The Carcano is an Italian, bolt action rifle used from 1891 through WWII. It uses a 6 round, Mannlicher-style internal en-bloc clip that auto drops out the bottom on the last round. The first models were done in 6.5×52, then they tried 30 cal for a while before going back to the 6.5. But this isn’t the article if you want history.
Carcano clips
The Carcano uses the Mannlicher clip setup. Reproduction clips cost around $10-15. To load them, pull the bolt back, press the loaded clip into the magazine hard until you hear/feel it click in place, and the rifle is loaded. Run the bolt and shoot, once you load the last round, the clip will automatically fall out the bottom. .. .as long as it’s clean and unbent. If the clip chute is dirty or the clip is bent, it might not fall out like it’s supposed to, but you can just ram a full clip in from the top to push out the spent one.
To release a clip that’s full or partially full, press the en-block down a bit, then push forward on the button inside the front of the trigger guard. The clip will pop into your hands, kinda like the clip release on an M1 Garand if you’re familiar with those.
6.5x52mm Carcano
In the middle of so many overpowered rifle rounds in late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the 6.5×52 Carcano is . . .almost futuristic? While other nations were fielding beasty 30 cal cartridges like the 30-06 (3000 ft-lbs of energy) and 7.62x54R (2700 ft-lbs), the Italians were running a more reasonable cartridge at 1900 ft-lbs of energy. Had they been running a lighter 129-140 grain bullet instead of their tank of a 160 grain bullet, it would have been very close to an 1890’s 6.5 Creedmoor. And unlike many other rounds of this age, it’s unrimmed so there’s no potential issues with rimlock like you’d get in the SMLE or Mosin Nagant.
That all said, 6.5 Carcano does not use 6.5mm bullets like other 6.5 rifles of today. Instead of the 0.264″ diameter 6.5 everyone else uses, they’re 0.268″ in diameter. This means you need Carcano-specific bullets, and regular 6.5 bullets off the shelf may not be accurate. Commercial ammo for the 6.5 Carcano is also usually 0.264″, so you won’t get tip-top accuracy. You’ll need to reload with Prvi 139 grain, Carcano-specific bullets to get it right.
The 7.35mm Carcano is very similar in a few ways: the size/shape of the case is basically the same, and it doesn’t work with modern .30 cal bullets either. Instead, it uses a .300 bullet, while modern .30 cals use .308 diameter bullets. While shooting 0.264″ bullets in the 6.5 Carcano that needs 0.268 bullets just results in inaccuracy, shooting .308 diameter bullets in the 7.35mm Carcano that needs 0.300 diameter bullets is no bueno.
Is the Carcano any good?
I think there are pros and cons to the Carcano like any rifle. The cartridge is more reasonable and a better choice than most other cartridges of the same age. The fact it uses a weird bullet diameter is a pain in the ass for owners today because bullets are harder to find.
For the rifle, the bent bolt is nicer to use than a straight bolt though the action feels much rough and slower than something like a Lee Enfield No1 mk3 or a No 4 mk 1. Still not as bad as a Mosin Nagant.
The clip system is a bit faster than stripper clips but it brings additional possible points of failure. It’s also not possible to top up while the clip’s in the gun.
Sights on the Carcano vary depending on your model. Both the original M91 adjustable sight and the newer M38 fixed sights have wide V-notch rear sights and a simple front post. The M91’s and some M91/38’s have adjustable sights that adjust to ridiculous ranges you’d never be able to make a hit at.
The sights are also zeroed for a 162 grain bullet at fairly long range, so you may have to either build up your front sight using a reversible method (JB Weld?) or just dip the front sight into the valley of the rear sight to get on target.
The sights here belong to a 91/38 Carbine made at FNA-Brescia, and they opted to keep using the earlier M91 Moschetto (carbine) rear sight. Just in case you want to shoot to 1500 meters, the sight can adjust to that distance 😉
There aren’t really many reasonably priced accessories that you can get for your Carcano. Liberty Tree has some ammo pouches and cleaning kits, and you can use a Mosin/SKS surplus sling. Try to use one that uses “dog collar” mounts instead of steel that might scratch and fuck up the finish on your sling posts. The sling posts are about 0.75″ wide, so you can’t just stick a 1.25″ or 1″ wide web sling in there.
Competitive at a milsurp match?
Milsurp rifle and 2 gun matches are available in some parts of the US and Canada. Would the Carcano be competitive?
For an accuracy based competition like Service Rifle, you’d get smoked competing with other milsurps. The sights are OK battle sights, but they’re not fine enough for accuracy, and the guns themselves are not as accurate as some of the other choices out there. K31’s, M1 Garands, even Lee Enfields would be hard to compete with their larger magazines and fast actions.
Competing with other milsurp bolt actions in a “shooting on the move” style competition? That’s where it might do a bit better when competing with other bolt actions of a similar vintage. The carbine models are especially handy and short, the cartridge is not going to beat you up, and they can be fast to load so long as you’ve tuned your clips and everything’s nice and clean. I’d much rather load the Carcano on a timer than a Mosin.
Use a Carcano for hunting?
Unless your Carcano shoots the 0.264″ bullets well, or you found some rare 0.268″ soft points to reload with, I’d strongly recommend against hunting with a Carcano. You may need to modify the sights, the safety is terrible for hunting, and there are just much better new production hunting rifles.
Value for the money?
In terms of value-priced milsurps, Canada has been spoiled for a long time with cheaper red rifles like the SKS, Mosin Nagant, and we’ve even had shipments of inexpensive SVT40’s and non-red rifles like K31’s for fairly cheap in the past. Every time we get these available for great prices, people avoid buying, then regret not buying one when the price gets jacked up into the $500 range or above. At around $300-$400, the Carcano is one of the cheapest bolt action milsurps you can get right now in the country. At the time of this writing, Mosins are around $400+, SKS’s are $450, and sporterized Lee Enfields are around $200 (all wood originals are around $600-800).
Keep in mind that you’ll probably have to reload, so consider the price of a set of reloading dies as part of the purchase. So if you’re into milsurps, these are a pretty decent value. Buy one, and then buy a Tokarev or M57 (review) while you’re at it.
