Carcano 6.5X52 for match

[jseines]

Is there a record of a Carcano 6.5x52 rifle competed in a Vintage Military Rifle match...if so, what was the rifle used and any information on load data, etc...Thanks for a great forum...John

[Aragorn243]

Someone has probably done it. But as they are neither one of the most desirable or accurate of military rifles, I doubt they performed very well. A 91 or a 41 long rifle might do OK but the others sights are horrendous.

[bob q]

I ran military rifle matches at my range every week for about 15 years . The 6.5mm Carcano's were not quite competitive with most of the other rifles in the bench rest matches . Two 5-shot 100 yard targets . I was a top finisher with most other rifles and had a large Carcano collection to pick from . I [ and other top shooters ] had no problem with 1 to 1.5 inch 5-shot groups with scores of 50 2 / 3 x targets . I tried hard but never could do better than about 2.5 groups and 47 / 48 scores . So in a match with top scores being a 100 6x total , a 95 1 x did not cut it . Now in rapid fire matches [ with larger targets ] the Carcano did very well and was quick to reload and the low recoil kept on target . The T-99 was in the same boat [ sight problem mainly ] and the Enfield was the overall worst for bench accuracy . So far off from the others [ and we shot all type rifles ] that the only was we could get people to shoot theirs was in an Enfield only match . Now after years of shooting every weekend our bar was really high , a 2.5 group may work for what you are doing .

[jseines]

Thanks Bob for the input...for the 6.5 what bullet did you use...bullet diameter, I'm hearing, is very important...

[bob q]

With my large collection I picked from the best shooters and they had groove sizes around .266 / 7 . The best bullet was the Hornady .264 160 RN . The .268 bullets caused too many problems . My three best shooters were 1. M-41 , 2. M-91 LR , 3. M-38 Cav carbine [ of all things ] . Most of my 7.35 rifles shot better than the 6.5 mm's . I sure wish they had made a M-41 in 7.35 mm . This was from about a 40 rifle sample .