I just pcked up my first M1 carbine. It's not a war time gun, it's an Auto Ordnance/Khar rifle, but I plan on shooting the piss out of this thing so a collector grade gun wasn't necessary. I've read about war time guns being finnicky with the 30 round magazines. What mags should I get to feed this thing? Aim surplus has 15 and 30 round Korean magazines. Should I avoid these or are these okay? What says the hive?

I have 6 Korean 30's, never had a problem with any of them.

There was a part change needed in the original M1 carbines to support the 30 round magazines.  I forget what it was but if yours has issues with the 30 rounders next gun show just ask at the carbine booth.  They will have them.

For use with 30 round mags you need an M2 magazine catch.
This has an extra lug on the side to lock onto the latching lug pressed out on the side of the 30 round magazines.

Most 15 round Carbine mags work very reliably.
30 round Carbine mags are rather hit or miss.  I've had brand new USGI 30 round mags still in the GI wrap that failed to work.

All you can do is try a mag and see if it works in a particular Carbine.  The same mag may or may not work in another Carbine.

First step with a Carbine mag is to check to insure the spring is in right way around.  Often they get installed backward by users, and even manufacturers.

Its a recent commercial gun so it will have the proper mag catch.


Most of the 30 rnd problems come from crappy commercial or repro  magazines. I've not tried the Korean 30s but the 15s run ok in mine.

The 30 rounders that keepshooting has are reputed to be very good. At least one range that rents full-auto carbines use them and reports that they hold up well.

There's a thread on the site here somewhere that details their experiences, but I can't remember where.

Yeah that;s he part.  My WWII carbine lacks it and doesn't work with the 30 round mags.  

I don't bother with the 30rd magazines, but I hear the Korean ones are okay. I mostly use USGI 15rd mags in my two.

More on this;  I shot my carbine for the first time yesterday, burning though about 50 rounds of S&B 110 grain ammo. Of the three magazines the gun came with, two were complete jam-o-matics and only one was totally reliable.  The bad mags had the exact same kind of malfunctions, the bolt would override the base of the top cartridge, jamming the round against the base of the feedramp and the bottom front edge of the bolt.
None of these mags have any type of markings or stamps on them, and I have no idea of the manufacturer. The only differences I noticed between them have to do with the finish and how they fit in the mag well.
The good one seems to fit a lot more snugly. There's a rib that runs down the front of the magazine and on the good mag this rib is wider and more square in profile than the other two. On the problem mags this rib is narrower and more rounded in profile and doesn't seem to fit quite right, causing some slop. The finish is also different. The problem mags are blued and appear to be recent manufacture. The good mag has what looks like a sprayed on black finish, not blued and not parked, and also appears to be new manufacture and not surplus.I have four of the Korean mags on order from Aim Surplus and I'm hoping they fit and function better.

My first step with any mag that isn't reliable is a cleaning and then I lube with some type of dry lube (I generally use spray silicone)
Just the smallest bit of grit or oil can cause malfunctions .
I have a few 30's but pretty much only use GI 15s

Both the poor performing mags are spotless.
I did positively ID them as Promag garbage. I'll be shit canning them.

ProMag makes great paperweights.

The Korean mags are decent as mentioned above