ITALIAN CARCANO MODEL 1938



This is my Italian Carcano M38. I think these rifles are very under rated. Because of the high cost of ammo though, I started handloading for it. It is SA-marked (Suomen Armeija - Finnish Army), 1939 M38 in original 7.35mm made at Terni.

About 94,500 Model 1938 Carcano Carbines were sent to Finland. These were in the original 7.35mm caliber. The Model 38 is an updated Model 1891 designed to use the 7.35x52 cartridge. When Italy ran into supply problems they reverted back to the Model 91's military cartridge and started producing the Model 38 for the 6.5x52 cartridge.

The M38 has a mannlicher type magazine and uses clips loaded inside the magazine and ejected when empty from a hole in the bottom of the magazine. There's a bayonet bar where there is a recess in the stock were the bayonet blade rests when it is folded. The rear sight is fixed. Collectors can find SA-marked bayonets and slings for these.

There is a Roman numeral mark which indicates the Facsist year (year of Mussolini’s rule) and year of manufacture. Mine was made at the Terni factory in 1939. It has a Roman numeral XVII which means that it was made in the 17th year of Mussolini.

As for ammo, I bought a lot of old 1939 ammo headstamped SMI 939, TM B-39, CA B-39. A little on the expensive side and I haven't used them yet since they seem a bit too antiquated for safe use today. So I have resorted to handloading since I agree that modern factory loads are expensive.

The old ammo have common markings for italian made 7,35 ammo:

SMI Societa Metallurgica Italiana of Campo Tizzoro (near Florence)

TM B-39 Pirotechnia Bologna, Inspector "TM" ( Chief Inspector of Ammunition of Bologna Army Ammunition factory, name "M...T..." ( initals reversed in Italian, surname first))

CA B-39 as above, but new inspector arrived later in 1939, Alfredo Cavalli, lasted till 1944,when plant was occupied by Allies in late 1944. Plant never re-opened after WW II, used as an Army Store till the 1980s, then demolished and redeveloped as residential property.

M38 ammo was only made from late 1938 to early 1940, and most of the production was shipped to Finland during WW II. That's why there is such a high survival rate of ammo and complete packets. The Finns did break down a lot of it to make 7,62x39 Full-length Blanks back in the 1960s, but several million rounds were sold through Interarms into the USA, but with very few rifles to shoot it with ( relatively speaking).

Primer quality has a away of going "off" after 70 odd years, especially in Italian made ammo. 7,35 ammo is now (or should be) in the realm of Collectability. Increasing rarity, only about 2 years actual production over all, and small variety of headstamps known ( SMI, and Bologna; have not seen any BPD or Capua). BTW, Bologna was also the Italian Army's Ammo research and development plant, where the 7,35 cartridge was developed (1937) and first produced in 1938.

Occasionally, you'll see repackaged 7,35 Carcano for Finnish rear guard and artillery troops. They could come in wedge shaped boxes contaning 3 loaded clips each, boxes marked 7.35 KIV. I have a few that are marked "A0150" "18KPL" "O-pi sit." "KeskusV5 030345 VR" "Uudelleen pakattu" indicating a repackage date of March 3, 1945.

As a price reference, I purchased my SA-marked M38 for $50. But Manowar's Firearm Values lists the Carcano M1938 7.35mm SA-marked as rare but the values do not seem to reflect it. For a rifle like this in Very Good to Excellent condition you would expect to pay $110 to $270. Yes, folding bayonets for the M38 seem to be more expensive then the rifles themselves. I haven't been able to find an SA-marked sling as of yet. Regardless of collectability, I really enjoy shooting mine. I think they are very underated rifles and can be quite accurate too.

And as a side note, the most famous Carcano Model 38 was the one allegedly used by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963 to assassinate President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Just had to mention this. It is a M91/38 short rifle with the serial number C2766, produced in 1940 in the Terni Arsenal, and chambered for the 6.5x52 Carcano.

Italian Carcano M38