Here are two Carcanos with a star on the same side of the buttstock. One has the small CAI import mark which hints that it might have come from Albania - the cav carbine has no import mark.
Shown for comparison is a Steyr M.95M withthe same style star - I've been told it was used by Tito's communist partisans. So were the Carcanos used by communist forces? I think so but can't prove it.
It would also be interesting to know just
where they were used. Besides Albanina, Carcanos were used by partisans in Greece, pretty much the entire Balkan region and even by communists in Italy. The Greek commies were defeated thanks to massive aid to the Greek gov't by us & the Brits. The Albanian commies won. A lot of bloody conflict after a very bloody war.
A friend just bought an M.95M with a Terni refurb cartouche. I believe it was used by Italian commies and captured by the Italian Army & put into storage. Post-war, it was refurbed and sold off with all the other surplus laying around.
Some very interesting possibilities here. Any comments or information on communist markings will be sincerely appreciated! SW