For BCLOGGER, who has the following problem:
"I have a Carcano 91/40, which appears unissued. All matching #'s and no sanding of the wood or anything. It operates so stiffly that no amount of oil or grease will smooth it out."

The cause may be in the extractor lug. This is a little piston-like device about 1/4" diameter that sits below the bolt and is pressed up by the trigger spring. To sort it out you will have to dismantle the rifle and CLEAN everything. In order to save an enormously long posting I recommend you acquire "Military Rifle Disassembly and Reassembly" by Mowbray & Puleo, ISBN 1-931464-32-4 and go slowly.

You will have to remove the trigger assembly, which is held in by a pin that is a push fit. Before dismantling, note which way round the pin is inserted AND how the bolt catch lever is fitted. Otherwise you might be a bit puzzled when you try to reassemble it!

You will find that there is a small coil spring inside a boss that acts as the trigger spring. Not only does it push the trigger bar down, it also pushes the extractor up! Very ingenious, but it means you cannot alter the pressure on the extractor without altering the trigger pressure. At least, I haven't worked out how yet, and if anyone knows the answer I would be delighted to see it.

The extractor piston is reduced to a blade at the top, and pushes up into the groove on the bottom of the bolt. If this area has become clogged with dirt and gummed grease, then the bolt motion will be very stiff.

With the trigger assembly and extractor removed, try running the bolt in the action body. If you find it now runs freely, then that confirmrs that extractor resistance is the source of the problem. If it still runs stiffly, even without the extractor, then you have to investigate as with any piece of machinery to find dirt/hard fragment/etc. That is normal mechanical maintenance, not gunsmithing

Clean off any and all dirt and fossilized grease, regrease and reassemble.

It will then work as well as the ingenious extractor mechanism permits!
I would rbe interested to know if that is the answer to your problem. Feedback helps to solve future problems for others!


Patrick
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