Doug Bowser
member
Part 3
NOTES ON SHOOTING, ACTION STRENGTH AN QUALITY OF CARCANO RIFLES
As I said earlier, the Carcano rifle has received a bad rap from American shooters. In the book “Small Arms of the World” by W.H.B.Smith, the author retold a story of a 6.5mm Carcano blowing up and killing an American soldier. No one ever verified this yarn. When Edward Ezell rewrote and updated the book, he did not remove the report from it. The truth is, the Carcano action is very strong and is as safe as any other military rifle. It is capable of being re-barreled to .222 and .223 Remington. Another feature that surprised me is, the bolts from 99.9999% of all Carcano rifles will interchange and headspace properly in any Carcano rifle made from 1891 until 1945. Our Springfield and 1917 Enfield rifles have barrels and bolts individually fitted to each rifle.
When I was 17, I bought a nice Model 1941 Carcano. Norma did not market ammo for the 6.5x52mm as yet and I wanted to shoot the rifle. W.T. Grants Department Store sold military rifles and ammunition. My Mother went with me to buy the 6.5mm ammo because I was too young to legally buy it. I bought 100 rounds of 6.5mm ammo for $6.00. It was marked BR-1939 on the head stamp and the ammo was loose without boxes. When I fired the first round at the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Range I got a big surprise. .
The rifle blew powder and brass in my face. I looked like I had been shot in the face with .22 RF rat shot. I could not open the bolt, even with a hammer handle. I was later told by my Friend Earl Eason that the ammo was for a Breda aircraft machine gun and it was loaded to extreme pressure (120,000 PSI). I wrapped the rifle in newspaper, rode the City Bus and took the ammo and rifle back to W.T. Grants (with my Mother with me) and showed the manager of the sporting goods department the wounds on my face and the wrecked rifle. He apologized and took the 6.5 Italian ammo off the shelf. He gave me a mint condition Eddystone Model of 1917 US Army Rifle in .30-06 ($29.95) and 500 rounds of .30 M2 Ball ammo made by WRA in 1955 ($35.00). I was a happy camper. I used that rifle to deer hunt and kept it for many years.
My Model 41 Carcano was scrapped by me and I was grateful the rifle action was strong enough to hold together with the high pressure of the surplus ammo. This experience taught me one thing, do not use surplus ammo unless you know the serviceability of it. I have seen people wreck a lot of rifles with surplus ammo. I prefer to reload the ammo in the military rifles I own. I believe, the US 1903 or the Model of 1917 would have come apart, if a round with this much pressure was fired in them. The US Ordnance Corps normal proof load for .30-06 rifles was only 70,000 PSI. It attests to the strength of the Carcano Rifle.
Top photo shows a clip being inserted in the rifle, It is pressed in until it latches. Bottom photo shows the empty clip falling out the bottom of the magazine. The button on the inside of the trigger guard is the clip release.
One of my pet peeves in guns is people calling a magazine a clip. The Carcano uses a clip in it’s Magazine.
All 3 cartridges used in Carcano rifles. From top to bottom:
7.92X57mm, 6.5x52mm and 7.35 Carcano
NOTES ON SHOOTING, ACTION STRENGTH AN QUALITY OF CARCANO RIFLES
As I said earlier, the Carcano rifle has received a bad rap from American shooters. In the book “Small Arms of the World” by W.H.B.Smith, the author retold a story of a 6.5mm Carcano blowing up and killing an American soldier. No one ever verified this yarn. When Edward Ezell rewrote and updated the book, he did not remove the report from it. The truth is, the Carcano action is very strong and is as safe as any other military rifle. It is capable of being re-barreled to .222 and .223 Remington. Another feature that surprised me is, the bolts from 99.9999% of all Carcano rifles will interchange and headspace properly in any Carcano rifle made from 1891 until 1945. Our Springfield and 1917 Enfield rifles have barrels and bolts individually fitted to each rifle.
When I was 17, I bought a nice Model 1941 Carcano. Norma did not market ammo for the 6.5x52mm as yet and I wanted to shoot the rifle. W.T. Grants Department Store sold military rifles and ammunition. My Mother went with me to buy the 6.5mm ammo because I was too young to legally buy it. I bought 100 rounds of 6.5mm ammo for $6.00. It was marked BR-1939 on the head stamp and the ammo was loose without boxes. When I fired the first round at the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Range I got a big surprise. .
The rifle blew powder and brass in my face. I looked like I had been shot in the face with .22 RF rat shot. I could not open the bolt, even with a hammer handle. I was later told by my Friend Earl Eason that the ammo was for a Breda aircraft machine gun and it was loaded to extreme pressure (120,000 PSI). I wrapped the rifle in newspaper, rode the City Bus and took the ammo and rifle back to W.T. Grants (with my Mother with me) and showed the manager of the sporting goods department the wounds on my face and the wrecked rifle. He apologized and took the 6.5 Italian ammo off the shelf. He gave me a mint condition Eddystone Model of 1917 US Army Rifle in .30-06 ($29.95) and 500 rounds of .30 M2 Ball ammo made by WRA in 1955 ($35.00). I was a happy camper. I used that rifle to deer hunt and kept it for many years.
My Model 41 Carcano was scrapped by me and I was grateful the rifle action was strong enough to hold together with the high pressure of the surplus ammo. This experience taught me one thing, do not use surplus ammo unless you know the serviceability of it. I have seen people wreck a lot of rifles with surplus ammo. I prefer to reload the ammo in the military rifles I own. I believe, the US 1903 or the Model of 1917 would have come apart, if a round with this much pressure was fired in them. The US Ordnance Corps normal proof load for .30-06 rifles was only 70,000 PSI. It attests to the strength of the Carcano Rifle.
Top photo shows a clip being inserted in the rifle, It is pressed in until it latches. Bottom photo shows the empty clip falling out the bottom of the magazine. The button on the inside of the trigger guard is the clip release.
One of my pet peeves in guns is people calling a magazine a clip. The Carcano uses a clip in it’s Magazine.
All 3 cartridges used in Carcano rifles. From top to bottom:
7.92X57mm, 6.5x52mm and 7.35 Carcano
