Magazine . . . . .Single column, non-detachable six-shot box magazine. Special clip is required to load and hold cartridges in magazine.
Trigger . . . . . . .Non-adjustable, double-stage military pull.
Safety . . . . . . . .Combined with the bolt sleeve; 90° swing from right to up. When up, safety locks bolt and relaxes firing pin.
Extractor . . . . . .One-piece spring type recessed in front of bolt.
Bolt-stop . . . . . .One-piece, connected to, and released by trigger. Stops bolt by contacting right (lower) locking lug.
Ejector . . . . . . .Plunger type located in receiver bottom.
The Carcano Clip
As noted before, a special clip must be used if the Carcanos are to function as repeaters. These clips, made of steel or brass, hold 6 rounds. Two crimped-in ridges, inside the back part of the clip, engage in the extractor groove of the cartridges to hold the rounds against the clip rear.
The receiver and the magazine box are milled out to accept the loaded clip, with shoulders left so it cannot move forward. This also holds the cartridges securely in the magazine so they cannot move forward from recoil. The ridges in the clip extend nearly to each end, allowing just enough room for cartridges to be, inserted and removed (or fed out via the bolt) when the head of the cartridge is pressed against the curved lips of the clip. This is a good arrangement: the clip is easy to load; the fully loaded or partly loaded clip is easily inserted into the action (from the top with the bolt open); it is easily removed; feeding is in a straight line and reliable. The drawbacks are these: when the clip is emptied it drops out and is easily lost; without the clip the rifle can only be used as a single shot. Clips are still readily available at this writing, and both Italian 6.5mm and 7.35mm cartridges use the same clip.
Gunsmithing the Carcano
Carcano rifles are among the least desirable of all modern military bolt actions to remodel or sporterize, nor is the Carcano action a very good choice on which to build a rifle. I’ve already mentioned a couple of poor and undesirable features of the Carcano: the very awkward and hard-to-operate safety, and the necessity of using a clip. There are many more. The slotted receiver bridge prevents the installation of a regular receiver sight. No commercial replacement safety is made for this action, and there is no practical way the military safety can be altered to improve it. No replacement trigger is made for the action although the military trigger can be improved. The box magazine extends below the stock and it isn’t feasible to make it flush with the stock. The clip is too narrow to accept standard 30-06 head size cartridges, so cartridge choice for rechambering or rebarreling is very limited.
None of these objections has really bothered or stopped the enterprising amateur gunsmith from tackling them and working the rifle over into a sporter.
Rebarreling to another caliber, if the rifle is to remain a repeater, is also limited.
Even as a single shot, cartridge choice is limited because the bolt head and extractor are not easily altered.
The only satisfactory remodeling of the Carcano carbine consists of starting with one having a good bore, then limit the work to putting on new sights, refinishing the metal, remodeling the issue stock or installing a new one. A good rear sight choice is the Williams Guide, adjustable for windage and elevation. This should be paired with a new front blade or bead sight mounted on the Williams Shorty ramp base. Mounting a scope on Carcanos is just not practicable.
Bolt head of the Italian Carcano
6.5 & 7.35 Carcano Cartridges
The 6.5 military round was normally loaded with a 162-grain round-nosed, full-jacketed bullet, muzzle velocity about 2300 fps. It was a good military cartridge, comparing favorably with other 6.5 military loads.
The commercial Norma 6.5 Carcano is loaded with a 156-grain soft-point, round-nosed bullet, 2000 fps muzzle velocity. Although this seems a very mild load it has ample power to take deer-sized game to about 200 yards. It could be handloaded safely to higher velocities with the same weight or lighter bullets. Because of the deep throat in the Carcano barrel, best results will be had with bullets of at least 130 grains. Poor accuracy may result with lighter bullets.
The usual 7.35 Carcano military cartridge carried a 128-grain semi-pointed, full-jacketed bullet, its velocity about 2482 fps; normal bullet diameter is .298”-.300”.
Italian Youth Carbine
This title—the name it commonly goes by in English-speaking countries—describes one of the most unusual military arms of the WW II period. Mussolini and the Fascist Party leaders—aping the Nazis—wanted to start training Italian boys at an early age (probably at about 6) and a special small-sized arm was developed and manufactured for this purpose alone. The Youth Carbine is an almost identical but scaled-down version of the regular Model 91 Carbine with folding bayonet.
A photo comparison of the Italian Youth Carbine action (top) with the regular Model 91 Italian Carcano action.
It is believed that about 30,000 of these small Carcano carbines were made between 1930 and 1940. American servicemen in Italy during the war took a number of these carbines home, but they’re quite scarce today.
The IYCs are marked F.N.A. BRESCIA on the receiver for Fabbrica Nazionale d’Armi. Their serial number usually begins with a letter. The year date of manufacture is also stamped on the receiver as well as the Roman numeral(s) indicating the Fascist regime year. On the carbine illustrated a rectangular stamping, atop the receiver ring, shows an insignia or crest with the Roman fasces.
The official Italian designation for the Youth Carbine is Moschetto Regolomentare Ballila Modelo 1891 Ridutto. Translated, this means “Ballila Regulation Musket Model 1891 Reduced.” “Ballilo” was the name of the Italian Fascist Youth Party.
The IYC was used for drill training only, since only blank ammunition was made for them, and the tip of the bayonet dulled. Some are smoothbored, others have a rifled bore of 6.5mm caliber. The blank cartridge is about the size of the 222 Remington, but has a longer neck ending in a folded crimp. The chambers are reamed minus any neck or throat; the neck of the blank cartridge is made small enough to enter directly into the bore, whether rifled or not. It is thought that perhaps IYCs with rifled barrels were made from discarded Model 91 Carcano barrels.
The action of the IYC is a regular little gem, and just over half the weight of the regular M91 and M38 Carcano actions. In every detail it is similar to the larger action. I don’t believe it is made of good enough steel to be used with a modern bulleted cartridge, otherwise this miniature action would be just the right size for the 222 Remington.
The blank cartridges made for these carbines are extremely scarce, much more so than the carbines, and are prized collector items.
(Top)Model 91 Italian Carcano carbine, caliber 6.5mm.
