8mm Carcano

An 8mm followed me home. The round seems a bit much for the action, or am I wrong?

The Carcano is actually a very strong action. Some people debate the strength of it, but when P.O. Ackley tried to blow one up he couldn't.

If you really wanted to you could load it light, personally I would use moderate loads but that is my personal opinion on it and not some guarantee will work.

General consensus is these are not safe to shoot. As with other military war time conversions, there may have been a "need" at the time but as a private citizen going to the range, is it worth the risk. There are several conversions, some by the Germans, some by the Italians and some done post war for sale to mid east nations using the 8mm round.

There is a thread out there where a fellow got a reply from PO Ackley after asking for some advice from various gun magazines that "His advice, based on his own "blow up" tests on milsurp rifles was that the conversion was inherently not safe. He said that his impression of the Carcano action was that it was very good for the cartridges that is was designed for , but it was not designed for the 8x57".

The clip to use 7,92x57mm in the Carcano conversions are quite rare to find. Headspace could also be an issue and should be checked

Converting the clip to take 8mm looks pretty simple. I might give it a try. It would be nice to have one to go with the rifle.

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General consensus is these are not safe to shoot.

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That’s my gut feeling too. I will put this one on the rack after I clean it up. I do like to shoot every gun I buy, but I am going to make an exception with this one.

One thing in the back of my mind with this is that the Italians also converted the Veterli's to shoot the 6.5 round. While a wartime expedient, not too many willing to risk full loads in them today. US commercial ammo probably isn't as hot as original milsurp, you could also reload.

I have a 6.5 Vetterli that I have been shooting commercial ammo with. I didn’t know it was risky.

I don’t have any reloading tools. Probably best to just enjoy them without shooting them, like the 7.35x51 I can’t find ammo for these days.

Yeah, we had a pretty big discussion on the merits of shooting the Vetterli a while back after I got one and asked about it. They were used, and used more than many give them credit for and were being used as late as WWII with Italian native troops in Africa. I also watched a vid of a guy shooting one. It's just one of those things where they might be fine until that last shot where the receiver just stretches too far, etc. A few here shoot them but make their own loads.

The Carcano action is equal to a large ring Mauser . The Carcano was not "designed" to shoot the 6.5mm . The 6.5mm round was picked to be used in the Carcano as it did what the Italians wanted at the time . The Carcano is a Manlicher action , made from very good steel . The same action the was used with many other cartridges . I have built many sporters in some high performance cartridges , never had a problem . The problem with the 8mm Carcanos is that they were built post war from used parts with very little quality control . If the rifle is put together correctly , it is fine for 8mm . Also the Vetterli's receiver will not stretch to failure . With rear lugs , the bolt will compress first . Either way the headspace will have increased to the point the rounds will start misfiring .

Interesting.

I am not a reloader. I have a 7.35x51mm Carcano that I can’t find reasonably priced ammo for it. Have you heard of anyone re-barreling these? What would be a good round to use? 7.62x51mm? I looked at 7.62x39mm but that looks more complex than just a barrel swap.

To change it from 7.35mm to anything else means a barrel change . The cost of that would buy a lot of 7.35mm ammo . The cases and bullets are readily obtainable . The 7.35mm is a good shooter with modern bullets . My pig buster Carcano shoots 275 grain bullets and has got over one ton of wild pigs so far .

7.35 is available and not that expensive. I'll have to dig up what I have and let you know the brand. I'm thinking it was around $20 a box. There's a company that is making them. Pretty sure it is Precision Cartridge Inc.

So far all I can find is 18rd for $40 and they only have two available.

Graf and Sons is where I bought it from. They are now out of stock and the price has gone up to $33 a box of 20. I bought two boxes and a set of dies in case I ever get around to shooting the two boxes.

I'd get on their waiting list. They only make these part time, moving to other calibers, etc.

I don’t reload. But thank you anyway.

A barrel change is not a big deal for me. I have a lathe, chamber reamers and barrel blanks are not expensive. I looked at 7.62x51 and 7.62x39. I like the little AK round, but it’s quite short in comparison to the 7.35 and 6.5x52.

Attachment 67776

7.62x51 would be pretty easy. Maybe I will get to it one day. Right now I have too many other projects I need to finish.

I have heard of people converting Cooey Carcanos to 7.62x39 by replacing the screw off barrel shank with a shot-out Lee Enfield one that has been cut down and threaded for the remains of the barrel stub.

Interesting.

I found this thread that has a picture of the Cooey conversion.

Milsurps Knowledge Library - Myth Busted - Proof Testing an Eaton Carcano Rifle