M91 “Calvary” Carbine for my son

Just got this model 1891 (made in 1918) carbine for my young 8year old son.
It cleaned up ok and the bore looks reasonably good.
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We just fired it three times from the porch. I shot twice to get a velocity reading and my son once. We stopped because it is SOOO LOUD!! I decided to be merciful to my neighbors. We will continue at the range at a later date.
We shot PPU 6.5 Carcano 139 FMJ factory loads. The velocity average I recorded with my two shots was 2176 fps from the 17.7” barrel.
Primers looked fine but cases did show some stretching at the top of the shoulder and about one third up from base.
Unfired cases had a headspace shoulder to base length ShL= 1.695”
Fired case ShL = 1.703”. That was a change of .008” ?
The diameter measured just behind the shoulder of the case was .430” unfired and .440” fired. A change of .010”.

All that being said, my 8 year old loved shooting it and was able to hold it up off hand and fire. He said the kick didn’t hurt at all. But what a fireball!!

This is how the cases looked fired next to unfired round.

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Can I get some opinions whether this carbine is still safe to shoot with the obvious chamber wear and roughness?

You need to get a good look inside that chamber. There may very well be a large band of corrosion in that area, that'd be my guess. There are many cheap borescopes available on amazon that connect to your cell phone, get one. It's especially helpful if you collect milsurps and will pay for itself in mistakes not purchased. At least it has for me. In the interim you can clean the chamber aggressively with a chamber brush looking for rust to come out and see if it helps any. Those $89 RTI Ethiopian Carcano imports were in very rough shape. My son in law purchased a couple so I've seen them firsthand.

Thanks. I do have a bore scope and will use it. During the initial bore cleaning there were no signs of rust. Lots of grease and crud, yes. I plan on polishing the bore with flitz. But, would you say it’s still safe to shoot? I tend to think it is. I’m hoping to get it to the range and paper but won’t hold out much hope for fabulous groups. Getting it on paper will be a bonus.

My son is asking me if it’s ok for him to practice shooting his new carbine by dry firing? Will dry firing these cause damage?

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Originally Posted by KneverKnew

Thanks. I do have a bore scope and will use it. During the initial bore cleaning there were no signs of rust. Lots of grease and crud, yes. I plan on polishing the bore with flitz. But, would you say it’s still safe to shoot? I tend to think it is. I’m hoping to get it to the range and paper but won’t hold out much hope for fabulous groups. Getting it on paper will be a bonus.

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Ok just to clarify I'm not speaking about the bore I'm referring to the chamber specifically. Yes there could very well be solidified 50+ year old cosmolene in there which may require heat or soaking to remove. However if it was indeed cosmolene I would think by the heat of the 3rd round it would have started to soften. What's in there is a little more serious I think.

Sorry for not giving you the answer you're looking for but based on my firearms experience I will not remotely analyze your carbine and tell you it's safe to fire. If I had it in my possession, was able to disassemble and scrutinize it, only in that circumstance would I dare to make such a determination. Any positive long distance evaluation is totally irresponsible on the part of whomever does it.

Ok. I understand. I will scope the chamber and do more cleaning and polishing.

Can you provide an answer to the question about dry firing.




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I also will do a chamber casting.

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Originally Posted by KneverKnew

Can you provide an answer to the question about dry firing.

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Dry firing has never damaged a military rifle.

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Originally Posted by KneverKnew

My son is asking me if it’s ok for him to practice shooting his new carbine by dry firing? Will dry firing these cause damage?

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I never recommend dry firing for anything. I even uncock my Carbine, Garand and 10/22 without dry firing them. Many will disagree with me. I can recommend using those spent cases until the firing pin hammers down the primers to the point it doesn't touch them anymore.

Do you reload? If so remove the primer from a spent round insert a properly sized piece of urethane in the primer pocket, put in a bullet to cartridge spec length and crimp ridiculously tight. Then drill some holes through it so that it can't be confused with a live round and you have yourself a dummy round safe for endless dry fire practice.