6.5 Carcano reloading

[bob4wd]

I haven't personally checked mine, but according to Richard Hobbs, the M38 is standard twist. Which,BTW, makes sense because the barrel is really too short for a gain twist rifling.
The kinda accurate one actually has a fairly decent bore, no pits and sharp rifling. The other two not so much! Your experience with the 92 and Trapdoor is not unusual, but a lttle atrange when you consider that they were both made for and used exclusively with lead bullets, back in the day.

[bob q]

I have a lot of Carcanos and most have mint bores , I had no trouble finding them when looking for good bores . Yes , with the deep rifling used on Carcanos , an undersized bullet can go down the bore "off-centered " . I have found the M-41's to usually be the best shooters , and the easiest to get to shoot well of the 6.5's . The combination of the "odd-ball" bore size , lack of a good modern bullet , deep rifling and gain twist make the 6.5's a fight to get to shoot really well . The 7.35's on the other hand seem to work well with little effort . There is nothing wrong with the design of the rifle , as I have several that have been rebarreled in other calibers [ 6mm ,.358 , 32 Win ] , and they shoot just as well as any other modern hunting rifle .

[vintage hunter]

Which,BTW, makes sense because the barrel is really too short for a gain twist rifling.

Obviously not as S&W uses gain twist in their 460 revolvers.

I have a lot of Carcanos and most have mint bores , I had no trouble finding them when looking for good bores .

Good for you, but that certainly has not been my experience.

I have several that have been rebarreled in other calibers [ 6mm ,.358 , 32 Win ] , and they shoot just as well as any other modern hunting rifle .

Those would be interesting to see.
How bout posting some photo's of your ''custom chambered'' Carcano's for us to see. Are repeaters or single shots? Through in a couple of the bolt face/extractor of the 32 Winchester conversion too while your at it. Be interesting to see how that one was done.

lack of a good modern bullet

What about the Hornady and PRVI offerings? Haven't been able to get hold of any PRVI yet but the Hornady's have certainly given my 6.5mm Carcano's a new lease on life.

[bob q]

They are all repeaters . Two work with the en=bloc clips and one has a 5-shot removable box mag . They are all chambered in wildcat cartridges , since they would not be clear to some , I just listed the calibers . The .268 Hornady bullet has some major issues , it was designed by someone who did not understand how the rifle worked , did not know there are

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:31 PM ----------

are three different Carcano bore sizes , did not have enough examples to work with . The bullet was made too large dia , that caused the jacket to tear in some rifles with tight lands , then the jacket was thickened to stop that, which caused it to stick in some rifles , over pressuring some rifles , blowing out cases . It is dangerous in 14 of my rifles , does not work well in about 30 , and is workable in 4 . It is not the best shooting bullet in any . For pig hunting the .358 Carcano is a favorite , 250 grain bullet , 3x9 scope . It was killed over 2 tons of pigs so far .

[vintage hunter]

I have a lot of Carcanos and most have mint bores ,

The .268 Hornady bullet has some major issues , it was designed by someone who did not understand how the rifle worked , did not know there are

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:31 PM ----------

are three different Carcano bore sizes , did not have enough examples to work with . The bullet was made too large dia , that caused the jacket to tear in some rifles with tight lands , then the jacket was thickened to stop that, which caused it to stick in some rifles , over pressuring some rifles , blowing out cases . It is dangerous in 14 of my rifles , does not work well in about 30 , and is workable in 4

Well bob, all I'm gonna say to that at this point is I reckon it's better to have two with so-so bores that they work in rather than 44 with mostly mint bores that they don't.

[bob q]

Well some people just have a different opinion of what is " working well" , or have fired enough rounds through guns to see a pattern . After about 4000 rounds through 48 Carcanos, I saw the problems . I only had real problems in less than half the rifles . It is tight lands that cause the problems , worn bores will be less prone to have them . The Hornady bullet itself is ok , just not for Carcanos . It shoots great in my Type -30's and early Type -38 Arisakas .

[vintage hunter]

After about 4000 rounds through 48 Carcanos, I saw the problems .

Only 4000? You learn quick grasshopper......

[bob q]

While I was trying to add to the discussion , using years of shooting tests , all you have is a smart mouth comment ?

[vintage hunter]

all you have is a smart mouth comment ?

I can be brutally honest and say what's really on my mind if you prefer......

[CINDERS]

You know I think Hornady took on board what was the go with the Carcano rifles as they do have a packet for Carcano's only packet in .268" RN 160gn, sometimes issues are not quite obvious to us and require further investigation good luck hope it sorts for you