is the Carcano crap?

[Alpo]

It's November. Kennedy was just shot. So like every year this time, the conspiracy theorists come out and explain why Oswald couldn't have done it by himself.

 

One of the reasons is that the Carcano is a piece of crap. So obviously he could not have made the shots.

 

It seems to me that if I was in charge of supplying my country's military with a firearm, I would try to get the best possible firearm.

 

Sometimes it doesn't work. The Nambu pistol leaps quickly to mind. Sometimes the person in charge of procurement has a friend or relative with a gun for sale. The Schofield leaps quickly to mind.

 

But it seems that as a general rule military firearms are pretty good.

 

Why has the Carcano got such a lousy reputation? Is it really crap? I don't think I've even seen one for real let alone handled one.

 

Anyone have a genuine opinion? As opposed to repeating what you've heard on the internet?

[DeaconKC]

The Carcano is a fine rifle. Most models had excellent, easy to use sights. However, the bore diameter is a few thousandths larger then standard 6.5s, so you have to be picky on ammo. With good ammo, it will shoot with any other surplus, iron sighted rifle.

[Chantry]

I haven't fired or handled one, but I doubt it was as crappy as it's reputation.  I would consider it acceptable for use for what was, in many respects, a rifle used by a second tier military chambered in an uncommon caliber.  That it was a really inexpensive surplus military rifle probably didn't help

 

Keep in mind, there would have been a lot of WWII & Korea veterans that were used to the Garand, BAR and M-1 Carbine and I don't think the Carcano compares well to any of those rifles.

Edited November 27, 2025 by Chantry

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

14 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

The Carcano is a fine rifle. Most models had excellent, easy to use sights. However, the bore diameter is a few thousandths larger then standard 6.5s, so you have to be picky on ammo. With good ammo, it will shoot with any other surplus, iron sighted rifle.

Mostly right.  Like anything else there were exceptions.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

most 6.5 mm use a .264 bullet 

 

the Carcano has a .268 bore 

 

loaded with the proper bullet , it is capable of decent accuracy 

 

  CB 

[Trailrider #896]

I recall seeing a simulation of the assassination by an expert rifleman, using a Carcano. Conspiracy theorists notwithstanding, the conclusion was that Oswald could have easily fired the shots at the short range. Another theory by a gun writer (I can't recall who, but the article was published in one gun magazine) wrote about a particular bullet called (IIRC) called a matrigliata, which had three projectiles that might have caused some of the observed phenomena

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

I can tell you this - one of our local shooting BAMM (Bolt Action Military Matches); the club president was a die hard Italian Carcano fan with extensive collection.

 

He has held a Kennedy match a couple times with elevations, target distances and timing restraints to mimic the Dallas shooting.

 

I can, to this day, remember watching him clean the targets, well within the time allotted, while he's yelling,

"Yeah, they claimed the Carcano couldn't do this. 

They claimed it was too inaccurate. 

They claimed it was too stiff and the sights were too poor. 

They were wrong."

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

You also need to remember, Oswald was a Marine.

[watab kid]

this is one ive never dabbled in , but i have my reservations in the kennedy assassination , like many ive always felt there were questions unanswered and things unexplained , seemed like they just wanted to wash the slate clean and carry on like it didn't happen  , the rifle itself never interested me as much as if the shooter was capable of the shot , 

 

id not turn an example of the rifle away [id have oito research it a bit] but ill not seek one out , im a fan of Enfield's and Springfield's that was my area of interest 

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I don't know the truth about this. But there's been discussion about the mounting of the scope and how the base had to be shimmed to get the gun sighted in properly. There supposedly were claims that in checking the rifle that the scope was loose and had possibly been removed before testing. And questions about it be reinstalled on the rifle. Whether this has any factual basis or been proven wrong, I don't know.

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

The first rifle that was hauled out and shown to the camaras , was some sort of MAUSER not a Carcano 

 

there are a lot things that do not make sense to me , as to this event 

 

  CB 

[Dutch Coroner]

IMO, the Schofield is not crappy.  🙂

[Alpo]

4 hours ago, Dutch Coroner said:

IMO, the Schofield is not crappy.  🙂

Actually I did not say the Schofield was crappy. I said that the reason the Schofield was accepted by the military was not because it was the best gun available, but because Captain Schofield had a relative on the gun procurement board.

[watab kid]

interesting thought , wonder how many adoptions were because of nepotism ? 

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

On 11/28/2025 at 10:26 PM, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said:

I don't know the truth about this. But there's been discussion about the mounting of the scope and how the base had to be shimmed to get the gun sighted in properly. There supposedly were claims that in checking the rifle that the scope was loose and had possibly been removed before testing. And questions about it be reinstalled on the rifle. Whether this has any factual basis or been proven wrong, I don't know.

I've read that the scope was for a .22 rifle. The seller put these scopes on to make them look like a better deal to buyers, not because they were any good, remember these were sold mail order. The Carcano is fed by a enblock clip, so the scope can't be over the bolt, it was a side mount. You could see, and use, the iron sights.  I've been told the car was only going about 10MPH. If you can't hit a deer in a fast walk past your tree stand you are probably not an ex marine.

Some of the Carcanos had gain twist rifling, and when the barrel was cut shorter it sent the bullets out at the wrong twist rates. Some of their "trash" reputation could stem from that.