[bandook]

I bought an 1891 Carcano at a car show today. I had hoped to add it to my WW1 collection. It has Torre Annuziata and 1898 on the barrel and is in decent shape. The barrel number has been re-stamped on the stock, and the stock is also marked FAT 1947, so it has obviously been refurbished. I noticed in googling the Carcano that a prominent on-line seller has several similar rifles for sale, which are also antiques, but he claims were refurbished after the second world war. This one bears no import stamp, but maybe does not need one.
Why did the Italian arsenals (I suppose FAT stands for Terni) refurbish these rifles. Who was the customer? I would have thought that the 1891 would have been way obsolete by 1947.
Thanks for any info.

 

[graybeard]

They sell guns at car shows in Florida?

 

[bandook]

They sell guns at car shows in Florida?

You can usually find quite a few at some, but not all car shows. Some probably have a policy against it. Mostly junk or low value guns, but not always.

 

[5thDragoons]

The rifles were refurbed for export to the American market. Also, an antique barrel date doesn't positively mean the rifle is an antique. The various arsenals made replacement barrels. These had the arsenal name and the year made stamped on the proper barrel flat. The serial number was left blank. When a worn barrel was replaced, the old serial number was stamped onto the new barrel.

It could be an antique - you will have to pull the barreled action from the stock and check the date found on the bottom of the receiver ring. Might be something like 3/17 for March, 1917, of course. Might be the same year the barrel shows. SW

 

[bandook]

The rifles were refurbed for export to the American market. Also, an antique barrel date doesn't positively mean the rifle is an antique. The various arsenals made replacement barrels. These had the arsenal name and the year made stamped on the proper barrel flat. The serial number was left blank. When a worn barrel was replaced, the old serial number was stamped onto the new barrel.

It could be an antique - you will have to pull the barreled action from the stock and check the date found on the bottom of the receiver ring. Might be something like 3/17 for March, 1917, of course. Might be the same year the barrel shows. SW

Thanks for the response.
There is no date on the bottom of the receiver ring. There are two four digit numbers which differ from the serial number visible on the top of the barrel, but they are the same between themselves. One is on the barrel, the other on the receiver, either side of the witness mark that shows alignment. For what it is worth, they were obviously done with the same number stamps. There are various crowns stamped on the receiver,top and bottom, along with some letters.
As for it being an antique, I personally don't care, as I bought it as an example of the 1891 to display with my other WW1 items. Of course, it is refurbished, with parts replaced, and some sort of black finish applied (except to the barrel) and is generally only WW1 in design. Amazing that they were destined for the American market....
The fact that the rifling is quite good in the barrel certainly supports it being a replacement. It does not look worn. Of course, the receiver-barrel combination could simply have escaped use.
Again, thanks.

 

[car99]

I just bought a M-91 from a board member, and asked the question about blued bolts in the post below. I should have googled Carcano first because today I learned that the Italians put many rifles of all types through a rebuild program that kept people employed during the lean post war years. I think this is when the rifle I have received a new stock and black paint on the receiver. Probably allot of the M-91 beaters I've seen never went through the rearsenal program.

 

[bandook]

I just bought a M-91 from a board member, and asked the question about blued bolts in the post below. I should have googled Carcano first because today I learned that the Italians put many rifles of all types through a rebuild program that kept people employed during the lean post war years. I think this is when the rifle I have received a new stock and black paint on the receiver. Probably allot of the M-91 beaters I've seen never went through the rearsenal program.

From info I have been able to glean elsewhere, the bolt in mine is the early type and definitely was not refinished. I imagine the make-work program, if that was what it was, just produced rifles that were considered operational and (hopefully) safe. The parts used were evidently an assortment.