My New Berthier 1916 Carbine

[Aragorn243]

Today was the first gun show I've had an opportunity to go to in quite a while. I also had my wife's approval to spend up to $200 which while admittedly isn't a lot, I didn't have high expectations for the show and was ideally hoping to find a Carcano of some sort. (I also stuck an extra $100 in the wallet just in case).

Walked through the entire show. Not much catching my eye other than an overpriced Type I Japanese which is one I'm missing. It was not on my short list however so I spent a good bit of time going over it. He had it marked at $295, but after I looked at it a bit he said he'd take $220 out the door. I don't carry my books with me so I told him I'd think about it and went on the long walk to the car. Of course Peterson's doesn't show a photo of the entire rifle and they list a "good" rifle at $200 and I'm debating if this is "good" or not. I go back and look at it again, everything looks ok but not great. The bore is solid, not bright but not dark either and no pitting. Everything works. The stock joint was filled in at some point and the front band was loose. He drops it down to $200 and then I notice the bolt handle. It has a slight bend to it. So I take another long walk to the car and fortunately I took "Italy's Battle Rifle" along and it had full photos and data in it. The bolt handle isn't supposed to be bent. I figure it is original but someone bent down the last inch. I go back again and look the bolt over closely trying to determine the difficulty of bending it back. The is a notch on the bottom where the bend starts and I'm thinking this thing could snap off at that notch. So reluctantly I bow out. I'm feeling good though, figure I made a good decision, another rifle will come along so I head out to the car, just exit the show, walk down the hallway a bit and notice a guy behind me with two rifles. I turn and yell, "you buying or selling" His wife stops him and he comes back. He's selling, first rifle is a Berthier carbine, one that is on my short list. It looks pretty good too, no major rust, no major stock defects, number match on the barrel, trigger guard and stock but unfortunately not the bolt. I check the bore, it's SHINY and the lands and grooves are crisp at the muzzle. I've never seen one that wasn't dark and pitted. He wants $150 for it, so it came home with me.

I know that's a long story but it's just to emphasize that patience once again paid off. I could have left there with that Type I that I wouldn't have been happy with and the luck of the timing got me this one. 1 minute in either direction of me leaving that show and I
wouldn't have run into the guy.

The rifle operates very smoothly, appears to be complete in all major parts. It was manufactured in 1917 and this is stamped on the barrel under the hand guard and the stock impression which is there but a bit faint. I've done nothing to it other than wipe it with a bit of linseed oil. Will probably work on cleaning the rust off tomorrow. Won't take long, there isn't much. Under the hand guard is rust free but there is some old very minor pitting where the guard contacted the metal.

The one issue is that the cleaning rod is missing and the groove for it was neatly filled in with wood. Researching this seems to indicate it's relatively common with these so was probably arsenal done at some point as these were used by police units into the 1960's. No import mark on it.

It needs a sling, a new butt plate wouldn't hurt as this is the only beat up thing on it. And if the consensus is re-installing a cleaning rod, I need one of them too.

I've located the 5 shot clips and ammo for it so those are not an issue.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.