Spoiler: They Rock!
Finding quality, reliable magazines has always been the weak link with regards to owning and shooting a M1 Carbine. Historically the only magazines that you could truly depend on were genuine GI issue magazines from WWII and the Korean War. That supply has all but been depleted with very few, very expensive examples left to buy. There have always been plenty of no-name “gun show specials” offered at reasonable prices, but I challenge you to find any that are reliable. They were all junk and they just didn’t work. In the last decade Korean manufactured M1 Carbine magazines have been imported into the United States. These have been met with mixed reviews. Some of them might work fine while other might not. They definitely work better than the no-name magazines, but in terms of reliability they weren’t the answer that we have all been looking for. Enter Keep Shooting LLC.
Keep Shooting’s M1/M2 Carbine magazines have developed a fantastic reputation. The internet is full of rave reviews of their 10-round, 15-round, and 30-round magazines. Not only do their magazines have a great reputation, but they very reasonably priced, and they are backed up by a no-questions money back guarantee.
I recently purchased six 15-round and six 30-round magazines from Keep Shooting. I planned to shoot these with a carbine that had historically exhibited dismal reliability with two no-name 30-round “gun show” magazines. I was hoping for reliability from the 15-rounder, but as I hadn’t had a chance to replace the M1 magazine catch with the M2 magazine catch (as discussed on Savannah Arsenal’s M1 Carbine Page), I didn’t really expect any different performance from the new 30-rounders from what I had experienced from the old magazines.
Since purchasing the magazines I have had a chance to shoot 350 rounds, divided equally between all twelve magazines, using the same clean and properly lubricated rifle discussed above, with Georgia Arms “Canned Heat” bulk packed 100-grain FMJ ammunition. All of the magazines performed 100% without any malfunctions, including all six of the 30-rounder magazines, even without the magazine catch upgrade. I will continue monitoring magazine reliability with these magazines as I get a chance to shoot the carbine again. I will update this post with any future experiences.
My current opinion is that with Hornady’s 100-grain Critical Defense ammunition and these magazines, that this rifle can be a reliable <200 yard defense tool.
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Related Pages:
** If the 30-round magazine is not shown on the link then they are sold out. You can submit your email to be notified when they are back in stock. When you receive notification, be sure to order soon as they will sell out very fast.
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The Savannah Arsenal Project 