Stumbled Into A Auto-Ordnance

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   I would never purchase one on purpose but I came by an AO Paratrooper model for practically nothing. From what I know, the AO line of carbines can be hit-or-miss. You can find reviews ranging from the top to the bottom of the opinion and experience scale. I seem to have one that works. I am quite impressed with how the carbine was assembled and that includes the stock. It runs with any magazine I have and has not yet presented a failure of any kind. Reasonably accurate right out of the box. Groups very well and a little amount of sight tweaking will get it to print to POA. It head spaced at 1.293 with the original bolt and from 1.293 to 1.295 using any USGI bolt in my stash. I would never expect this carbine to hold up in comparison to a USGI but it will serve well as a home defense piece that is not used that often yet can be depended on when it is. The right bolt lug is already showing some signs of early peening and this is a little fired carbine. The receiver is not warped as has been observed and reported. I think that if one can replace the bolt, hammer and slide to harden the action as well as perform some polishing on contact surfaces it will make a decent carbine.

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floydthecat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Hard Corps Joined: Oct 13 2016 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 2307	Post Options Post Reply Quote floydthecat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Stumbled Into A Auto-Ordnance Posted: Jul 14 2024 at 6:48pm
	I would never purchase one on purpose but I came by an AO Paratrooper model for practically nothing. From what I know, the AO line of carbines can be hit-or-miss. You can find reviews ranging from the top to the bottom of the opinion and experience scale. I seem to have one that works. I am quite impressed with how the carbine was assembled and that includes the stock. It runs with any magazine I have and has not yet presented a failure of any kind. Reasonably accurate right out of the box. Groups very well and a little amount of sight tweaking will get it to print to POA. It head spaced at 1.293 with the original bolt and from 1.293 to 1.295 using any USGI bolt in my stash. I would never expect this carbine to hold up in comparison to a USGI but it will serve well as a home defense piece that is not used that often yet can be depended on when it is. The right bolt lug is already showing some signs of early peening and this is a little fired carbine. The receiver is not warped as has been observed and reported. I think that if one can replace the bolt, hammer and slide to harden the action as well as perform some polishing on contact surfaces it will make a decent carbine.

adam lee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Recruit Joined: Jan 05 2022 Location: Alexandria, VA Status: Offline Points: 32	Post Options Post Reply Quote adam lee Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep 08 2024 at 10:01am
	Thanks for posting about your AO replica paratrooper carbine. I think your post has answered a question I have had: would a GI round bolt properly function in the Auto Ordnance replica guns? I happen to have a 2014-era AO carbine, which I have refitted in a postwar Japanese-built stock and later style barrel band. It runs well enough, but I honestly wanted to see just how closely the GI bolt housing assembly would mate up in the AO receiver. Would you mind posting a few pics of this and maybe more of your observations of function? Thanks, sir! - Adam
	Yesterday, it worked. Today it is not working. Windows is like that.

floydthecat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Hard Corps Joined: Oct 13 2016 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 2307	Post Options Post Reply Quote floydthecat Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: Sep 08 2024 at 10:28am
	The disclaimer associated with the AO/Inland (new) family of carbines is that their parts might not be manufactured to GI specs and one should not just assume so and start changing parts. Quality can vary widely. I would say that if a USGI bolt head spaces and hand cycles properly, it will run. The issue you have here is the same one you would have with any carbine, USGI or not. You might not just be able to grab a bolt that head spaces and will be safe. What you really need is access to several bolts to test. Along with that you will need to replace the commercial hammer with a USGI hammer. The commercial hammer would usually last for a while until it was damaged from contact with the hardened USGI bolt. What you have is a crap-shoot if you just purchase a USGI bolt and expect it to fit/head space. MOST of the time it will but that long or short bolt that won’t is out there somewhere. I can provide a couple of home-spun procedures for checking head space but unfortunately I cannot tell you which USGI bolt to acquire that will fit. My hunch is that most will work in your AO but it’s only a hunch. The quality of the build from one AO carbine to another can vary wildly.

adam lee Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Recruit Joined: Jan 05 2022 Location: Alexandria, VA Status: Offline Points: 32	Post Options Post Reply Quote adam lee Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep 08 2024 at 7:08pm
	I appreciate your thoughts on the bolt ideas. I agree about all the metallurgical details; the key element I was pondering was if the GI bolt dimensions were anywhere near close to even bother. Sounds like it might work, and yes I am on the same page in terms of hammer/etc. If I had an actual original carbine to disassemble and compare, I would have done it already. I am just getting into the M1 Carbine arena, have to pause on some of the other gun projects and what not to do it. I have been enjoying reloading for the M1 Carbine, I have had great luck with that - and the rifle likes the stuff I have made. All 110 grn FMJ with a mix of once-fired Starline brass from NE Reloading; they had the bullets too. Over Hodgdon H110 which I use with my 357 Magnum and so forth. Have a good day! Adam
	Yesterday, it worked. Today it is not working. Windows is like that.

floydthecat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Hard Corps Joined: Oct 13 2016 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 2307	Post Options Post Reply Quote floydthecat Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: Sep 08 2024 at 7:43pm
	If you did purchase a USGI bolt you can easily sell it if it did not work. I strongly suggest that a USGI bolt will work but of course I can make no guarantee. I do have another idea. I have collected a couple of cracked bolts over the years that could be used for a test. The lugs are not broken off or so badly damaged that they could not at least provide an idea. They will both travel, rotate and lock in the action. PM me with contact information and I will send them to you. They will indicate if the receiver rails and recesses run true. The AO that I have is a good one. You can search out a subject titled "Project Sheepdog" for some interesting reading concerning the making of an AO reliable and safe. http://www.projectsheepdog.blogspot.com/