So, a while ago I bought this old Carcano M38, circa 1940, for $75 bucks. It was rusty, had splits and cracks in the stock, the bolt handle had been… bubba’d to say the least. I bought it with the intent of restoring it, and maybe making an Oswald replica out of it since it was the same year and manufactured date as the rifle Oswald used. But the stock was in such bad shape I ended up refinishing it and the project turned into restore it and just make it look nice. I never got passed refinishing the stock before it got put on the back burner for other stuff. Then the divorce happened and most of my guns and reloading stuff got sold off. Everything else got thrown in boxes and hampers and thrown in storage. Well, my life is starting to settle down, and while I’m financially destitute at the current moment it’s looking like that might be seeing a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel and am wanting to reinvest in some reloading equip. So I went through my boxes and came back upon this old rifle… I never fully learned to reload… only did a lot of de-priming and brass cleaning… but the wheels got turning and I decided that this would be a great rifle to learn the mechanics behind working up a load. So I’m back to refinishing and cleaning it back up. I decided to turn it into a sporter rifle since it’s already so far from its original configuration and missing several parts like the hand guard. Maybe eventually I’ll get a new barrel made for it and custom modify the sights to make a reasonable scout rifle out of it, but for now she’ll just be my reloading Guinea pig.
Rebuilding a 6.5x52 for reloading practice
- Thread starter Carcanobrat
- Start date
I’m counting on it
So sorry to read that.
Yeah it sucks. Pretty much just left with a handful of gun projects that just wouldn’t sell. But I am determined to get back up on that horse. Just need to find a press powder measure and priming tool absurdly inexpensively. But with enough searching around, I’m sure I can find something at some point.
Dude that’s really awesome of you. I really really appreciate it.
I load for about 5 Carcani. Their bores are .268 in diameter. Modern 6.5s are .264. If your rifle isn’t shot all to hell a .264 will print ok on paper at 50-100 yards.
I like slower burning powders that fill up most the case in the carcano. I’ve had luck with IMR 4831. However faster burning powders can give good results like IMR 4064 and H4895.
Lots of folks will shoot over sized cast bullets out of theirs, any bullet .269+ will work excellent. Granted you use a fast pistol/ shot gun powder to propel the bullet. Powders like red dot, unique and alliant 2400 work excellent.
Research Ed Harris “The Load” he can get you started in the right direction when it comes to cast bullets and reduced loads in military cartridges.
Finally, if .264 jacketed projectiles group like a shot gun try PPU .268 bullets, I believe they offer 139gr in that diameter. They should group tighter, I’ve noticed in my tests that the .267 bullets have less fliers. Stay away from the .268 Hornady FMJ bullets as they are discontinued due to them having to long of a bearing surface, The gain twist rifling in the carcano wasn’t meant for a perfectly sized jacketed bullet. My pulled surplus bullets all measure .266 and their base expands into the grooves upon firing, similar to a gas check.
I like slower burning powders that fill up most the case in the carcano. I’ve had luck with IMR 4831. However faster burning powders can give good results like IMR 4064 and H4895.
Lots of folks will shoot over sized cast bullets out of theirs, any bullet .269+ will work excellent. Granted you use a fast pistol/ shot gun powder to propel the bullet. Powders like red dot, unique and alliant 2400 work excellent.
Research Ed Harris “The Load” he can get you started in the right direction when it comes to cast bullets and reduced loads in military cartridges.
Finally, if .264 jacketed projectiles group like a shot gun try PPU .268 bullets, I believe they offer 139gr in that diameter. They should group tighter, I’ve noticed in my tests that the .267 bullets have less fliers. Stay away from the .268 Hornady FMJ bullets as they are discontinued due to them having to long of a bearing surface, The gain twist rifling in the carcano wasn’t meant for a perfectly sized jacketed bullet. My pulled surplus bullets all measure .266 and their base expands into the grooves upon firing, similar to a gas check.
That is something I didn’t know. About the military bullet. I didn’t know the Hornady bullets were considered bad either. Thanks for all the information and pointing me in the Ed Harris direction. I’ll definitely look into that.
In other news, I made some more progress with the stock last night sanded the clear coat I applied with 800 grit sand paper. Went through the clear in a couple of spots and had to reapply the stain. She should be ready for another go of clear coat by now. Nothing worth photographing as of yet.
Got 8 new coats of clear on this morning and I cleaned and sanded the snot out of the receiver/barrel. Going to tape up the receiver and hit it with some engine primer and then flat black engine paint. Such has held up well for me before on semi autos, so I don’t think it will be a problem here.
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That looks alright, engine paint works fine on guns, high temp BBQ grill paint work good too. I have a carcano in 7.62x39 that is painted with bbq grill paint lol.
Yes the Hornady .268 rounds work great for some or have horrible pressure signs for others. I’ve seen stocks split because of them and people get cut up real bad.
Cast bullets would be my go.
Yes the Hornady .268 rounds work great for some or have horrible pressure signs for others. I’ve seen stocks split because of them and people get cut up real bad.
Cast bullets would be my go.
Sounds good to me… where can I get them? And may I PM you about the 7.62x39 conversation? I’ve wanted to do this to a Carcano since I am an SKS fanatic and wanted a bolt gun in the same round which seems almost impossible, but I keep getting chased away from the idea.
I wet sanded the stock to 1000 grit and put 7 more coats of clear on it. Going straight to 2000 grit tonight. Then polishing out to 3000 after she sits for a bit.
Got primer on the action and barrel and trigger, and I got three coats of flat black on the trigger.
Got primer on the action and barrel and trigger, and I got three coats of flat black on the trigger.
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Sure you can PM.
Got the action and barrel painted. Came out beautifully. Got the trigger guard started, but I had a mishap and walked into it while it was still wet... I still have spots I need to tape off and paint when I take the tape off, so it's not the end of the world. It just sucks. And I pulled my next project out and am getting a very minor head start by working on the stock. But I should be done with the carcano by the end of the week. Then I can double down on the mosin. Now i just need an Arisaka so I can round out the three "worst" rifle of WWII, lmao. I do miss my old 7.7. Might try to find an old sporter for cheap in the future...
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Got the stock sanded down to 1500 grit. Still a few low spots I want to iron out and o get a little swelling going on in the rear of the stock from the wet sanding, as well as a couple of tiny spots of cut through to the wood. So I’m going to let it sit for a while and let that swelling do what it does. Then I’ll sand it out, touch up the stain and declare the whole stock. I tried to touch up the trigger housing but I’m not happy with it. Going to completely strip that side and start over. In other news the stuff soaking in MEK got super clean. Took them out and sanded all the bits to get the surface rust and crud off and now I got them on a 24 hours soak in Osphoric Acid. That will etch out any final impurities and bring them to a paint ready surface.
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After an over night soak in some Ospho this is what stuff looks like. Going to give it a quick light scrub with a nylon brush and get some pain on these bad boys today. The clips were only soaked in alcohol for a general clean. They’re going to get tumbled in the near future. But the alcohol got all the CLP and green corrosion off and other grime off.
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Just realized I never showed you guys the bubba’d bolt handle. They obviously wanted it to be a turn down, and I’ll give bubba credit where credit is due… the weld is strong and it’s turned down… it’s just ugly as hell and I’m going to change it…eventually. Not in the immediate scope.
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