Recent Import of Carcano Carbines

When I bought mine, I also got it from Marstar and did hand select asking for age then condition. I seem to have gotten both. If they still have some I would pay the extra for hand select and ask for the best condition one there.

The way I look at Carcanos is that they are basically the most average bolt action out there. They aren't smooth like a Krag or a Mannlicher-Schreder, they aren't as accurate as a Ross, they aren't as fast as a Lee Enfield, they aren't as ergonomic as a Mauser, but they do work. They can be quite accurate if in excellent condition (several world rifle competitions at the turn of the 1900s were won by Carcanos), but mostly they have had a rough go. Two world wars and not really being retained as a main armament post-war for a long time meant they didn't get the same refurbishments other nations arms got (such as the Lee Enfields being rebuilt and produced into the 50s, or Mosins, or Mausers, etc.).
 
There is a lot of disinformation about Carcanos. People are slowly starting to educate themselves though. I suspect as the new internet savvy collectors come in, a lot of urban legends and wives tales are going to disappear.
 
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Nominally it's .268. however I have a mint condition M41 that I had to take out of factory grease, it slugs at .271 in the grooves. I cand get 0.8" 5 round groups at 50yds using a lee cast bullet though. Good enough to hit clays at 100yds.
 
Dyspnea said:
I bought one from wolverine supply, made in 1936 at Terni, Fair condition, stock has standard dents and dings, but no cracks, definitely dirty. The bore needs a good scrub before I can give it a proper assessment, but has strong looking rifling. The stock is numbered and matched to the rifle and a faint Arsenal stamp is there. The first bad thing I found is the bolt was assembled incorrectly and the cocking piece had to be pressed off, in addition the tip of the firing pin was slightly bent, that was easily corrected. The rifle is currently completely stripped and begin cleaned, also steaming out some of the dents. Also found some light rust to the tang or the receiver and to the magazine under the wood line, but appear very superficial.For $350 shipped I’m happy. My only other criticism is the enbloc clip that was included was packaged poorly (just throw in box) and got all bent and deformed.
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I also got one from Wolverine. 1934 Brescia. Mine is almost the same condition, maybe a little better. It was dirty but in fine shape for an 87 year old gun. I'm pretty pleased with it for $350 shipped. I will have to find some ammo and then reload though.
 
I bought one just to have. Rough? Yes it is. Mine has the adjustable sight, and lever on the bayonet, not the push button, so that would date it to prior to 1918 I believe. From what I read, this was an "armory mod" prior to the spring loaded button. So the rifle could be much older. Stock is very dark, and has some Italian guy's name scratched into it (not recently), there was some rust and pitting, but I was able to get it apart, and a bit of oil and some steel wool took most of the rust off. Rifling is strong, but dark. Bolt is draggy, two stage trigger is long take up, and heavy break. I bought a clip with it, but not sure if I will shoot it.

Serial Number is C34xx made in Brescia 1894 Stock serial matches receiver. If that is the year of manufacture, that would make it 127 years old. Any other information you guys might have I appreciate it!

So, at least 103 years old, maybe even pre WW1; not bad for a historical relic that likely saw service in both WWI and II.
 
Bolt looked rough on mine, but the bore was absolutely fine and the stock isn't the worst. Wolverine and SFRC had factory ammo. I think you'd need to do something with the sights as they hit way high. With the tip of the front sight right in the bottom of the rear v-notch, bullets are impacting 13" high and 4.5" right of aim at 50 yards.


 
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adriel said:
Bolt looked rough on mine, but the bore was absolutely fine and the stock isn't the worst. Wolverine and SFRC had factory ammo. I think you'd need to do something with the sights as they hit way high. With the tip of the front sight right in the bottom of the rear v-notch, I was still hitting about 2 feet high and 12" right at 50 yards.
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I'll follow your progress. I too am trying to figure out sight picture. All I know is I was not on an 11x18 target at 50 yards. Tough to adjust when I couldn't find a single hole...
 
Sights need to be aligned with the tip of the front sight in the bottom of the ‘v’ notch. Make sure your using the lowest setting which is flipping over the sight to expose the bottom ‘v’ notch. Minimum sight setting on most was 300m and odds are the bullets being used are more aerodynamic than the originals so are going to shoot higher as a result.
 
Yeah, I'd imagine that new production 123 grain bullets will hit a bit different than the original 163 grain bullets.

On the plus side: I didn't see any keyholing with the 0.264" bullet sizes at 50 yards and I did see a group of some kind.
 
DiMP said:
I'll follow your progress. I too am trying to figure out sight picture. All I know is I was not on an 11x18 target at 50 yards. Tough to adjust when I couldn't find a single hole...
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You might want to try it a 5 yards
 
The Carcano is very likely the worse general issue rifle to come out of any conflict....a horrid piece of questionable engineering....
 
Ended up ordering a couple of them. They are in decent shape. No major issues with the ones that I received. Bore on one of them looks about brand new. Took the nicest one to the range. They definitely shoot high. I had to aim at the bottom of the target to even hit the paper. Overall I’m pretty happy with them. This target was me shooting at 50 yards. 1095F181-BAE0-4997-B919-9544F4C21B69.jpg
 

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DaveGP said:
The Carcano is very likely the worse general issue rifle to come out of any conflict....a horrid piece of questionable engineering....
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Let’s say the least fancy instead. It was still perfectly functional and easy to mass produce for Italy’s industry.
It does fall short in categories sport shooters care about though, but it wasn’t made for sport shooters.
 
polaris said:
Saw one of these poor condition pride of ownership guns, keyholing at the range (yes, they used the correct bullet size).
As I said in another thread, wouldn't take one for free.

You can still find Yugo Mausers in excellent condition for the same price.
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I had keyholing but adjust my loads and now that is not a problem.
 
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