M91 Carcano Calvary Carbine/Tito Partisans

This is a Carcano M91 Calvary Carbine I picked up a few years ago. It was used by Italy in WWII and then used by Tito Partisans. The Italians controlled parts of Yugoslavia, including Montenegro, and upon capitulation in 1943 left large amounts of weapons which were acquired by the Partisans.
There’s a Tito star on the right side of the buttstock.



When I bought this rifle I got a pretty good deal because there were a few issues. First off the bolt had been replaced with a straight handle bolt. The biggest problem was that the screw that holds the bayonet was missing. I was lucky that the bayonet was still with the rifle.
Many of theCalvary Carbines had their bayonets removed by people that wanted them lighter for hunting. Most often the three parts, screw, nut and spring that attach the bayonet to the rifle were lost.
Finding replacement parts have been almost impossible for years due to the fact that spare parts were not imported that I know of. The few that would turn up from time to time were from rifles that were parted out.
I was able to get a bolt body from an old Collector I know, but finding the bayonet parts were nowhere to be found.
A couple of weeks ago, my buddy Matt sent me a link to a guy that was selling reproduction parts for Carcano rifles. I ordered the bayonet screw parts for right at $24.
When they arrived I was impressed. The parts were very well made and had a dark blue finish, and the fit was perfect.
But here’s the problem. The rifle did not have an easy pass. It had seen some hard use back in the day and the new parts just looked out of place.




To get the parts to match I put the screw and nut into some vinegar for about 30 minutes. I then cleaned and coated them with salt water. After a few days I had a light film of rust. I then cleaned and oiled the parts. I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.


KTALL Enterprises Inc. out of Ravenna OH. Is where I got the parts. They also make several other parts.

 

I'm disgusted with myself. I'm acquiring a fascination for Carcanos. The ones I've got so far have been pretty beat up. But I like to be able to clean them up and to be able to shoot them. When parts are hard to come by, it's a fine line that's almost impossible to walk with these rifles: function versus authenticity. Not to mention ammo, which is another whole story. Well, I suppose if it was easy, it wouldn't be so fascinating. Thanks for the tips on helping me to walk that line.

 

A very interesting project!

Not meaning to delve into the conspiracy sphere, I have to acknowledge the skill required to manipulate a Carcano action quickly and still make hits. I doubt I could do it either.

 

Tell me about it -- I just received my latest order from Grafs, which included a second batch of 50 PPU 7.35x51mm Terni/Carcano cases. Now I need to order more of those weirdo bullets!

 

I lucked out a while ago.
I had picked up a M91 long rifle with an out-of-spec bolt body and went looking for parts.
I picked up an EBay lot of Carcano parts, about ten pounds, including two good bolt bodies and multiples of most of the small parts for long rifles and several of the carbine types.
Only bad part was a broken firing pin.
Not bad for $22 plus shipping.
Now to find more Carcanos that need parts... .

 

Nice piece of history Gunny. And great job making the replacement parts match the rest of the rifle. I always love to see your work.

 

My Carcano 91TS has quite possibly the worst trigger I have ever felt. It is a complete surprise and seemingly different feel when the sear lets loose every time.

 

I didn't notice that at all with mine. Maybe you need a new spring? Check to make sure it's not broken or thoroughly gunked up.

 

Oh, I have more. I have another Calvary Carbine that in very good shape, a T-SHIRT Carbine and another one like the two I traded with you. I also have a Badeo revolver.

There are a lot of Carcanos coming into the US right now. They were in the Italian police storage for many years and are being sold off as surplus to US buyers.
Classic Firearm is the only one that has Calvary Carbines for sale right now. But ordering Surplus guns from them can be scary. I think of them as a low quality, used car seller. They are great at adding a lot of fluff to the description of the guns they sale. They are the ones that came up with Turned in Condition.. when you order from them, you get what you get. There are plenty of people that have gotten some pretty beat up guns that were in fair to poor condition that were sold as Turned in Condition..
I have heard that there are more rifles and parts coming in within the next year.

 

I've bought 2 this year. A Troop Special made in 1912 and a Cavalry version from 1918. Ive only given them a decent cleaning/wiping. They all seem to function fine, I bought some dummy rounds and clips off Ebay. I do wish I could find correct slings and a bayonet for the T.S.

The bore looks better on the Cavalry but I hope after firing both the bore shines up fine.

 

And definitely DO NOT pay extra for HAND SELECT ... that's only there to test your gullibillity ... and to enable them to laugh at you all the way to bank!! Like they did to me / with me. (I did finally end up getting the fee returned, but it was about as pleasant as going to the dentist).

 

I read that Rich Davis set up the scenario at the Second Chance shoot.
One guy made the shot(s), a left-handed Marine.

 

The biggest problem with Carcanos, for many years, it the ammo. Most of the surplus stuff is garbage and the commercial stuff has been loaded with undersized bullets. I have heard that PPU will be changing the bullets that use to a correct diameter. Maybe I’ll start shootings mine.

 

My late father-in-law may very well have carried one of those rifles. He was drafted into the Italian army during WWII but decided he had no desire to be a soldier. Being from the northern part of Italy, just a few miles from the Yugo border, he deserted and fled into Yugoslavia where he had spent time prior to the war. Unfortunately for him a group of partisans grabbed him and made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Join us or we will kill you. He never said much about his time with the partisans other than he spent some time in Russia and other neighboring countries and how hungry he was during that time.

 

Sometimes when we try to change things that were meet to be, it just comes at us from a different direction. The good thing is that he weathered the storm.