Modifying .30 Carbine Magazine Follower to Hold
Bolt Open
by Roy Seifert
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Disclaimer:
This article is for entertainment only and is not to
be used in lieu of a qualified gunsmith.
Please defer all firearms work to a qualified
gunsmith. Any loads
mentioned in this article are my loads for my guns and have
been carefully worked up using established guidelines and
special tools. The
author assumes no responsibility or liability for use of
these loads, or use or misuse of this article.
Please note that I am not a professional gunsmith,
just a shooting enthusiast and hobbyist, as well as a
tinkerer. This
article explains work that I performed to my guns without
the assistance of a qualified gunsmith.
Some procedures described in this article require
special tools and cannot/should not be performed without
them.
Warning:
Disassembling and tinkering with your firearm may
void the warranty. I
claim no responsibility for use or misuse of this article.
Again, this article is for entertainment purposes
only!
Tools
and firearms are the trademark/service mark or registered trademark
of their respective manufacturers.
For
some reason I am fascinated with military rifles.
I have always wanted to own a .30 M1 Carbine, so when I
found one at a great price, I purchased it.
It is a commercial replica manufactured by Plainfield
Machine Corp. Research
on the Internet indicated that this was one of the better
commercial replicas built to military specifications, and if
necessary, I could use military replacement parts.
 The
rifle came with a 30-round magazine.
The bump on the follower is cut flat at the rear, which
allows the bolt to stay open after the last round.
This is the follower on
the right. Because the bolt is resting on the
raised rear of the follower, it technically is not locked
open; in fact, if you remove the magazine, the bolt will
close.
I
purchased two current production 15-round magazines and
noticed that the bump on the rear of the follower was tapered,
rather than flat. Note
the left follower. This taper allowed the bolt to
close after the last round, rather than stay open.
I liked the stay-open feature so I decided to modify
the followers.
First,
I took my high-speed rotary tool with a cut-off wheel and cut
through the follower behind the ramp.
I was careful not to go too far on either side of the
ramp, otherwise this could weaken the follower.
 Once
I made the cut, I took a steel punch and raised the cut end
above the level of the follower.
I raised it only about the thickness of the bolt head.
Anymore and I could have split the metal.
I worked slowly and tested the follower in the rifle
frequently. Once
the bolt held open reliably, I took a safe-edge file and filed
the end of the lip flat. I
took some cold blue and blued the exposed metal.
The photo at the left shows the lip before I blued it.
Now,
the magazines still feed rounds, but hold the bolt open after
firing the last shot.
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