M-1 Carbine advice/input

[JTScribe]

I took my grandpa's gun apart this afternoon since the weather was so nice, figuring I'd get it cleaned and lubricated for the spring when I noticed what look to be either a couple of wear marks or broken off pieces of metal inside the barrel assembly.

They look dissimilar enough that I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be there, but it doesn't seem to affect the mechanical operation - the action tracks smoothly, and the bolt rides nicely in the area where the pieces are.

Opinions? Is it time to put it up on the mantle? This part looks to be one piece, it's a 1943 Winchester model and it just feels wrong making grandpa's rifle into a Franken-shooter.

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[So IN Dude]

Normal. All of mine are like that. It's where the feed lips of the mag sit. Clean it, lube it up, shoot it.

 

[JTScribe]

Whew, good. I was worried since they didn't look symmetrical side to side.

 

[So IN Dude]

Yea, put an empty mag in, hold the bolt back and look at the notches. It will make sense then.

 

[Thor]

I have two...both the same and shoot fine. Should be good to go.

 

[JTScribe]

Sweet. Pretty amazing how much of a tack driver this 73-year old rifle can be.

 

[Michael762]

Sold a lot of m1 like that never had one come back to my shop. Very normal. In fact I got to mess around with my Dad's bosses Winchester M1 1942 I believe and had the same thing and still shot like it was brand new!