Barrel band screw on an M1 Carbine

[ABNAK]

How tight should it be? Obviously not so tight that you are attempting to make the little ears touch, but how much snugness is appropriate? I've read where you can crack the stock in that area if you tighten it too much.

[T2C]

The barrel band screw just needs to be snug, not tight. IMHO if you cannot loosen the barrel band screw with the rim on a M1 Carbine cartridge, it's too tight.

I believe there should be 0.040"-0.100" gap between the ears of the barrel band after the screw is snugged. You don't want an excessive amount of pressure on the barrel.

[ALCOAR]

TM9-1947 doesn't actually call for a measured amount of torque on the barrel band screw....

http://www.90thidpg.us/Reference/Man...-1276_1947.pdf


It's a fine line like you said between cranking in down and potentially risk cracking the nose of the stock, or risking accuracy loss due to lose barrel band.

The two areas that are critical for accuracy on a carbine are the 1. Recoil plate to receiver recoil tab fitment, and 2. tightness of the barrel band.


On a shooter USGI carbine, I'd just crank in down (and do on both of the ones I've own), they were made to be done that way, and while time has weaken the wood, I believe that method is still correct if you want an accurate, repeatable carbine.

[T2C]

There are a few tricks to make the M1 Carbine shoot as accurately as you would expect one to shoot. If you've had the recoil plate screw loosened, there is a sequence to go through to make sure it's tightened properly. 1) With the recoil plate screw loosened place the action in the stock to center the recoil plate. 2) Bang the butt of the stock against something hard enough to rattle the action and settle the recoil plate in the stock. 3) Slip the barrel band on over the nose of the stock. 4) Now tighten the recoil plate screw. 5) Take the action completely out of the stock and put it back in. 6) With a properly fitted recoil plate, the bottom of the barrel should hover over the stock barrel channel 1/8" to 1/4". Gentle pressure should be enough to lower the barrel a sufficient distance to slide the barrel band over the stock.

The barrel band screw should not be gorilla tight, barely tighter than is necessary to touch the stock. When I repair or bed M1 Carbine stocks, my goal is to achieve 0.100" gap between the ears on the barrel band.

There are a few tricks for developing decent reloads if you are interested.

[kerplode]

There are a few tricks for developing decent reloads if you are interested.

I'm definitely interested!