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gyvel · April 19, 2012, 10:15 PM

There is no deal with Carcanos.

Salvatore Carcano designed that gun using innovations from some of the best rifles of the day, ca. 1890. The rifle was officially adopted in 1891 and served well until 1945 as a military rifle, and for some decades after WWII as a police weapon in Italy.

Probably the rifles you saw in Cabela's were surplus rifles from Finland who used them with good effect against the Russians in the Winter and Continuation Wars. Did they have the letters "SA" inside a rectangular box with rounded corners?

It's also possible, since you say they looked to have "cut down" stocks, that they were 1891 "Moschetto" models that used a half stock and a folding spike bayonet ala SKS. These were used by Italian police well into the 1960s, at least.

Interestingly enough, it is stated that many privately held weapons used in the recent Libyan Civil War were Carcanos.

Granted, they aren't the smoothest operating rifle in the world, but they are made of good steels and were suitably adequate for the purpose intended.

April 19, 2012, 10:15 PM	#6
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 7,172	There is no deal with Carcanos. Salvatore Carcano designed that gun using innovations from some of the best rifles of the day, ca. 1890. The rifle was officially adopted in 1891 and served well until 1945 as a military rifle, and for some decades after WWII as a police weapon in Italy. Probably the rifles you saw in Cabela's were surplus rifles from Finland who used them with good effect against the Russians in the Winter and Continuation Wars. Did they have the letters "SA" inside a rectangular box with rounded corners? It's also possible, since you say they looked to have "cut down" stocks, that they were 1891 "Moschetto" models that used a half stock and a folding spike bayonet ala SKS. These were used by Italian police well into the 1960s, at least. Interestingly enough, it is stated that many privately held weapons used in the recent Libyan Civil War were Carcanos. Granted, they aren't the smoothest operating rifle in the world, but they are made of good steels and were suitably adequate for the purpose intended.