I have an Inland M1 carbine that the fore grip keeps popping off after the second/third round fired. I have tighten the restraining "contraption". However every time I shoot the durn thing the fore grip pops off. I would be fine with a modern upgrade if needed, but I am kind of leaning towards keeping it original. Any advice is appreciated.... I really do not think this is a collector, but would love to have it for my smaller framed wife or kids if needed.

Yes it is showing a gap between the retaining "clasp", and yes I have tapped it down. However it walks forward with every shot.

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Attached File

There is something off with the band, band retainer or stock. My USGI and commercial stocks there is very little clearance to allow the band to move forward or back and the retainer barely clears to snap into the band when the band is against the shoulder of the stock.

The hole that the retainer goes into was probably wallowed out or a retainer was broken off in the original hole and it was either filled in and the new hole drilled too far forward.

That would be my thoughts also. The OP could try to fill and redrill the hole but the easiest option IMO would be look for a replacement stock. That one looks refinished anyway from the shiny surface so no collectors value is hurt

I'll post links to a couple sites later, or try What a County, they have surplus M2 birch stocks in right now

That stock looks like it has been modified or reworked.  There doesn't appear to be much height to the wood up front.  The channel that the barrel sits in looks shallow and the front clip is too far forward allowing the barrel band to move forward.

I think everyone has confirmed my suspensions. The stock is way to glossy to be USGI spec. Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!!! I really appreciate the help.

Doubt I want to spend the cash on anything that would make it collectable. I thank everyone for their comments. Now does anyone feel like pointing me in a direction for new furniture, wood or synthetic? If the foregrip is trash, I will toss it in the safe and put something cool on it.

Keep the metal parts and try one of these

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/955750

I've used one and it's a decent stock, here it was on it's most recent Carbine

https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Bubba-Da-M1-Carbine-Take-2/6-536741/

These have a good rep also. If I do a Carbine build I'm thinking of (I've everything expect a receiver) I might try one

https://www.dupagetrading.com/product/new-production-carbine-stock-sets/

Here's What a Country also, they get surplus USGI stocks in, the Birch M2's look decent

https://whatacountry.com/m1---m2-carbine.aspx

If you decide to replace the metal you can get like new parts here, I've used them on my replacement stocks

https://www.fulton-armory.com/frontstockswivelnmfawithsteelcapscrewassembly-1-1-1.aspx

I recently fitted a Dupage Trading stock set to my Winchester carbine that had a loose and cracked stock. The inletting was perfect for accuracy improvement and no fitting was required. The carbine shot about a 25% higher score at the first match with the new stock.

Cheap fix would be to run a bead of high temp RTV on the inside of the band lip to act as a spacer and push the HG further back into the retaining lip on the receiver.

You can get a decent USGI stock off e-bay for next to nothing.  I've even picked up Inland I cut stocks for less than $60.

Thank you for the wealth of info... it will take me a few weeks to sort through all the links (man has to work to play with the stuff)

I am kind of curious.... I know what you are talking about, but initially I was trying to preserve the originality (pretty sure that has flown the coup). That might be a good idea for the "girls for OMG shit"

I am kind of curious.... I know what you are talking about, but initially I was trying to preserve the originality (pretty sure that has flown the coup). That might be a good idea for the "girls for OMG shit"

Thank you for the wealth of info... it will take me a few weeks to sort through all the links (man has to work to play with the stuff)

Sorry folks for spamming the thread.. I did not mean too. I was replying when I should have be quoting. I really appreciate the info. Should I consider a barebones aftermarket stock? Like a fully modified. Top rail, folding stock type stuff?

Being that with everyone's help we have decided this is not a safe queen... Have you had any experience with these from - Fulton - https://www.fulton-armory.com/handguardsuperscoutwswanweaverpicatinnyrail-2.aspx

Or the carbine match at the National matches.

The Ultimak rail system? It's excellent IMO, I've used 1 for a couple years now. It's currently on one of my Fulton Armory Carbines with a Vortex Venom red dot



This is it on a different Carbine using a Sig Romeo dot


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That would also mean you could use your existing stock since the Ultimak clamps onto the barrel. That barrel band "should" be able to hold the barrel in place. It doesn't hold the Ultimak on at all.

The only issue you might have is fitting the rail depending the type stock you have. You might have to ream out some wood, I did on the birch stock.


You need something like the top photo


http://www.uscarbinecal30.com/stocks.html

Thanks you.

I've fixed this often in my shop on carbine's that come in.

Ignore all other solutions.

Drop a bead of weld at the tab on the band spring. file it so the edge of the tab is pressing the band back towards the chamber.  Cold blue it..now you are done.  It won't slide forward anymore now.

Lots of new made stocks have that hole drilled wrong.

OK... that is really good advice. I do have a cheap welder, but not sure I can even weld two nails together. Do you have a video of this process? If not I think you could make a few bucks off of YouTube "restoring antiques". Also I am sure everyone else reading this thread would love to see the process. I am a wrench monkey, by no means a smith of any sort>  

I shimmed mine with a small piece of innertube 30 years ago. Never had a problem since.

I would, but I also have a carbine to keep "original".  I figure one "GI", and one customized, is a good way to go.

But Jeremy2171 knows what he's doing, his advice is solid.

For the average Joe it may be easier to fill the hole in the stock with epoxy, steel bed, etc, then redrill it a few mm back.   But the OP did say he had a welder so that is faster and a cheap part to alter which fits the old adage to modify the cheapest part first!

Edit, I later thought drilling the spring keeper stock hole round and plugging with a hardwood dowel and then redrilling farther back would be nicer than using bedding.


....but you cannot really devalue that stock as it is.  I’d be stripping that shiny stuff off the stock and hitting it with Tung or BLO anyhow.

As the last guy in the thread noted, plug the hole with a dowel and re-drill the hole farther back (maybe 1/8”, so you get a snug fit of the barrel and and retainer.

You do have an early single rivet hand guard and an early barrel band and that’s nice to have on an early carbine.

The stock has probably been refinished with Tru-oil and if that’s the case it’s reasonably easy to remediate the shine.  Use 0000 steel wool to remove the shine and almost all of the Tru Oil finish.  You’ll still have some down in the grain of the wood.  Then apply a hand rubbed pure tung oil finish.

Go easy with the steel wool so you don’t round the edges, remove what ever might be left of the cartouches, or start getting waves and ripples in the stock.

If you don’t want to go all in, lightly rub the stock with 0000 steel wool, just enough to knock down the shine to either a satin or an almost flat appearance and then give it a brief rub with a stock rubbing compound.

The top carbine in this picture was an aftermarket replacement with no cartouches that someone probably bought unfinished and then used Tru Oil to finish it.  I knocked down the worst of the shine with steel wool.  It’s a pot belly M2 style stock and a birch stock, so I replaced it not long after this with a walnut M1 carbine stock rather than take it down to a matte finish or refinish it completely.

The bottom carbine has a stock that was badly stained with more than its share of dings, so it was stripped, cleaned and redone with a tung oil finish.



Since your stock isn’t collectible you have some options, but a tung oil finish like the carbine on the bottom isn’t a bad way to go, and it’s not as incorrect as some folks will tell you.

M1 carbine and M1 Garand stocks were finished by dipping them in tung oil.  But that wasn’t where it stopped.  Over time the finish evolved with troops rubbing the stocks down with tung oil.  A rifle or carbine used by peacetime garrison troops would get frequent hand rubbing with tung oil when ever it was cleaned during the years it was in service.  

The end result was not the pristine tung oil dipped finish it had from the factory, nor was it the oil soaked used and abused finish you see on most carbines today.   Instead it’s what happened when having a nice looking stock was a point of pride. That practice was very common between the wars and is found on 1903A1 rifles as well.  Unfortunately collectors don’t regard it as an “original” finish, even though it was a normal result of military practice for a rifle or carbine that saw years of peacetime service.

You can see the same process occurring on this dip finished stock on a relatively new M1A.  The grain is still mostly unfilled but it’s taking on a satin/semi-gloss finish after just a half dozen rub downs with tung oil over the last couple years.  Give it several years and a few dozen more rub downs and the grain will be filled as well.



So do what you want with the stock.  A finish like the carbine on the bottom isn’t out of place and looks (and is) a lot more original than a new stock, without looking dumpy or abused.  Periodic hand rubbed coats of tung oil also fill the grain, seal the wood much better, make the stock much more stable, and increase the durability of the stock.

If you do find an excellent to very good condition original stock from the right manufacturer and cartouches to make it correct for your carbine it will add collector value - assuming your carbine is still mostly original.  If you do find such a unicorn, you’ll still want to take your out and shoot it in your current stock so you don’t damage the unicorn.

In my opinion with M1 carbines and Garands  over the last 40 years, people get way too focused on the carbine or rifle being “correct”. Quite frankly I regard most “correct” carbines and a Garand with a great deal of suspicion now, as not many M1 Carbines or Garands survived their military service without a full arsenal rebuild.  A correct M1 Carbine or Garand today is likely to have several forced matched “correct” parts.