Vetterli 6.5 Carcano

[Aragorn243]

I picked up a Vetterli Carcano at auction yesterday which all in all isn't in bad shape except for having very little finish left on the barrel and action. The bore looks pretty nice although I haven't run anything through it yet. Exterior was pretty much rust free but some light orange rust in the barrel channel which came right off. Barrel is very slightly pitted on the bottom. Action works smooth. I have not taken the bolt out yet to examine it for cracks.

It has a couple of issues. I need a front barrel band a cleaning rod and a sling. I also need to repair the front sight which is missing the left half of the support and the blade itself. I expect I am going to have to make both of these items myself which isn't the problem. The problem is how do I fasten them. They are brazed on by the looks of things as I can see the remains of that where the left side is missing. In that the barrel sleeve is soldiered in on these I would assume it's not wise to heat things up too much. So what recommendations can you make for installing a new front sight?

The sling isn't a high priority, I have one that looks like those that I've seen in various photos. If anyone has a spare front barrel band or cleaning rod or knows someone who does, please let me know. I searched the various gun parts companies with no luck. I'll post some photos when I get a chance to take some.

[vintage hunter]

Could you post a couple photo's of the damaged area?

[Midmichigun]

Hey, I have one also.... that is probably 100% correct (no sling and I don't know about the cleaning rod) and complete. If you need photos, let me know. Otherwise I don't want to JUMP YOUR THREAD.
And I agree, I would like to see photos of yours!!

[Aragorn243]

I'll try to get some posted before the Superbowl. At this moment, it's disassembled for cleaning. Hope to finish that up shortly.

I was wondering if it takes the standard 1891 Carcano cleaning rod. That would make sense unless the barrels are two different lengths.

Found another problem. Someone cut the firing pin making it inoperable. Not sure if this was done just to do it or if there is some other issue with the rifle. I can visually see no problems with it and it has a near new bore. I have not tried putting a case into it but read somewhere that if you can see the brass, it's stretched. Will try that later.

[burb1989]

The converted vetterlis are cool guns. I have one that was brought home by a family member from the first world war. It came with the cleaning rod broken so I sourced out another one from a similar rifle I had bought prior to receiving this one. I ended up selling the other converted vetterli and used the money towards a French gras rifle. I lucked into a sling and bayonet for it. Mine is a display gun but I know of some who do shoot these with underpowered 6.5 loads.

[Aragorn243]

Here are a few photos after cleaning.







Here is the front sight area:







And here is a shot of the bolt closed on a casing. You can see brass but I don't see how you possibly couldn't as the extractor will not allow it to go any far forward than that. Bolt closed tight but it was a fired case so not unexpected. Didn't try an unfired case.



Having taken it apart, it seems very thin on the receiver walls in the magazine well area. I can't say I'm real inclined to fire this one but it would be nice to know if I could if I so desired. Is the brass showing an issue or something someone said that knows nothing about it?

[vintage hunter]

The missing piece from the FS base looks to me like an old repair attempt that didn't hold up. I believe the base is dovetailed into the barrel and soldered in place like those found on Trapdoors and Krags as I see what looks like a seam in the third photo from the bottom.
If this is the case the best and strongest repair option would be to fab a whole new base. Second and probably the easiest option would be to fab a new section and attach with a low temp soft solder like 50/50 or 60/40 that has a melting point of 361 degrees F. The biggest down side to option 2 is it won't be overly strong with such a small joint but should hold up ok for occasional shooting and display purposes.

[Aragorn243]

The base isn't dovetailed it's brazed. There are a lot of brazed parts on this, the bayonet lug, the rear "slide" which the bolt rides in, rear sight. There does seem to be a slight indentation for the blade. It looks like a three piece unit and the left base and the blade are missing.

[jmoore]

I see what looks like a seam in the third photo from the bottom.

I'm inclined to agree. A three piece base doesn't make much sense, but it could have been a repair. Lots of meat under the sight. fabricating a new block and cutting a dovetail would be my choice of repair. It can be done with a hacksaw, files and lots of time if a mill isn't available.

[Aragorn243]

Looking at it closer, it does look like it has been repaired but I still see no evidence of a dove tail. The piece that remains has a small pin going through it which would have held the blade in place. These were fixed sights and could not be moved which a dove tail would have allowed.

What do you guys think about the brass showing? Is that a sign the receiver is stretched or is it normal for these?