 conversion up and running today. what a hoot! in my case the trigger housing is the registered part and it's currently hosted by a '44 Inland.
eventually i hope to move it to commercial Iver Johnson, Universal etc. to save wear and tear on an old USGI carbine. lots of fun, just wish the ammo was a little cheaper.

[Kramer]

My first MG was a M2 carbine registered trigger pack and they are a hoot to shoot. It came in an Inland like yores, but I put the trigger pack into a Plainfield carbine.

[wmdaniel70]

If the gun is a registered receiver, which parts can be replaced if needed? The trigger pack? Bolt? Just trying to get an idea for any future repairs. Thanks. I have decided to get a 43 Inland, registered receiver!

[3154tm]

anything but the receiver. however, if you have a complete set of the 7 sacred parts that ATF says are unique to the M2, they may conclude that you have two machine guns and only one stamp. my understanding is that you can have any 6 in your possession as spares at one time but not all 7. i think that these are the parts but since i'm not the one going to jail you should make sure:
M2 selector lever, selector lever spring, disconnector lever assembly,
M2 disconnector, disconnector spring, disconnector plunger and M2 hammer .

[Faulkner]

Does anyone have any experience with converted M1s to full auto? Assuming one in very good condition, how durable and reliable are they? What about repair if needed? Thanks very much.

I have no experiance with converting an M1 to an M2, but I have a good deal of experiance with M1 carbines in general. The M1 carbine is pretty much over engineered for the round it utilizes. The .30 carbine round is little more than a souped up pistol cartridge, performing similarly to a .357 magnum when both fired from a 16 to 18 inch barrel.

The weak link on a M1 carbine is the extractor and as a result I only shoot brass cartridges in mine. Although many people shoot surplus or Russian made ammo with steel cases with few issues, my experiance is steel cases are rough on the extractor and are much, much more likely to cause issues. Replacing a extractor on a M1 carbine bolt can be a major pain even if you do have the proper bolt tool.

Otherwise, M1 carbines are easy to work on and repair. USGI parts are still pretty much available and many aftermarket parts are too. I've built several from scratch starting with a barrelled receiver and assembling them from surplus USGI parts picked up at gunshows on on-line. With USGI 15 round magazines they can be very reliable. 30 round magazines can be problematic, I've had some that work fine and others that don't. USGI 15 round magazines almost always work. With good receiver to stock fit they can be accurate enough too.

.30 carbine ammo used to be nearly as cheap as .22 Long Rifle back in the '60's and '70's. Now days, with surplus ammo long gone, shooting .30 carbine can get pretty expensive. I reload for mine and have tons of .30 carbine brass so I still shoot mine a good bit.