Carcano M91/38 Rloading Info On The 7.35x51 Cartridge

[sirdutch]

I've have had this Italian Carcano M91/38 chambered in 7.35x51 for a long time now. I'm retired now so I have the time to play around with this rifle. I've even got the very rare folding bayonet. I was told that it is more valuable than the rifle itself. The receiver is stamped with a SA (in a box) so it was a Finnish Military rifle. I won't go into the history of the rifle here. It's in great shape. I've got the enbloc clips (most are brass and a few are steel) for it. The rifle also came with some original postwar ammo with the corrosive Berdan primers. I would rather not use it if I didn't have to. It's may misfire but I could try it out. At least I have some that I can, more or less, confidently try out in it.

It also came with some Norma labeled brass loaded ammo in the clips Those cases cases are head stamped as 6.5x 54 MS. As I don't know who loaded this stuff, I'm hesitant to slide it into the breach and fire it. I would like to know if was reasonable to use fire formed 6.5x54 MS cases to make a batch of compatible 7.35x51 ammo. What do you folks think?

I've heard of fire forming 6.5x52 cases for the 7.35x51 but not the aforementioned 6.5x54 MS (Mannlicher–Schönauer). Perhaps I could be a little more trusting as all of this ammo came in a miitary grade 7.62 ammo can and not in a sack. However, I'm hoping to be retired without blowing my face off by taking unnecessary risks.

I've been looking for 7.35 Carcano brass to roll my own but that seems to be a non-starter. Even 6.5x52 Carcano brass is tough. Either Privi Partisan doesn't make it anymore for shipment to the the U.S. or they are not bothering making it. They have some available in Canada but they don't ship to the United States.

The only bullets I can find for it are lead ones from Steinel. (.302″ 150gr. RNFP) Seems a little wide in diameter but I'm assuming that is fine as they are lead. Steinel has always been a reliable company so I purchased some. Some ammo ready to go is available for a steep price per round. In addition to that, buying ammo in California is a pain as we have to go though an FFL to complete a purchase and not every FFL wants to bother with it. It's not like there are any California vendors stock it.

Anyway, I would appreciate any comments or insights on reloading the 7.35x51 round.

Thank you!

[junkbug]

I personally would not hesitate to use 6.5x54 Mannlicher cases as parent brass for the 6.5 Carcano or 7.35 Carcano. Look at cartridge drawings if you can find them. They are very close.

Years ago Norma made 6.5 Carcano ammo evidently from the same case stock as 6.5 Mannlicher. The only real problem was that the rims were a little thick. Some rifles didn’t close easily on them. But one the bolt closed, they worked fine.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

The 7.35mm is a true .30 cal. (.30" bore) so .302 should work fine. If you can find some 6.5 Carcano brass it is easily converted to 7.35mm simply by annealing it and running it into the 7.35mm sizing die to expand the neck to accept the 7.65mm bullet. The remainder of the case is the same.

Welcome to the Castboolits Forum! Glad to have you aboard.

DG

[sirdutch]

Thank you, DG. I bought the sizing/loading dies when I purchased the rifle over 15 years ago. I just didn't find the time to pursue it then. I'm waiting for notification for the 6.5x52 brass to come back in stock to fire from a few vendors. I feel better about using the Norma ammo made out of the 6.5x54 MS that I got with the rifle.

[backwoods_bob]

Buffalo bore has the correct brass in stock, according to their website.
https://www.buffaloarms.com/7-35-ita...-ppu73551.html

[sirdutch]

Thank you very much, backwoods_bob!!! I'm set! I did have a request for notification when it was back in stock on file with Buffalo Arms but your tip was timely. A lot of the time, by the time one gets notified, the stock is already depleted. Thanks again, Sir.