Excellant video. Thank you for explanation of non-typical bolt face unique to Carcano rifles. Very large numbers of Carcanos imported into US with some interesting situations that resulted. In no real order: 1) A Modelo 38, in 6.5mm was used by Oswald to shoot President Kennedy. The ammunition was was produced in US by Western Cartridge Company in early 1950's for an eventually aborted plan to remove the Communist government in Albania. About 5 million rounds of contract sold on civilian market. The bullets had correct 0.268" diameter, unique to Carcano, as opposed to the more common 0.264" diameter of other 6.5mm rounds such as Mannlicher, Arisaka, Remington non interchangeable loadings. More on this later. The M38, more than capable of shots by Oswald when proper ammunition and acceptably skilled shooter. 2) Carcanos given 'junk' rap by so-called experts in part because a) commercial and reloading bullets were .264 rather than correct .268 b) many had corroded bores from improper storage c) Original pre-1918 M91s had progressive rifling, and when barrels cut for 'sporterizing' by importers, caused bullet to yaw, resulting in 'key holing' and poor accuracy. d) So many 'expert' gun writers of era erroneous claimed only small pin held mechanism, in bolt that would result in it flying back into shooter's face in even of gas rupture. An extremely quick look at bolt clearly shows safety flange resting in receiver creating a 3rd lug, strongly holding mechanism in place. e) Many M1871/87/14 Veterrli-Vitali rifles also in 6.5 Carcano imported that did have some failures when fired, causing confusion with "Italian Rifles are junk" myth 3) National Rifle Association in late 1950's, did destruction testing of Carcano action, resulting conclusion that Cacano actions were actual as strong as US Enfield I may add more as i recall them. Several Carcano collectors in my area who are quite factually literate in subject.
I never really understood as to why specifically Carcano rifles have such a horrible reputation, when it's obviously performing quite excellently. The carbine rifle concept was first put into practise through a Carcano (One that wasn't specifically made for the cavalry), and it is even a popular pick for certain German units in the second world war. It shows that Italy and Austria can bring some very solid firearm concepts on the table, and the Carcano is a good example of that. I own two M38 rifles, One in 6.5x52mm, the other in 7.35x51mm. Very accurate for me, even with the fixed sights and the oddly sized commercial ammo. I'd only wish the ammo wasn't so hard to find! Glad I found your channel, it's good to see we got some very well informed neighbours. Greetings from Austria!
I only found one Manufacturer here in Austria that we import such calibers in, that would be PPU, from Serbia. I think it's because it's only used in the old Carcano's, not in any hunting rifles or modern variations. Mostly people go for either .308, or the Swedish 6.5x55mm; a fairly smooth shooting, accurate round.
A big hit to the carcano's reputation was post-war commercial ammunition using improperly sized bullets, causing them go to ping-ponging down the barrel and a significant loss in accuracy. I really like my carcano, its a very solid, mechanically simple rifle that just works.
I believe the hole in the bolt you asked about is for venting gasses away from the shooter's face in case of ammunition failure. I've seen a similar system in a Remington rifle and also a Mauser.
One interesting version of the carcano was the one made for the Japanese navy, it had a stripper clip fed 5 round magazine and was chambered in 6.5 arisaka, it was made just before ww2, an interesting variation
If you’re referring to the hole just behind the locking lugs on the bolt, that’s another vent hole. It was put there to manage punctured primers. Numerous soldiers and commanders noted bolts that would send the firing pin flying backwards into the shooters face with a punctured primer. This vent hole was to prevent that from happening by releasing the gases before enough pressure could be built up to shear the little nub on the de-cocking sleeve. That’s the only piece of metal you have to stop the entire firing pin assembly from hitting you in the face when you fire the rifle. Even without the vent hole this event was very rare. Others have said that they were put there to lube the inner bolt parts without taking it apart but why would they do that when it’s so easy to take the entire firing pin assembly out in one piece? Punctured primers have been a problem since the introduction of the metallic cartridge case. This event is very rare as military primers are made to be very hard as to prevent slam-fire and punctured primers. I would worry more about softer reloading primers. Most notably the ones made for competition and precision as they are very soft and puncture easily in military rifles. This is how I understand the carcano per my years of research and reading on them.
The hole in the top of the bolt is there for additional gas relief. The idea is that it shoots the gas upward away from the shooters face. Not a very useful idea but if you know your ammo is going to be over pressure you might as well engineer for it.
Hi, I'm a firearm cleaner/restoration tech in a gunshop here in MS..had trouble after disassembling the bolt body/firing pin assy. on one of 2 surplus 6.5 M91 Carcano carbines we took in for me to clean, derust, take all the cosmoline out of action & bore. Had to get my gunroom mgr, ex-Marine, to help me re-assemble bolt, re-set, slip back into receiver, so it would function. Could you please brief me on how to set/reset bolt assy, so it will re-seat/actuate once back into the rifle? These guns were badly neglected, somehow wound up in storage, drenched in cosmoline, corroded/rusted. Would like to be re-indoctrinated for future projects, should we receive more of these Carcano rifles. Loved your video..you're kindof hard to understand, since I'm almost deaf. Your accent sounds pt.Italisn, pt. Indian(India)..Thsnks..You have some nice examples there of 6.5 Carcanos!!
Hand loading a single round can be done but is best avoided because of the design of the extractor. The way it's made it wasn't intended to slip over the shell, and worst case doing this can damage or bend the extractor or push it into the bolt so that the extractor no longer works. Original and reproduction enbloc clips can be found on eBay and through other sources and there's now a guy on eBay that sells a 3D printed insert that allows for easily and safely loading single rounds so that they're fed in the same way as if they were loaded in an enbloc clip. I'm relatively new to these rifles and have a couple different carbines, and along with some clips I have one of these single round inserts on order as there are times I would want to do test firing with single rounds.
@@terrybeavan4264 Sounds pretty agitating. You'd think design wise they'd consider the hand loading option as a necessity. In case they'd become short on clips and you have to rely on manually putting the rounds into the rifle. It's prob the Manlicher system that obviously design wise limited this but again you'd think they would've come up with way to make this option viable.
@@robosoldier11 that really wasn't a problem because the ammunition was distributed already in the clips in small paper or cardboard boxes that were carried in the soldier's ammunition pouches.
Well... I don't know in the world. Here in Italy the mosin nagant is probably the cheapest, starting at about 100 euros. The Carcanos start at about 400 euros, and some rarer variants can be quite expensive, over 2000 euros in some cases
The rare variants? Can you give some examples. There are some M38s I've seen with chrome plated butt plate, lower and upper bands. At first I thought was a bored bubba with access to a bumper plater apparatus, but I've seen about a half dozen others over years that make me wonder. Did the Vatican ever release the "Guardia del Papa" Carcanos with the unusual brass upper band/hand rest? How about the "Guardia del Duce", are they distinct? Finally: Friend has a GIL Youth Carbine (not a real Carcano, but an undersized toy gun given to Fascist Youth) whose grandfather brought back from Italy after WW2, that kids over years broke the magazine housing. (It looked to me like pot metal.) Anyway, do you know if this part is available anywhere. BTW: There are other, more cheaply made toy Carcanos I've see, his grandfather's seems like the well made real thing.
Here in Canada we can get carcabos for dirt cheap, e.g. a good condition carbine with folding bayonet costs about 200 dollars. However the clips are a little more expensive at around 40 dollars per clip
Is there some weird Canadian Assault Relic law or something keeping them from being imported? They vary from $3-10.00 US are not really that uncommon. Several surplus houses such as Sarco carry them. If clip for this antique can be legally sent to Canada, let me know, I may be able to refer you to a source.
@@doraran5158 They made some odd variants, with very few rifles made for each one. I remember the series for the "Moschettieri del Duce", with black stock and nickel finish of the bolt, magazine and barrel ring, the one for the guards of the king, and the one for the "Duca d'Aosta", this last one rarer than hens' teeth, with only 100 produced and about 40 surviving. The warehouse I use for my job has about 10 youth carbines. I forgot to mention them in this video, but will definitely show them somehow ;)
From what I heard, the main complaint about the innaccuracy of the WWII-era Carcanos was because the armorers just sawed off the barrel to the designated length instead of making a new barrel.
Another problem is that some commercial ammunition loaded an undersized bullet, which didn't really engage the rifling and sent the bullet ping-ponging down the barrel, which greatly impacts accuracy.
The carcano has a small, funny place in United States history. That is to say someone less notable did something very notable to someone more notable with a carcano. 🏢🚙
The only reason the rifle is famous (or infamous) is because of Lee Harvey Oswald. Other than that, I'd rather pick a Mosin-Nagant. And this is coming from a Mauser Kar98k fan.
Excellant video. Thank you for explanation of non-typical bolt face unique to Carcano rifles. Very large numbers of Carcanos imported into US with some interesting situations that resulted. In no real order:
1) A Modelo 38, in 6.5mm was used by Oswald to shoot President Kennedy. The ammunition was was produced in US by Western Cartridge Company in early 1950's for an eventually aborted plan to remove the Communist government in Albania. About 5 million rounds of contract sold on civilian market. The bullets had correct 0.268" diameter, unique to Carcano, as opposed to the more common 0.264" diameter of other 6.5mm rounds such as Mannlicher, Arisaka, Remington non interchangeable loadings. More on this later. The M38, more than capable of shots by Oswald when proper ammunition and acceptably skilled shooter.
2) Carcanos given 'junk' rap by so-called experts in part because
a) commercial and reloading bullets were .264 rather than correct .268
b) many had corroded bores from improper storage
c) Original pre-1918 M91s had progressive rifling, and when barrels cut for 'sporterizing' by importers, caused bullet to yaw, resulting in 'key holing' and poor accuracy.
d) So many 'expert' gun writers of era erroneous claimed only small pin held mechanism, in bolt that would result in it flying back into shooter's face in even of gas rupture. An extremely quick look at bolt clearly shows safety flange resting in receiver creating a 3rd lug, strongly holding mechanism in place.
e) Many M1871/87/14 Veterrli-Vitali rifles also in 6.5 Carcano imported that did have some failures when fired, causing confusion with "Italian Rifles are junk" myth
3) National Rifle Association in late 1950's, did destruction testing of Carcano action, resulting conclusion that Cacano actions were actual as strong as US Enfield
I may add more as i recall them. Several Carcano collectors in my area who are quite factually literate in subject.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your personal knowledge, I am sure lots of people will find this useful😉
That someone was close enough,had the skill enough......
Y
I really don’t understand how such an informative and enjoyable channel only has 5.1k???
I believe it’s a niche group that understands how good a Carcano rifle really was as apposed to Oliver Stone’s views.
I never really understood as to why specifically Carcano rifles have such a horrible reputation, when it's obviously performing quite excellently. The carbine rifle concept was first put into practise through a Carcano (One that wasn't specifically made for the cavalry), and it is even a popular pick for certain German units in the second world war.
It shows that Italy and Austria can bring some very solid firearm concepts on the table, and the Carcano is a good example of that. I own two M38 rifles, One in 6.5x52mm, the other in 7.35x51mm. Very accurate for me, even with the fixed sights and the oddly sized commercial ammo. I'd only wish the ammo wasn't so hard to find!
Glad I found your channel, it's good to see we got some very well informed neighbours. Greetings from Austria!
Why is the ammo hard to find? Very few manufacturers or stopped production altogether?
I only found one Manufacturer here in Austria that we import such calibers in, that would be PPU, from Serbia. I think it's because it's only used in the old Carcano's, not in any hunting rifles or modern variations.
Mostly people go for either .308, or the Swedish 6.5x55mm; a fairly smooth shooting, accurate round.
A big hit to the carcano's reputation was post-war commercial ammunition using improperly sized bullets, causing them go to ping-ponging down the barrel and a significant loss in accuracy. I really like my carcano, its a very solid, mechanically simple rifle that just works.
I'm interested in getting a 7.35 and 6.5. However, not the Not the Moschetto. Too short. I need the Fucile Modello.
I believe the hole in the bolt you asked about is for venting gasses away from the shooter's face in case of ammunition failure. I've seen a similar system in a Remington rifle and also a Mauser.
Forgotten weapons covered it and that is exactly the purpose
I've got the most expert subscribers on the platform! Good job!
Enfield Rifles have a similar "exhaust" hole in the receiver.
You are an expert on many things, your amazing and your crew. Please don't ever forget that,we all love you very much
One interesting version of the carcano was the one made for the Japanese navy, it had a stripper clip fed 5 round magazine and was chambered in 6.5 arisaka, it was made just before ww2, an interesting variation
The type 1 arisaka carcano
My new favorite gun operation noise, the "Carcano clink/ping"
You want photos of blown up Catridge from wrong bullet/powder let me know !
If you’re referring to the hole just behind the locking lugs on the bolt, that’s another vent hole. It was put there to manage punctured primers. Numerous soldiers and commanders noted bolts that would send the firing pin flying backwards into the shooters face with a punctured primer. This vent hole was to prevent that from happening by releasing the gases before enough pressure could be built up to shear the little nub on the de-cocking sleeve. That’s the only piece of metal you have to stop the entire firing pin assembly from hitting you in the face when you fire the rifle. Even without the vent hole this event was very rare. Others have said that they were put there to lube the inner bolt parts without taking it apart but why would they do that when it’s so easy to take the entire firing pin assembly out in one piece? Punctured primers have been a problem since the introduction of the metallic cartridge case. This event is very rare as military primers are made to be very hard as to prevent slam-fire and punctured primers. I would worry more about softer reloading primers. Most notably the ones made for competition and precision as they are very soft and puncture easily in military rifles. This is how I understand the carcano per my years of research and reading on them.
The hole in the top of the bolt is there for additional gas relief. The idea is that it shoots the gas upward away from the shooters face. Not a very useful idea but if you know your ammo is going to be over pressure you might as well engineer for it.
Awesome review
You helped me so much thank you I bolt had a problem I couldn’t fix for 6 months thank you so much
Just One question are you Italian ?
About 90%😉
@@Backyard.Ballistics mostly for the ascent I thought you were Italian btw great video, greetings from Italy
Do you think that carcano could be better if it has a gewer 98 magazine?
Hi, I'm a firearm cleaner/restoration tech in a gunshop here in MS..had trouble after disassembling the bolt body/firing pin assy. on one of 2 surplus 6.5 M91 Carcano carbines we took in for me to clean, derust, take all the cosmoline out of action & bore. Had to get my gunroom mgr, ex-Marine, to help me re-assemble bolt, re-set, slip back into receiver, so it would function. Could you please brief me on how to set/reset bolt assy, so it will re-seat/actuate once back into the rifle? These guns were badly neglected, somehow wound up in storage, drenched in cosmoline, corroded/rusted. Would like to be re-indoctrinated for future projects, should we receive more of these Carcano rifles. Loved your video..you're kindof hard to understand, since I'm almost deaf. Your accent sounds pt.Italisn, pt. Indian(India)..Thsnks..You have some nice examples there of 6.5 Carcanos!!
While nobody asked me, I must say:
For some reason, people often mistake my Mannlicher 1895 for a carcano, and it never fails to piss me off.
I have 3 cavalier carcano rifles, in 6.5.
2 got chopped into sportter trash style, but I found one in incredible shape.
Why do some M91/38’s come with a straight bolt as apposed a bent bolt?
Can you please do a video about italian military shotguns? Like Franchi Spas 12/15; Benelli M4 super 90; Franchi PA7/8.
That sounds like a good idea actually... I will probably do it
@@Backyard.Ballistics that would be great
I have 2 carcanos a m91 /24 trupp special and a m41 ts both rifles barrles can be unthreaded by hand is that normal ?
No it is definitely not normal, you should get the barrel tightened with the appropriate torque.
Ok thank you
fixed Magazine fed , mannlicher enbloc clip loaded, turn bolt action, cock on open, gain twist rifling, manufactured in two calibers
Only the M38 was made in 2 calibers
I’m sorry, they were made in 3 calibers.
the most beautiful is the m91
Curious can you hand load a carcano or are you required to use the stripper clip it uses?
Hand loading a single round can be done but is best avoided because of the design of the extractor. The way it's made it wasn't intended to slip over the shell, and worst case doing this can damage or bend the extractor or push it into the bolt so that the extractor no longer works. Original and reproduction enbloc clips can be found on eBay and through other sources and there's now a guy on eBay that sells a 3D printed insert that allows for easily and safely loading single rounds so that they're fed in the same way as if they were loaded in an enbloc clip. I'm relatively new to these rifles and have a couple different carbines, and along with some clips I have one of these single round inserts on order as there are times I would want to do test firing with single rounds.
@@terrybeavan4264 Sounds pretty agitating. You'd think design wise they'd consider the hand loading option as a necessity. In case they'd become short on clips and you have to rely on manually putting the rounds into the rifle. It's prob the Manlicher system that obviously design wise limited this but again you'd think they would've come up with way to make this option viable.
@@robosoldier11 that really wasn't a problem because the ammunition was distributed already in the clips in small paper or cardboard boxes that were carried in the soldier's ammunition pouches.
The oldest one is the paper cartridge Carcano from the 1860’s
One of the greatest snipers of our time used a Carcano as well
Good
Forza Italia, onore ai caduti.
Forgotten weapons made an indepth video about the history of the carcano
You collect the Carcano and are into reloading. I feel like these things are connected
Gas venting hole?
I have one in 7.35 and I can't find any ammo
Fermin Valdivia you can order it from local gun stores usually
Fermin Valdivia I would recommend purchasing a 8mm carcano as they aren’t crazy expensive and the ammo is common
@@fantazmiccoin1245 well living here in California its hard finding any ammo
Ah behind enemy lines I see I wish you luck
@@fantazmiccoin1245 I hope someday I move to America
I want one, what is the cheapest gun in the world? History wise
Well... I don't know in the world. Here in Italy the mosin nagant is probably the cheapest, starting at about 100 euros. The Carcanos start at about 400 euros, and some rarer variants can be quite expensive, over 2000 euros in some cases
The rare variants? Can you give some examples. There are some M38s I've seen with chrome plated butt plate, lower and upper bands. At first I thought was a bored bubba with access to a bumper plater apparatus, but I've seen about a half dozen others over years that make me wonder. Did the Vatican ever release the "Guardia del Papa" Carcanos with the unusual brass upper band/hand rest? How about the "Guardia del Duce", are they distinct?
Finally: Friend has a GIL Youth Carbine (not a real Carcano, but an undersized toy gun given to Fascist Youth) whose grandfather brought back from Italy after WW2, that kids over years broke the magazine housing. (It looked to me like pot metal.) Anyway, do you know if this part is available anywhere. BTW: There are other, more cheaply made toy Carcanos I've see, his grandfather's seems like the well made real thing.
Here in Canada we can get carcabos for dirt cheap, e.g. a good condition carbine with folding bayonet costs about 200 dollars. However the clips are a little more expensive at around 40 dollars per clip
Is there some weird Canadian Assault Relic law or something keeping them from being imported? They vary from $3-10.00 US are not really that uncommon. Several surplus houses such as Sarco carry them. If clip for this antique can be legally sent to Canada, let me know, I may be able to refer you to a source.
@@doraran5158 They made some odd variants, with very few rifles made for each one. I remember the series for the "Moschettieri del Duce", with black stock and nickel finish of the bolt, magazine and barrel ring, the one for the guards of the king, and the one for the "Duca d'Aosta", this last one rarer than hens' teeth, with only 100 produced and about 40 surviving.
The warehouse I use for my job has about 10 youth carbines. I forgot to mention them in this video, but will definitely show them somehow ;)
From what I heard, the main complaint about the innaccuracy of the WWII-era Carcanos was because the armorers just sawed off the barrel to the designated length instead of making a new barrel.
Thats actually a myth due to importers cutting the berrrel to "Sportify" the gun.
Another problem is that some commercial ammunition loaded an undersized bullet, which didn't really engage the rifling and sent the bullet ping-ponging down the barrel, which greatly impacts accuracy.
The carcano has a small, funny place in United States history. That is to say someone less notable did something very notable to someone more notable with a carcano. 🏢🚙
Oh Christ... why you making me want to buy a Carcano? Im already looking into a Mauser and a Swedish Straight-pull.
Notifications squad😀
During the Arab Spring, a surprising number of these started showing up in Libyan rebels' hands.
Italy had a lot of involvement there from 1911 till 1943, probably piles of them accumulated over the years.
Makes sense, Libya was an Italian colony for a long time.
It is a striker, not a firing pin, if you want to talk technical about the weapon.
Red Dead Redemption gang gang
Why do you shake so much? Just a question at most and I hope you are well
Just some essential tremor, nothing too serious 😉
So the firing pin is in the bolt, that's so neat.
G
A
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😂
If not for A. Hidell owning one of these rifles, it would be long forgotten unless your great grandfather fought with one in WWI.
The only reason the rifle is famous (or infamous) is because of Lee Harvey Oswald. Other than that, I'd rather pick a Mosin-Nagant. And this is coming from a Mauser Kar98k fan.
How many CIA agents are here reminiscing about the good old days?
If youll speak slowly would be great for my mind xdddd
How carcano works? IT DOSENT WORK
😂
come la locomotiva della foto🚂🤢