Yesterday's Weapons Forums

.....shortened barrel. I am awaiting the arrival of a 1923 vintage Carcano that has had approximately 6 inches removed from the barrel. How much, if any, of the faster twist will remain? Is there a specific length of the faster twist in these barrels? After hours of net searching, I have been unable to find more than the fact that these rifles have gain twist rifling. I got the rifle for a song, so if it doesn't perform well, I will have some good parts! Cheers!

Mark,

I'll try to get a decent measurement for you when I return home. SW

Hi 'Hogger,
I received my $25.00 rifle today. Aside from the messed up nosecap on the stock, whoever cut the rifle down did a decent job. It appears there are quite a few inches of the rapid twist rifling remaining in the near perfect bore. There are 2 crossed rifles with a bullseye stamped in the left side of the chamber area. Wasn't that supposed to indicate a barrel made a little better than others?

Yes. It's somewhat like a "star gauged" Springfield. As far as I can tell, these weren't actually fired for group - the tight tolerances shown by the gauges increased the possibility of a sweet shooter.

I just messed around with a couple M91s from the rack & as far as I can tell by my unscientific measurement system, there is roughly 16" of the tight twist.

I get a little more time, I'll try to use a tight patch on a long cleaning rod & get a better measurement. SW

Post war range rifle??? That's a new one. Do you have any pics or links to information on same? SW

This is my first Carcano. After complete disassembly, I am actually impressed with the quality. I have read so many negative comments on these guns and have to wonder why. Mine is a 1923 vintage Terni rifle. Are there good years and bad years?

The barrel and stock are stamped with 'TL 5583' and the Terni stock cartouche is dated 1923. On the flats around the chamber are: 'FP', 'TERNI', 'SG' in an oval, '17', 'TL 5583' , and the little crossed rifles. I cannot find anything resembling a date.

Okay. I thought the barrel was dated 1923. It's 1917.

The 1923 stock cartouche is from when the rifle went through refurb. There should be a star on the top tang where the bolt rides.

That's the standard Carcano refurb mark.

If you take the action completely from the stock, there should be a date on the very bottom of the receiver ring. 3-17 or some such. SW

'Hogger, there are no stampings resembling a date. There is a 'crown' on the top tang where the bolt rides. There are initials inside of ovals, which I assumed were inspector's marks. Just forward of the ring, where the rear sight is screwed on, is a little mark. It is not letters, but something else. Thanks for your help!

I have never heard of that before, and I mess around daily researching the genre. A close friend in Italy has a son in the army there, and he has never heard of it, either.

Another friend recently send me a list of Carcanos still available from the Terni arsenal. No mention of "range rifles".

I am EXTREMELY interested in any evidence that such a variation existed. SW

Okay. The M91 with DST is legit & worth big money. Those were in full military configuration.

The M41s with DST were mostly made up for shooting clubs and also retained the full stock.

Many of these will have a brass plaque with inscriptions.

I still believe sporterized Carcanos ( shortened stocks lacking a bayonet lug) are non-military and the number made up for Italian shooting clubs is small. These will have a specific inscription in Italian on them relating to their dedicated target use. SW

what an interesting discussion , i know nothing of these rifles but i very much enjoyed reading this exchange , thanks

Well, I finally got a chance to shoot the Carcano. It shot rather well with the Partizan 139 grain FMJ loads, despite the .264" bullets. The Hornady cartridges would not chamber properly as the bullets dug into the rifling and would prevent the bolt from being run home properly. I am sure I could have closed the bolt with a little more force, but really shy away from that! I would have thought that Hornady designed their 160 grain bullet with the Carcano rifling leade in mind. Would the 'crossed rifles' mark have any bearing on the good performance with .264" bullets? The fired cases expanded very little and the primers remained fully seated. I never shot a Carcano before and was quite pleased with my $25.00 acquisition. Cheers!

By the way, I have no idea why I started this thread here, instead of the 'Carcano' section. Sorry!