M38 Carcano Carbine, 1939
Guys,
As luck would have it, I came across a boltless M38 Carcano!:thup:
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I am missing 3 screws along with the bolt.
http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/100_3867.jpg
Great photo of the peeling paint! If you look at some of the photos, you can see that they managed to splash some of the paint onto the blue!:o
http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/100_3860.jpg
---------- Post added at 10:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 PM ----------
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The year is 1939. I found this "39" also stamped on the underside, I guess it is a year stamp also???
http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/100_3876.jpg
Inner arsenal/ inspection marks. As you can tell, the blueing is great on this rifle!
http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/s...e/100_3874.jpg
The buttstock is the worst part of the rifle... and has left stains on the wood. The door opens, so it does function!:thup:
2 Attachment(s)
Wood looks good for refurbishing
As jmoore has pointed out, you have a short rifle "fucile corto M38". Made in 1939, year 17 of the fascist era - as shown by the Roman numerals XVII. And the number T7759 is in the right range for Terni production of that period. The FP on the barrel is probably the supplier F. Pedrotti.
The bolt will be basically the same as on a normal M91, but with a turned-down bolt handle as used on the "moschetto M91". In fact, since the Italians made some of these short rifles by converting M91s, including bending down the bolt handle, I see no reason why you should not do the same.
With the wood, you are in luck. You have what I call a treacle rifle - the treacle being the brown paint/floor varnish that has been sloshed over the wood. And which has probably helped to preserve it! If you dismantle the rifle and strip off the paint with a non-aqueous jelly-type paint stripper (use gloves and natural bristle brushes!) you may find that this
Attachment 33534
turns into this
Attachment 33535
- requiring only a wipe-over with a rag moistened with natural turpentine and a few drops of pure linseed oil to produce a very pleasing finish. But do not, at any stage, use wire wool or sandpaper on the stock, or soak it in water, as that will cause the arsenal ring stamp on the wood to disappear. And this stamp, if you clean the wood as suggested, may provide important information.
As to SA marks. The Finns stamped SA as a property mark on the barrel ring. They had no need to stamp SA on small parts. So if you have SA marked on various components, I suspect that this is no more than a parts supplier identification mark. But a clear SA on the barrel ring does indeed indicate Finnish ownership.
Have fun, and let us see how it turns out!
:wave:
Patrick