Carcano carbine
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theotherwaldo
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Dad and I worked out a way to take out President Kennedy without having Oswald connecting with a single shot.
Just take Oswald's rifle from the garage where it was hidden, shoot several rounds straight down into water, recover the bullets, paper-patch them and load them into something like .270 brass and then fire them from any appropriate weapon.
Just a mental exercise - both of us believed that Oswald at least got some shots on target.
Anyway, Dad was a Marine and believed that any proper Marine hit what he shot at... .
Edit: we also tried paper-patched fired 7.35 bullets in .308 brass - that worked pretty well, too.
Dad liked 7.35 Carcano for general shooting.
Just take Oswald's rifle from the garage where it was hidden, shoot several rounds straight down into water, recover the bullets, paper-patch them and load them into something like .270 brass and then fire them from any appropriate weapon.
Just a mental exercise - both of us believed that Oswald at least got some shots on target.
Anyway, Dad was a Marine and believed that any proper Marine hit what he shot at... .
Edit: we also tried paper-patched fired 7.35 bullets in .308 brass - that worked pretty well, too.
Dad liked 7.35 Carcano for general shooting.
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JCooperfan1911
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Seems many who are buying these carbines are getting very rough examples.
So let’s see, a roll of the dice to get a worn out ugly rifle that takes a special clip in order to fire and fire $4 per round ammunition that is extremely hard to find.
I’m not seeing the appeal here.
So let’s see, a roll of the dice to get a worn out ugly rifle that takes a special clip in order to fire and fire $4 per round ammunition that is extremely hard to find.
I’m not seeing the appeal here.
indy1919a4
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My favorite parts of the Oswald Carcano story.. Is the "New" rifle sling style he invented and how the a CIA project to supply ammo for the Bay of Pigs provided the ammo for Oswald..
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cluttonfred
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It would be nice if Carcano bashing and the Oswald discussion could move to another thread rather than derailing this one.
Let's be honest, you're not going to find cheaper, military correct, Carcanos more readily available anywhere else. You could try and find a better one in lgs or websites, but that's a gamble. Most of these rifles are more towards collecting than using. Besides, surplus is almost completely dead. Worn out is all that's left.
wiscoaster
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It's impossible to explain the appeal of collecting to an individual who doesn't have that particular form of dementia. Sorry. But you "just don't get it." And that's OK. There's no particular reason why you should.
I don't see the appeal of cancelled postage stamps or of pinning dead bugs to styrofoam, but I do acknowledge some people do and hey, whatever their particular "pursuit of happiness" is, I'm all for them doing it to their heart's desire.
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theotherwaldo
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I picked up a model 91 Carcano when I was collecting examples of WWI rifles.
I picked up a model 38 Carcano when I was collecting examples of Finnish rifles.
Hey, I'm an archivist - It's almost instinctive... .
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cluttonfred
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I like studying WWI and have only one gun from that era (M1917 refurbished for WWII but originally a WWI gun). I ordered the Carcano as an inexpensive WWI gun and because I like carbines but ended up with an almost identical WWII gun instead. No worries. Now if I could only find an affordable Berthier....
indy1919a4
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WHat is the ideal Berthier Version you are looking for.. There are so many variations they went through...??
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cluttonfred
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I like the original 3-shot and 5-shot carbines and I wouldn’t mind one of the tirailleur short rifles, either. I do hear that original en bloc clips are hard to find, especially the 3-shot ones.
indy1919a4
Member
I do love the look of the 3 shot rifles.. So Sleek..
There are a few on gunbroker now in the 10 dollar range,, You may want to pick up a few as you look for the rifles.. They do dry up from time to time...
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/884313214
wiscoaster
Member
Just remember --- they're like potato chips!!!
It is hard to beat with a good possibility of getting a Carcano that was around for WWI and WW2. Plus whatever else Italy needed them for before they went into long term storage. At a price of under $270, it's hard to beat. My oldest is 1908, thats 112 years old. Just to hold it and try and picture it's life and who held it, what women they slept with on leave, what battles it was in, how good of a marksman the owner was, was he liked by his fellow squad members
wiscoaster
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I think he gets it. 
indy1919a4
Member
So for fun... They (Inter-ordinance) opened a box of Ethiopian Surplus rifles. Kind of fun to see what they look like. Damn shame they did not mark these Steyer's Rifles with exotic crests like they did with the Mausers.. But that is what happens with crates of surplus rifles its catch as catch can..
wiscoaster
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Pretty cool -- looks like there's a bunch of milsurps of all kinds coming into the market.
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cluttonfred
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Random question...anyone know a trick for keeping the empty clips from falling out of a Carcano? Maybe a cloth or leather strap so they can still be removed but not fall out on their own?
indy1919a4
Member
It would be like stopping an M1 from pinging.. I guess you could but it defeats part of the fun in owning the gun.
Those Single shot adaptors would work to make sure it does not drop the clip
https://www.ebay.com/itm/M91-Carcano-single-shot-en-bloc-adapter-sled-clip-/203098973687
But that clip dropping out is so neat.. I like those better than the M1 eject because on the Carcanos/Berthiers/1888s that noise lets you know you have one more.. M1 eject says the parties over...
wiscoaster
Member
Ummmm....they're supposed to just fall out .... most people complaining about the Mannlicher system are cross because on many of these old rifles they don't fall out like they're designed to do.
It seems to me that when they don't fall out it's because there's too much friction between the clip and the interior of the stock where there's some of the stock's wood exposed between the receiver and the trigger guard. So, maybe if you could actually induce that fault you'd have it function like you want it to function. It is rather difficult to pick the loose clip out of there, though.
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My foggy memory says mine had a square button on the underside by the magazine well I had to push for the empty en-bloc clip to fall out. Maybe that button was inside the trigger area? I don't remember empty en-bloc clips falling out on their own.
I didn't watch this video but maybe it'll be helpful?
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/m38-carcano-best-bolt-rifle-of-world-war-two/
The first photo this site *I think* shows that squarish button inside the trigger guard, that I had to press for an empty en-bloc clip to drop.
http://the-puzzle-palace.com/files/CarcSnip.htm
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indy1919a4
Member
The clip/charger should fall out after loading the last round of the clip. Sometimes if you have worn clips (they are to wide and do not fall free or the inside of the rifle is not the cleanest) the old clip will need to be pushed out by the new clip when the new full clip is inserted. (Like the little trap door pops open on the bottom of the 5 round Berthiers.)
That little button on the Carcano is to allow the shooter to pop out a clip that still has rounds in it, so that the gun can be emptied with out having to cycle each round.
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OK it's been 35 years since I sold mine, thanks for setting things straight.
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cluttonfred
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Thanks, all. I know what's supposed to happen, I was just thinking that those clips are getting expensive and the rifle's not much good without them, So I am wondering if anyone has come up with a way to hold on to them so they only fall part of the way and can be pocketed rather than dropping to the ground.
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