A lot depends on what you mean by "best" ballistics. In ballistics, as in anything approaching engineering, everything is a trade-off. You can't be "tops" in absolutely everything, not and still have a rifle which human beings can carry around and actually fire without hurting themselves.
A point: that long Carcano bullet has the highest sectional density of anything used by a military. That makes for good power retention at distances and excellent penetration anywhere, once the bullet has stabilised. For the same reason, it bucks wind AND bush much, much better than you might suspect.
Several years ago, I bought 5 military rifles from a gun-dealer friend, all the types that nobody wanted. One was a Carcano Model 41. I loaded some rounds up with the Remington bulk-pack 140s, took it out and shot it in a series of military rifle tests I was running with a good friend. The rifle was fast, recoil was more than manageable, functioning was flawless and the 100-yard group off the sandbags was exactly an inch. Any time I can get an honest-to-God 1-MOA rifle for 56 bucks, I'll take it!
When the Kennedy thing happened, the CBC announced that he had been shot with a .30-30 Mauser. Knowing that such a thing would be a first-class rarity, I watched the next day's newspaper and found the photos of a Carcano. Later on, I had one helluvva time explaining to my father that I had bought MY Carcano 3 months BEFORE Oswald bought his!
It was widely bandied about that the Carcano was incapable of the shots that are known to have been made. It was also stated flatly that the rifle could not be fired as fast as it had to have been. I took my own Carcano out to the pit where the old Fort had been and at the same range (75 yards) put 3 rounds into a cigarette pack, standing instead of from a rest, irons instead of scope, and did it in a full second less than LHO. I was using PRECISELY the same ammo as LHO: Winchester-Western military-contract stuff, Lot Number 6004 or 6001, I forget just which, but it all was to the same specs.
These legends and misunderstandings and misrepresentations about the Carcano are the foundation of MANY of the conspiracy theories.
I can only scratch my head and ask myself WHAT the Americans would have said had the shooting been done with a "quality" rifle such as a Springfield? Would they regard this as a credit to the rifle's capabilities? Or would they condemn it, as they have done the Carcano for the past 48-1/2 years? Can't have it both ways, guys.
Feed a Carcano what it wants and it can SHOOT. They are rugged and reliable and accurate.
Isn't that recommendation enough?
My opinion: Carcanos are one of the great "sleepers" in the Milsurps hobby and they are about 40% underpriced at this time.
But that's just my opinion.
I can say that because I already have all the Carcanos I really need. Except maybe a 7.35 TS and a.......
Hope this helps.
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To the OP, they look nice but how many have you shot? Nice collection!
...if things were being ranked as battle rifles, I'd go with things as such:
