358 win in a carcano?

[justashooter]

still trying to find a cheap factory chambered barrel in 35 remington for another carcano conversion, but have decided to open the search up to 358 win. changing the feed system to a box magazine of 788 typs negates feeding issues, and turning the rims 20 thou on lathe rebates them enuf to accept on the original bolt face, but what about pressures? phil sharpe reports destructive testing of ww2 bolt guns and remarks that the carcano was weaker than only the arisaka, stronger than a mauser or springfield. anybody else wonder if this is true?
181694181695
another possibility would be 375 win? a rimmed case with base dimensions similar to 30-30, but strait walled, rims could be turned to "semi-rimless profile" like 220 swift to fit the bolt. question is, what magazine to feed such cartridges, assuming 4-5 round box mag configuration? would lose the potential use of pistol bullets for cheap plinking rounds in 375, but htink of the potential at 52KSI or so...

[JeffinNZ]

Sounds like a kind of expensive conversion of a Carcano. There is a lot to be said for keeping the head size the same. Can you use a .358 barrel and have the chamber end lopped off and rechambered?

[bruce drake]

Buy one of the carcanos that were rebarreled to 8mm by the Germans in WW2. The bolt is all setup for the .473 case head and you'd just need a rethreaded 358 Win barrel to spin on.

This of course assumes that you don't mind using the mannlicher clips like the 8mm mauser converted rifles.

Bruce

[JeffinNZ]

Now THAT is thinking Bruce. Good idea.

[bruce drake]

I occasionally have a few....

[justashooter]

I occasionally have a few....

good idea, but they are usually pricey, and i am playing with carcanos now because they are nearly free. good solid truck guns for cheap that are accurate and safe, in interesting calibers not normally available...

anyhoo, numrich has marlin barrels in either 356 win or 375 win, so it's just a matter of choice. the 356 barrel could be used with 358 cases and 788 magazines, and the bolt face could be opened up 20 thousandths either by hand or on lathe.

the 375 barrel could be used with savage 340 magazines for 30-30, but adjusting the bolt face for a .506 rim is just too much, so i would end up turning rims to .455 or so. could be done on lathe, or by anyone with a drill press. just wonder if i would have to adjust the feed lips of the 340 magazine to get it to control the reduced rim diameter.

the objective is to make junk guns into something appealing to the average bear for less than $150. you can do that when you pay $50 for a donor gun and $50 for a barrel and $30 for a magazine...

[GT27]

Buy them now while you can,they are drying up quick, and the parts ,according to Sarco Inc.!

[jonk]

I wouldn't do it personally. While the Carcano is strong enough, it has fairly poor gas venting, and if something did let go it would all end up in the shooter's face. The .358 Winchester operates well above the standard 6.5 or 7.35 loadings pressure wise, and though the Carcano is misaligned as weak and dangerous, it just seems to be a bit much to me.

Of course if you only used mild cast bullet loads, that all goes out the door.

[DCM]

Here is a no BS article about the Carcano that far too few people have read written by Dave Emary, of Hornady. He is a ballistition and all out gun enthusiast. It would do a lot of people good to read what he has to say about the Carcano. http://personal.stevens.edu/~gliberat/carcano/emary.html A bit of reading but well worth it for anyone interested in the carcano.

I live 1/3 of a country away from him and found many of the same FACTS about these rifles as he did before I ever read his article. His credentials are far better than mine though.

I do have things I do not like about the rifle such as the manual safety, but it is a solid rifle.

[Ed in North Texas]

Here is a no BS article about the Carcano that far too few people have read written by Dave Emary, of Hornady. He is a ballistition and all out gun enthusiast. It would do a lot of people good to read what he has to say about the Carcano. http://personal.stevens.edu/~gliberat/carcano/emary.html A bit of reading but well worth it for anyone interested in the carcano.

I live 1/3 of a country away from him and found many of the same FACTS about these rifles as he did before I ever read his article. His credentials are far better than mine though.

I do have things I do not like about the rifle such as the manual safety, but it is a solid rifle.

Very good article. I've only recently come to really appreciate the 6.5s (other than the Swede). I have to point out that he left the Arisaka out of the list of 6.5s with larger groove sized barrels (.267 to .268, some late war examples might run as large as .269).

Ed

[mtnman31]

Here is a no BS article about the Carcano that far too few people have read written by Dave Emary, of Hornady. He is a ballistition and all out gun enthusiast. It would do a lot of people good to read what he has to say about the Carcano. http://personal.stevens.edu/~gliberat/carcano/emary.html A bit of reading but well worth it for anyone interested in the carcano.


Good article. I'm sold and I need to get a Carcano. Since I already have the reloading supplies, it only makes sense that I get myself a Carcano and put the reloading equipment to use.

I currently have a Carcano, but it isn't safe to shoot. Mine is an older Vetterli (1870) converted to 6.5. After I got the rifle and cleaned it off, I fired three rounds and called it quits. With mild loads the brass was bulging out on one side just above the case head. It made opening the bolt and extraction a challenge. Turns out that the chamber is jacked up and I'm not comfortable shooting it. The three rounds hit where I aimed and it was disappointing to find the buggered chamber. The rifle is old enough that fixing the chamber is not economically smart. It is going to end up as my first wall-hanger rifle.