Doug Bowser
member
Upper illustration: Carcano Truppe Speciali Carbine Model 1891 with regular 1891 rifle bayonet
Lower illustration: Carcano Truppe Speciali Carbine Model 1938 with regular 1891 rifle bayonet
Note the non adjustable “curb” sight on the Model 38TS
The Carcano Truppe Speciali 6.5x52mm Carbines were used by teamsters (wagons) and motorized troops. The Carcano 1891 rifle was too long to conveniently carry in these conveyances. Very few of the M38TS Carbines were made in 7.35mm. They are quite rare.
There is another caliber variation of the Carcano TS Model 1938. These lightweight rifles were chambered for 7.92x57mm Mauser ammunition. The Italian troops during WW2 called these rifles the Carcano TS38 Fucili Russi. They are identical to the TS38 rifle in 6.5mm except they use a 5 shot Mannlicher clip instead of the normal 6 shot clip, they are marked with a large “S“ on the barrel shank and the top of the non-adjustable rear sight is marked 7.9mm. The TS38FR was used by Italian troops on the Russian Front, during WW2. They were allies of the Germans and to make the logistics of ammunition supply easier, they used the 7.9 mm rifles. The Italian troops on the Russian Front were the best Italy had to offer. They fought valiantly and proved their worth to their German Allies. I would like to make one comment on the Italian Troops, if they were able to fire the TS38FR many times in combat, I would not have wanted to face them. These rifles have incredible recoil. The rifles weigh in at 6 pounds and have a narrow rounded butt plate. I fired a Carcano 7.9mm one day and after 8 rounds, I had more than enough. If you ever find a TS38FR 7.9mm rifle, the bores are usually near mint.
Carcano 1938 6.5x52 and 7.35mm Short Rifle.
Most of this model were made in 7.35mm and never issued in Italy because there was a logistics problem with ammunition. The Italian Government donated 94,500 Model 1938 rifles in 7.35mm and 50,000,000 cartridges to the Finnish Army in 1940, to aid them in their War with the Soviet Union. Most 1938 rifles and bayonets in 7.35mm are Finn Army marked (SA: Suomen Armeija). They were sold as surplus in the USA in 1957. The original style bayonet on this rifle folds into a groove in the forearm. The later versions of the bayonet had a fixed blade. A Model 1938 Short Rifle in 6.5x52mm was the rifle used by Lee Harvey Oswald in the assassination of President Kennedy. The rifle used by Oswald was a special version of the M38 SR used by the Moschettiere del Duce.
During WW2, Mussolini had a special body guard unit. It was called the Moschettiere del Duce. For these elite troops Model 38 SR 6.5mm rifles were selected for accuracy, fit and finish. The stocks were stained black to match their black shirt uniforms. There were only 100 Moschettiere del Duce rifles manufactured. In 1991, the gun shop Powers Dunaway and I had acquired one of these rifles. We bought it from a man in Minnesota and expected to get a very good example of a Carcano M38 SR. When it came in, I really was surprised to see the black stained stock. I called a friend in California. Dick Hobbs wrote the book on Carcano Rifles. In gun collecting circles, he is called Dr. Carcano. He checked the serial number ranges for the Moschettiere del Duce rifles and it matched. That was a VERY good payday for the shop. It is a strange coincidence that Oswald used this model rifle in the Kennedy assassination. The Moschettiere rifles were selected for accuracy from one out of each group of 100 rifles manufactured at the Terni Plant. Also he used 6.5x52mm ammunition made by Winchester Western. This ammunition was ordered by the US Government for covert use in Albania. When I was shooting Carcano rifles in the early 60’s, I never observed any of this ammo. The only ammo available was older 6.5mm ammo and SMI 7.35mm ammo. The 7.35mm ammo was reliable but the 6.5mm was not. The 6.5mm ammo available would sometimes misfire and you could hear it cooking off in the rifle chamber. It made a sputtering sound, then it would fire. Kind of like a slow flintlock. It was a good idea not to swing your rifle around at the range when one of these rounds misfired.
Model 1941 Carcano 6.5x52mm Rifle
Barrel marking on M41 rifle denoting a high standard of accuracy (crossed rifles and target)
The Model 41 Carcano in 6.5x52mm is a shortened version of the older Model 91. An interesting feature of this rifle is, after they stopped using adjustable sights on their Carbines and Short Rifles they reverted back to an adjustable sight. This rifle this the crossed rifles and target mark. Out of each 100 rifles the sight in inspector selected one rifle to stamp this marking on. The accuracy stamped rifles were used by the best marksmen in each unit. This is the closest thing the Italian Army ever used as a sniper rifle during WW1 and WW2.
Japanese Type “I” Naval Rifle 6.5x50mm
The Japanese Type “I” rifle was made for the Japanese Navy starting in 1937. The general consensus of opinion is that the Italians supplied Carcano actions and the rifles were completed in Italy. The Japanese Navy had problems obtaining rifles because the Japanese Amy had the production in the arsenals in Japan monopolized. The Japanese Navy ordered 120,000 rifles from the Italian Government. The only difference between the Italian Carcano action and the Japanese Type “I” is, the Type “I” has a Arisaka (Mauser) staggered magazine with a hinged floor plate.
There is one more rifle I want to mention, although it is not of Italian manufacture. In 1871 the Dutch adopted a bolt action single shot rifle the named the Beaumont after it's designer. It was chambered in 11X52R. In 1888, the Dutch Beaumont Model 1871 was converted to a repeating rifle using the Italian Vitali magazine system. It was then designated Model 1871/88 Beaumont. An interesting feature of the design is, the bolt handle is hollow and of two pieces. It houses a "V" spring that actuates the firing pin. This mainspring system seems fragile but I have never observed a Beaumont rifle with a broken mainspring.
A Dutch Beaumont 1871/88 in 11x52R. The bore in this rifle was mint and we fired it with formed cases, made from 28 GA brass shotgun shells. We used .457” 535 GR RN hand cast bullets
Barrel shank showing P. Stevens (the manufacturer) and Maastricht, the city where it was made in Holland
