National Ordinance M1 Carbine - bolt stuck halfway open

[TheWabbit]

I just inherited a NO M1 Carbine but the bolt is stuck halfway open and will not close. The last owner was not a believer in cleaning his rifles so it's going to need a good scrubbing.

Any suggestions on how to close the bolt?
Or should I just try to strip it and clean all the years of crap off it first and see if that does it?

I can fix an AK but I know nothing about this rifle.

 

[remauto1187]

Why would you want to shoot a rifle in unknown mechanical condition even though you know its dirtier than my x-wife?

Did you try pulling the empty magazine out of it to see if the bolt closes?

 

[TheWabbit]

Why would you want to shoot a rifle in unknown mechanical condition even though you know its dirtier than my x-wife?

The rifle shoots fine. He fired it today but the bolt stuck open. The owner is moving to another state so instead of worrying about getting it fixed, he gave it to me since I have repaired/built other rifles.

 

[remauto1187]

Did the rifle's bolt hold open after the last shot or was there a round in the magazine? If there was a round in the magazine then the bolt is not sliding freely and the inside (the whole rifle) needs cleaned. Also check for debris in the recoil spring.

 

[TheWabbit]

Sounds like I need to do some YouTube watching tonight to learn how to tear this thing down.

 

[TheWabbit]

The bolt unstuck itself when I pulled it out of the stock. When I did the gas piston and piston nut fell out. I know why it was having problems. The threads are cracked Lucky the whole thing didn't explode on him while firing it.