Surplus Carcano rifles

[ScatPackLife]

It seems like the carcano rifles are always available everywhere. Anyone have any experience with them?

I've seen some videos but want to here from the folks here.

I think the biggest thing that makes these attractive is the price, they are always under $300 sometimes closer to $200

Are these available because there are so many that got imported?

I feel like maybe people don't buy these because they are inexpensive so people think they are cheap? But the videos I've seen make them out to be hood rifles.

Ammo isn't too much of an issue since it's available, it's just not inexpensive. Usually around $1.70 per round. Maybe that's why these don't sell out fast, cheap to buy, expensive to shoot unless you reload.

What do you all think about value, after they dry up the used cost will go up like the Mosin or not likely? If I get one it won't be to sell later, I'm just curious what people think.

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[Stomper]

Here's a Carcano I found last week……. at the JFK Book Depository Museum in Dallas, TX

 

[elija_t]

They kinda suck, and I own a couple. I wouldn't get one unless its for collecting.

The reason there are so many is due to the Italian Carabinieri surplusing their arsenal, resulting in so many of these flooding the market. Condition can vary, I'd recommend paying a bit more to buy one in person rather than buying sight unseen.

Good ammo is damn hard to get. PPU loads 6.5x52, but with undersized bullets. I'd recommend ordering some from Steinel ammo if you don't plan on reloading, as they actually load theirs with the proper bullets. Definitely worth the wait.

I honestly like carcanos, especially the long rifles. But if you're expecting a cheap surplus rifle that you can actually shoot or use practically, then you'd be very disappointed.

Of course like anything else, cost will eventually go up once they disappear from the primary market. Nobody really cared for carcanos before these carbines hit the market, i'd be suprised if their value goes up by much at all.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Popularity , in people's perception is a factor here...

If there were more movies about the WWII North African and Italian campaigns then they might be more popular.
As it stands , the Northwest European theater and some aspects of the Pacific war , come into people's minds when the topic of WWII is raised , and little else , at least here in the US.
Andy

 

[ScatPackLife]

Here's a Carcano I found last week……. at the JFK Book Depository Museum in Dallas, TX

View attachment 1149746

I bet that ones worth more than $300.

 

[po18guy]

I bet that ones worth more than $300.

IIRC, it was purchased from Klein's in Chicago for $12.78.

Better grab one quick!

 

[ma96782]

Ammo isn't too much of an issue since it's available, it's just not inexpensive. Usually around $1.70 per round. Maybe that's why these don't sell out fast, cheap to buy, expensive to shoot unless you reload.

For me/IMHO......
One of the more important points about buying a surplus firearm......

Well, it has A LOT to do with shooting cheap/available surplus ammo.

Aloha, Mark

PS.......I can reload too. BUT, But, but......and then you'll need/want a good supply of the clips?

 

[TTSX]

I own one from 1896, functions just fine. Never tried to shoot for groups, don't really care to. Trigger is possibly the worst trigger on any rifle I've ever shot. It has a squishy, unpredictable break with no wall but enough take up where you might expect one to be present. I end up just slapping the trigger like a kid at the arcade. Pretty sure it cost me $200 and the historical value is worth that much to me

 

[91558]

I bought a rusted up one with a beat up stock for $25.00 in the 1980s. The only reason I got it was to try my hand at cleaning it up and re-bluing the barrel and re-doing the stock which actually turned out pretty nice. It's chambered in 7.35 and I found a bunch of ammo on stripper clips and shot a few rounds. Not a bad shooting old gun. I have a set of dies and some boxer primed brass so I might just play with it someday, when I have nothing else to do.

 

[ScatPackLife]

IIRC, it was purchased from Klein's in Chicago for $12.78.

Better grab one quick!

That video was got the M38 on 7.35. The ones I keep seeing are the M91 Calvary carbines in 6.5.

One of the places I saw them had a stock pile of reproduction clips. But only the PPU ammo. I can't seem to find any surplus 6.5 anywhere.

 

[CLT65]

My first Carcano I bought sometime in the early '90s, for $40. It was a clunky, junky thing with a pitted barrel. I couldn't seem to get any accuracy out of it, but then again I didn't know much back then. I ended up giving it away to someone who wanted it. I recently bought another, and appreciate it a bit more. I haven't shot it much yet. I need to either find a source of .268" bullets, or a mold and some 6.5mm gas checks.

I feel like I must be getting old. "Cheap" is a matter of perspective. $2-300 doesn't seem cheap to me. Back when I was really into surplus guns (late '80s through the '90s, into the early '90s), I rarely ever spent over $100 for anything, and accumulated quite a few Enfields, Mausers, Arisakas, Mosins, etc.. I really regret not buying at least a couple of Swedish Mausers when they could be had for $70. Times have changed.

Oh well. There was also a time once, when I was young and stupid, when I almost invested some extra money in Google stock, at it's IPO, but didn't.

 

[gmerkt]

OP: Have you ever held one in your hands? If not, that will help you decide.

after they dry up the used cost will go up like the Mosin or not likely?

Carcanos of all varieties have been floating around since 1945, have never taken off as collector's items in any serious way. Particularly relative to the time value ot the US Dollar. Said another way, if you'd bought $1,000 worth of Mauser rifles in 1970, and $1,000 worth of Carcanos at the same time, you'd be so far ahead now in the value of the Mausers it would make you cry or weep with joy, depending which side of the bet you were on.

Do the inflation calculator thing, $200 of today's money was about $29 in 1970, so today's price for a Carcano doesn't seem so hot. The last Carcano I bought was in 1966, I paid $25 and got rooked.

 

[TTSX]

OP: Have you ever held one in your hands? If not, that will help you decide.


Carcanos of all varieties have been floating around since 1945, have never taken off as collector's items in any serious way. Particularly relative to the time value ot the US Dollar. Said another way, if you'd bought $1,000 worth of Mauser rifles in 1970, and $1,000 worth of Carcanos at the same time, you'd be so far ahead now in the value of the Mausers it would make you cry or weep with joy, depending which side of the bet you were on.

Do the inflation calculator thing, $200 of today's money was about $29 in 1970, so today's price for a Carcano doesn't seem so hot. The last Carcano I bought was in 1966, I paid $25 and got rooked.

But inflation is a good thing, right?

 

[CLT65]

But inflation is a good thing, right?

Inflation is taxation. Some Russian mobster has $10,000 USD tucked away in his vault in Siberia somewhere- how do you tax it? Inflation.

Literally every American with some cash in the bank or stuffed in their mattress- how do you tax it? Same way.

 

[ScatPackLife]

Are they all pretty much the same or are some better than others?

 

[Aero Denezol]

Are they all pretty much the same or are some better than others?

I recently went through the Carcano learning curve and acquired several. As @elija_t said it is well worth buying them in person when you can examine the bore and cycle the bolt. The fit and function of the Carcano varies widely just like the Mosin Nagant. There are many different Carcano models, but all of them use the same action and Mannlicher clip system. I enjoy shooting Carcanos (and all sorts of other milsurps). They have charm.

Carcanos will go up in value regardless of ammo availability. The Arisaka used to be a couple hundred bucks, now they are in the $400s and up. And there is no ammo readily available for Arisakas, not even PPU. If you have an interest in WWI-WWII and/or just collecting I think Carcanos are a good buy for under $300.