Krieghoff 8mm Mauser Carcano for the Volkssturm

[@oelbaron5772]

Lets call it the "KARcano"

[@khaelamensha3624]

Very nice one! 🏆

[@aarotron2189]

*Badum tsssss*

[@Gameprojordan]

Carmauso

[@dusk6159]

Italy and Germany just keep linking up in every way lol

[@emilg1000]

Si, Si! AAt's Italian!

[@danieljob3184]

If during the war they rush produced those blocks out of untreated softwood, it would explain where they went! Such wood rapidly decays to a powdery mess in about 3 decades, even when kept in a cool, dry environment.

[@Youcannotfalter]

Exactly what the case is.

[@teaser6089]

I mean that would make sense, since 1: It's cheap, 2: Takes less time to produce. So yeah

[@robg9236]

My house is framed with untreated softwood, and it's still standing after about 140 years

[@hendriktonisson2915]

There's a video on KZbin by a guy named John Harrison "Modified enbloc clips for M38 Carcano in 8mm Mauser" that shows a modified enbloc clip for the 8mm Mauser cartridge that actually works with the Carcano rifle.

[@grapeapetape9132]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJLJqXpvf9SUa6c Here's a link for those too lazy to search for it themselves. Interesting stuff!

[@alifr4088]

@@grapeapetape9132 thanks!

[@unclejustin7267]

I have one and normal K98 mauser stripper clips work as well.

[@TeamPaulie2520]

@@unclejustin7267 How???

[@hendriktonisson2915]

@@unclejustin7267 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqaWe4erfLGNg5I Does your Carcano that uses the stripper clips have a system similar to the Yugoslav Mannlicher M.95M (a post-WW1 8mm Mauser conversion) where stripper clip guide is cut into the receiver and an enbloc clip permanently placed in the gun to give it feed lips?

[@xy7582]

My granddad was part of Volkssturm in early '45. Lucky for him (and for me), their group leader told them to lay down their guns because he knew it was hopeless.

[@TheRenterGuy]

Double lucky, most Russians at the time didn't care much for surrender. Glad you exist man. 👍

[@MikeStubbsRace]

Thank You for sharing your story.

[@McGovern1981]

Smart leader!

[@WhattAreYouSaying]

That's a great story, it really shows how lucky we are to be alive. I wouldn't be here either if it was not for WW2. Me and my family are from northern Norway. In WW2 my grandfather had to move to Sweden because he did something the Germans would not like. In Sweden he met my grandmother. They both moved back to Norway after the war and got married. In 1955 they got a baby that now is my mother.

[@Yumao420]

In my case I exist because of WWI. My great-grandpa was a Jewish levy in the Austrian army and one day he got so done with shellshock that one very early morning he simply jumped out of his trench hoping to be shot. It didn't happen because he wasn't at a massive frontline but a small choke point in a forested valley. He simply wasn't seen. He walked forward, crawled under the barbed wire, jumped in the french trench and out for then to keep walking. And walking. And walking. He hid in the woods, stealing from villagers and highwaymen to survive as well as hunting varmint. He hid and walked until he got to the coast and then followed it. He was never seen (or at least caught) until one day when he was drinking from a washer (structure building around a fountain to ease doing laundry) when a group of girls approached and once again he hid. But he noticed that they weren't speaking French. He was in North Western Spain and one of those same girls became my great-grandmother. Also because he was living in Spain (were no records of him being Jewish existed) at the time, he got away from the Holocaust.

[@ClarenceCochran-ne7du]

By SAAMI standards, 6.5 Carcano has a higher chamber pressure (41,340 psi) than 8mm Mauser (35,000 psi). C.I.P. didn't become the European standard until 1969. So the 6.5 Carcano actions and barrels had been proofed to a higher pressure even before the conversions. So it's not really surprising there's no reports of catastrophic failures after the conversion. The Carcanos had proven themselves sturdy enough in their original chambering. 6,340 psi more than the 35,000 8mm Mauser needed. That's a significant strength factor I'd be willing to bet the armorer who said lets bore them out thought about

[@StrappedorClapped]

This is actually my buddies gun that he sent overto Ian. We found it in a little shop located in Maryland. He was instantly in love. It’s an awesome gun!

[@shaiq-nbaiq1826]

Cool

[@TheNecromPlay]

"TurtleFarts420" lol

[@socialmarauder]

Uh, actually, it belongs to my uncle who works at Nintendo

[@StrappedorClapped]

@@socialmarauder and your uncle has a mangina

[@willsnyder5692]

I live in md

[@nyantathecollector]

we use a lot of those during hystorical matches here in italy, completely safe (obv if in good conditions)

[@mrkeogh]

You know the Germans are in trouble when they aren't using cold hammer forged barrels 😬 And it's marked HK, no less...

[@randymagnum143]

I don't understand the fetish with chf barrels. They are the fastest, cheapest way to manufacture a barrel in scale. Chf barrels are the 3rd most accurate method of barrel making available.

[@justinlance4174]

@@randymagnum143 because they last much longer. Weatherby was limited in magnum developing until chf barrels became common enough for sporting rifles. A cut rifling will loose accuracy after 10000rnds. Were a chf will get 20000. Therefore the more accurate barrel will be less accurate than a chf barrel at 15000rnds. That's why I prefer chrome lined. Or chf barrels. And really they are just as accurate today

[@randymagnum143]

@@justinlance4174 in powerful rifles where accuracy is paramount, 1500 rounds is a pretty good barrel life. Chf is ok in most respects, and it's a tradeoff, if you're firing full auto, a chrome lined chf is the way to go. If you're trying to shoot tighter groups than the next guy, it is not.

[@randymagnum143]

@@justinlance4174 who is using chf barrels in top level precision rifle competition?

[@randymagnum143]

@@justinlance4174 weatherby (and barrel life) was as limited as much by lack of suitable burn rate powders as by barrel material. Both are much improved in the last 30 years.

[@ZGryphon]

It never registered with me before now that _Krieghoff_ was actually the name of a person. Talk about nominative determinism. "Well, my name is Warhope, I guess I might as well start a military armaments company."

[@mikemoore4033]

Imagine being a 60yr old German guy dragooned into the Landsturm and handed a single shot gun and told to fight Red Army troops with vastly superior firepower. Small wonder most of them just went home.

[@DOMINIK99013]

This may be better than a three-shot revolver that someone else had.

[@nobodynoname6062]

In the East, the Volkssturm was somewhat effective. Look it up. But in the West, most Volkssturm members surrendered quite quickly.

[@hugebartlett1884]

And too many of them ended up hung from lamp posts,by the rabid Hitler Youth maniacs.

[@sergeireischel1610]

@@nobodynoname6062 That's a wery doubtful "somewhat" we're talking about - demotivated civilian kids and their grandpas with armament and training next to none vs a 1945 Red Army

[@frankmueller2781]

@@sergeireischel1610 O.K, so demotivated kid/grandpa, who are you going to fight/run from, and who are you going to surrender to? The Soviets, who'd already proven to be savages, or the western allies who had a reputation for at least humane behavior?

[@aaroncfriedman]

Hey Ian, I really love this episode. When Ed hear about captured weapons in general history shows, the details of how such a thing are accomplished are usually missed. You definitely achieve bringing up the forgotten parts of history. Do you have / Can you create a playlist of WW2 firearms? It would be a very useful supplemental to any detailed history course. Thanks again for another great episode!

[@con6lex]

On Amazon Prime, a company made playlists of a bunch of Ian’s videos. There was probably a WW2 list. Not sure is these videos are still free.

[@CaptainAhorn]

I think I’d take the mag-fed 6.5 over a single-shot 8mm.

[@jubuttib]

As an individual using it, sure. As someone trying to figure out the logistics and make sure ammo will be available, I can see why they'd do this.

[@jarink1]

If you can't get any ammo for the clip-fed gun, what's the point?

[@neutronalchemist3241]

@@jarink1 They got carried by their own dreams. For one and half million rifles, ammo availability would have been a problem. For 15.000, 50.000 or even 200.000 rifles, there were plenty of ammos already available. Better issuing a repeater with 400 rounds and call it a day (hardly a Volkssturm militian would have survived enough to fire all of them anyway) than issuing a single shooter even with 10.000 rounds.

[@yulusleonard985]

Ill take that single shoot 8mm if i can have all the ammo I can carry than magfed 6.5 but you can only use its bayonet.

[@yulusleonard985]

@@neutronalchemist3241 You can put that 8mm single shooter in a platoon of other 8mm with MG 34 and not fuckup your own logistic.

[@geoffhunter7704]

I have seen WW2 film of the VolksSturm carrying a variety of foreign arms, Lewis MG, Lee Enfield SMLE/No4s,Stens SMG but not M1 Garands or Carbines as they were allocated to Skorzgeny's Bulge Kommando.

[@DOMINIK99013]

I heard about M1 Carbines in one city battle, one radar base with estonians was also armed by m1 carbine, changed for their kar98,svt 40, sten, beretta, which went to frontlines

[@geoffhunter7704]

@@DOMINIK99013 Thank you for that info, i have now seen SS in a photo using a Sten MK3 and a British Commando carrying a MP40 with spare mags this using of foreign made arms was NOT encouraged though quite a few arms were brought back home as trophies and the UK's SAS are allowed to select their personal choices.

[@chuckmiller5763]

If the German engineers looking at this rifle to convert it to a higher power round, decided to put in a recoil lug, then they know for sure the action will hold up, they did the math for sure.

[@TheAngelobarker]

The Carcano was already set to change caliber in 1939/1940 to a higher power cartridge. This actually caused major logistics issues at first as some had the 7mm and some had 6.5mm. the semi autos were also problematic to change calibers for. Hitler's ambassador said no war till 1945 so Italy didn't think war was coming so soon

[@PieterBreda]

Germans being German.

[@LN997-i8x]

It makes sense, seeing as how they'd already converted a bunch of them to 7.35 Carcano, which has about 25% higher working pressure than 6.5, so it stands to reason they had access to or knew of Italian research into the 7.35 conversion.

[@genericpersonx333]

Mind, also, there is "safe" and there is "safe." These guns only had to fire some hundreds of bullets, so if the barrels only had a statistically significant chance to burst from compounding metal fatigue after a thousand or more cartridges, that is "safe" enough. Not safe for a decade or more of regular shooting maybe, but plenty safe for a Volksturm to do his few days of duty for the Fatherland.

[@PowermadNavigator]

I love Ian's work. You can learn so much from it.

[@Edouard_Mass]

A single shot carcano in early 1945 may be a good cue to find the Americans or British.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Ayyyup!

[@jayfelsberg1931]

It dies seem to say, "Surrender Niw!"

[@FirstnameLastname-do1px]

Carcano’s are perfectly viable bolt action rifles, however anything single shot in 1945 was pretty obsolete.

[@AshleyPomeroy]

Unless it was a B-29 loaded with an atomic bomb, amirite

[@REXOB9]

Thanks. I was unaware of Germany's conversion and use of Italian Carcanos. Thanks for the history lesson.

[@dusk6159]

Especially for the Volkssturm Gem of a video, uncovering all of this

[@MarcoBianchi-l4t]

Italian factories built Carcanos employing the even more powerful italian 8x59 RB Breda cartridge, some of these rifles still exist in firm museums. They never had problems with them even after prolonged testing for years.

[@thomasdillon7761]

Thirty odd years ago I had a chance to buy one of these 8mm Carcanos from a small town gunshop. The proprietor told me if was just a wall hanger and would blowup if I tried to shoot it. It was under a hundred dollars. I don't buy wall hangers so I passed on it. Now I know more about it. Thanks for the info.

[@karlroller8934]

I had a 8mm Carcano for years sold it a few years back and could never find any history on it other than Germany converted them as a last ditch effort, very imformative

[@hugebartlett1884]

Volksturm soldiers hardly needed adjustable sights as they were fighting hand to hand in Berlin,and one or two shots would likely be most of them fired before surrendering,or being gunned down.

[@khaelamensha3624]

Yes they were used as meat for the few surviving veteran troops fighting with them.

[@armorer94]

The other option would be officers shooting volkssturm conscripts for cowardice. Which they did right up to the bitter end.

[@mattorama]

The way the Soviets were treating captured Germans, it wasn't in their best interest to surrender.

[@MatchBreakers]

@@mattorama there was actually hard fighting to break the Soviet encirclement to link up with another force, not to relieve Berlin, but funnel as many soldiers and people to the us lines to surrender to them, which shows, if nothing else the perspective the Germans had of the Russians, partly from propaganda and partly soviet brutality. The battle of Berlin is historically very fascinating. Like how some of the last troops fighting were the foreign SS divisions, fighting for a Germany that considered their countries inferior.

[@khaelamensha3624]

@@mattorama When they were in mood to capture enemies. The easy front was not an happy place. I once read in a Rommel biography that he was able to do not apply Hitler s order to execute commandos because he was far from Berlin. It is partly true but it certainly helped.

[@taro2598]

The stock on that thing is gorgeous, imagine having a volkssturmgewehr and looking over to see that in your neighbor's hand.

[@comradecosmonaut7746]

I'd feel bad for the guy with the carcano in that situation. afterall the Volkssturmgewehr that got most of its examples built (that we know of) was a semi automatic rifle feeding from STG44 magazines

[@vanadium1169]

you'd pity him for having a bolt gun, you'd envy him when your volkssturmgewehr fails

[@rollutherhodie3076]

@Karl Von Eberfeld-Dunquartzhausen Most of the folks here.

[@JJadx]

@Karl Von Eberfeld-Dunquartzhausen my take would be that they'll collect weapons of war and treat them like stamps without seeing the broader history and dispair behind them. but i highly doubt most people watching are actual collectors. i personally like the history.

[@S.Fortunato]

6:00 Those are a post-war batch of guns made in Italy for the United Arab Republic, (the single shot conversions were made in Austria and have "HK" markings). About 10:000 Carcano 38s were converted by FNA of Brescia, they use modified brass stripper clips and have an "s" on their bolt.

[@charles_wipman]

I didn't knew the germans did this conversion; very interesting history behind that carbine.

[@krissteel4074]

I've never heard of them either, its a really esoteric bit of info

[@effynme]

Thank you Ian!

[@caeserromero3013]

4:17 Now I know what Olivier was talking about in Marathon man when he kept asking "Is it safe?" :-)

[@pieceofschmidtgamer]

Always a pleasure to learn more gun history from ya, Ian!

[@brooksbrown580]

I love the Italian rifles. all of them, Ive owned probably a dozen of them over the years, sold some of them , traded some of them, but all the negative press about These rifles is totally unfounded, they are exellent rifles, well made ,accurate, and fun to shoot , I have fired literally thousands and thousands of WW2 Surplus rounds out of me Carcano's, never a problem..Ive hunted with them, and just loved having them...

[@laurentdevaux5617]

It's true the Carcanos are rather underrated as they are quite good rifles (what do you think about it, JFK ?). But I'm not sure I would fire a gun whose receiver was made for a 6,5 mm cartridge converted to the much more powerful 8 mm Mauser. I only know one rifle that could withstand this kind of modification, it's the Japanese Type 38 Arisaka, whose receiver is known to be one of the strongest ever made. But a Carcano, no thanks !

[@alexm566]

Imagine telling the Germans in 1939 this is what they'd end up with in less than 6 years...

[@johnschofield9496]

Thanks again, Ian. Fantastic history lesson, as always !!

[@mgallmachine]

German Logisticians: We have to get these rifles out there now! Times are desperate! German workers: not until I put the proper serial number on it.

[@mikepette4422]

good this is what I needed from this channel today

[@MrFlyinghellfish]

Hear that? It’s the sound of a thousand boomers who didn’t watch the full video collectively going “ah know what ah gawt” in reference to their post-war 8mm Carcanos.

[@stevecooper7883]

That will be 10 thousands bucks, sunny

[@WardenWolf]

I wouldn't want to shoot one of these. Despite what Ian says, last ditch weapons were often only expected to function for a certain number of rounds before they failed, usually no more than the meager amount of ammunition they were supplied with. Given their age and the number of rounds each one is likely to have fired in the last 77 years since their conversion, it is very likely their number is about up.

[@_Scipio__Africanus_]

I got one and honestly I feel it doesn't handle the recoil that bad in the slightest. Actually fairly pleasant to shoot. Also I managed to convert original 7.35 clips that work flawlessly by cutting out a little bit of the indent that retains the cartridges to allow the 7.92 ammo to fit. wasn't too difficult, just a little dremmeling

[@LtHawk77]

My 7.35 unubtanium is a wonderful rifle to shoot considering it was neglected for a long time. Just wish the enbloc clips were more reliable on feeding. Thanks for the info on the 8mm conversion, glade it proves the action was stouter than urban hearsay has made them out to be.

[@honkhonkler7732]

I have to reload my 7.7 unobtanium if I want to shoot for any less than $2 per round.

[@WhattAreYouSaying]

Wow! This is awesome content! I knew the Volkssturm used Carcanos, but I didn't know they had them in 8mm.

[@ciatangallaghe2485]

Love your videos dude, keep them coming!

[@earhornjones]

That's some interesting stuff! Great video.

[@DoctyrEvil]

This makes my shoulder hurt just thinking about it.

[@M.M.83-U]

Bere in Italy I have see a few of the other model, never one of those. Thanks

[@earlyriser8998]

a lovely 'forgotten' weapon that meets all of the criteria for a last ditch rifle....crude conversion but safe to use

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you ,Ian . 🐺

[@sgtmajtrapp3391]

Interesting history. You can get plastic versions today allowing single loading of the Carcano and would work with the 8mm, 7.35 and 6.5

[@shadowcat3163]

Got one of the 7.35 carbines still and 4 original 18 round boxes of WWII ammo for it. If I can ever get a die for casting my own heads will start reloading for it. Already have some brass and the reloading dies.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

kinda makes sense, boring the barrel out makes a lot of sense if it has the material left to do it, plus the lifespan of this gun was not meant to be long

[@c3wichman]

Seems like 8mm Kurtz would have been a better fit for this rifle. might have even been able to use STG 44 mags

[@SNOUPS4]

11:46 is it safe to have the cartridge like this if the firing pin could detonate it in the air, by mistake/an unlucky movement/by ways of an old rusty firing pin spring? Or is the pin fixed (didn't get a look)? It's not like a Carcano is hammer fired or anything and thus fully safe, or is it? I just hope the bolt wasn't cocked... Genuine question there...

[@me.ne.frego.]

If the 1888 comission rifle can handle 8x57, any Carcano can handle 8x57.

[@FeedTheDog00]

Ian, are there any books or good sources that detail all the conversions done to military weapons such as this carcano? I'd be really interested in learning who did what, when, where, how, why, etc. Thanks for all the amazing content!

[@spoonbruh741]

That'd be cool as hell

[@Edouard_Mass]

I’m pretty sure this would be covered in Desperate Measures by Weaver about the weapons used by the volksturm

[@CanalTremocos]

1:40 A small detail passed Ian's strong political neutrality filter. Italian soldiers were pledged to the royal army of Italy. The armistice was approved by both the king and the prime minister. Fathead got dismissed and arrested, even if nazis managed to free him later. So, Loyal Italian soldiers would stop fighting and demobilize. The ones that continued fighting, if you go by rule of law, were disloyal.

[@mikemccross350]

That Ian is pro-Italian? I think it's admissable to call these freedom fighters loyal soldiers, at least loyal to the land.

[@CanalTremocos]

​@@mikemccross350 No. That part is about Italian soldiers that continued fighting alongside the nazis. So, at most, loyal to a foreign power.

[@seculartapes]

The Germans must have had millions of captured Mosins at that point… I wonder why you don’t see many soviet weapons other than SMGs in the last ditch formations at war’s end.

[@Nightdare]

Perhaps harder to successfully convert?

[@Zretgul_timerunner]

Cause those mosins litterally went out to volksgrenadiers/rear echelon forces and others like RONA directly after capture.

[@yulusleonard985]

Probably pilfered reused by front line troops. Their sniper rifle and SMG are prized throphy.

[@randymagnum143]

Things were bad, but not *that* bad! 🤣

[@DOMINIK99013]

@@zoiders When Belgian had production line for 54R, that mean Gemrans had them also, no?

[@Redoctober1995-m6h]

My great granduncle, who was about 16 at the time, was issued one of these when he was forced into a Volksturm group in Prussia. He very quickly ran away from the Soviets and surrendered to a squad of Canadians clear across Germany.

[@azmanabdula]

Smart move

[@ScottKenny1978]

Smart man!

[@stevecooper7883]

What? Why?? Don't you know the soviets were the good guys? 🙃

[@Redoctober1995-m6h]

@@stevecooper7883 research the battle of Seelow.

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@Redoctober1995-m6h sarcasm detector not working?

[@willynthepoorboys2]

Interesting facts I had no idea of, thanks for the video.

[@esquad5406]

Some years back. One of me pal's got one like this and was worried about 8mm ammo being higher pressure. So I just downloaded ammo for it. And it turned out to be a great brush gun on deer and hogs.

[@billpelican2773]

I bought one in 1989 from Springfield Sporters for $29, mint bore. Used to buy Chinese Mausers for $20 each. I miss the good old days😞

[@orr4sale]

Those were post-war, not HK conversions.

[@brandonblackfyre5783]

This man never misses.... he don't miss at the range and never misses with his videos 💯💯💯💯💪💪💪💪🎯🎯🎯

[@jarink1]

Ian: What they did was put in a loading platform. Me: So, it's basically made for bench rest shooting?

[@wolfmann2023]

Ian, thanks for the history lesson. Great video 👍👍 see you in the next one

[@ianfinrir8724]

You really have to wonder why they didn't just issue MP-40s. They were already in production, they really didn't need to go through the rigamarole of either making new productions of weapons or converting existing weapons.

[@frenchroast1355]

First thing that entered my mind when I heard Carcano converted to 8mm was..."ouch".

[@tvnshack]

Ian, you forgot to mention that the modified bolts with a large S stamped on it, to distinguish them from regular bolts.

[@AshleyPomeroy]

The S was there to remind anybody using the rifle exactly what had hit the fan.

[@MS-ig7ku]

I read in the 1960s some sporterized rifles were rechambered in .35 Rem and more recently 7.62x39.

[@janstockreiter3932]

Had one of these a few years ago. This beast kicks like crazy!!!! Im used to M95 and k98 Recoil but this shit is so hurts so much, that I shot it 3 times and than I sold it...

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Looks like the gun that may or may not have been used in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

[@johnstacy7902]

Didn't Italian troops in Russia use converted to 8mm? I remember seeing adds in shotgun news back in the day

[@ForgottenWeapons]

No, they did not.

[@arbanasialbanesi]

And btw, Carcano's by caliber 8mm tend to be close clustering to those standarts of the Mauser Rifle. They are not bloody inaccurate rifles, the contrary!

[@jasoncrow7681]

Is it unsafe to lock the bullet into the bolt face? If the firing pin is cocked could he accidentally trip the sear and fire the round out of battery?

[@thebbqbandito2868]

The Carcano is such a nice looking rifle,

[@hendriktonisson2915]

I agree. I specially like the M38 version.

[@hoilst265]

That's gotta sting: when you're German and you have to fit out your last-ditch defenders with Italian rifles.

[@HingerlAlois]

Well better than the bamboo sticks issued to the Japanese 😂

[@edwalmsley1401]

Doubtful,they had been using enemy capture weapons(ppsh,stens,madsen lmgs,Dp28 ect ect ) on the front lines for years at that point,even more so with vehicles

[@alijankhan3330]

Italian weapons used during ww2 were generally good from what I've been lead to believe. In fact Iirc Ian posted a video of an Italian submachine gun used during ww2 that he thought was really nice and one of the best (if not the best) smgs used during ww2, along with the pps 43

[@khaelamensha3624]

@@justme_gb Well French troops were crushed on site to save the buttocks of others in Dunkirk, one example among others but well, this joke mean two things : the person typing it does not know history and prove it on a KZbin history Channel. Have a nice day and happy new year! Regards from France 😉 PS having a bad day, my sense of humor stayed at home 😉😂

[@interruptingcow2418]

@@justme_gb eh? Who do you think played rearguard during the evacuation at Dunkirk? It was mostly french troops and they delayed the germans long enough for the evacuation to be considered a success.

[@WolfRichter337]

germans in world war two: "we need jet fighters, night vision, vergeltungswaffen and highly trained men to ensure our superiority in the field" also the germans in world war two "BeEp BooP, GivE tEeNagER SIngLeSHot rIFles"

[@stephenfalkenbury3030]

I have a 98 K mauser chambered for the 8 x 33 kurz patron. trying to find information on this rifle

[@boarzwid1002]

Remember reading a book in high school called the battle for Berlin,as I was into weapons 50 years ago, I picked up on that they for some reason had tons of carcano rifles,

[@Vintageologist]

No need to pronounce the V in Volkssturm like that. In German, the letter v is often - like in this particular case - pronounced as if it was an f. Like that from folk (or fist, or fish).

[@mariokart8054]

Ffolksvvagen?

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

Carcanos are supposed to be bloody good rifles. Cheers for the vid.

[@ScrogginHausen]

It get a bad rep in the US because modern ammo for it isn't the same exact diameter as the surplus ammo, so they shoot like shit with it.

[@murphy7801]

It's always ammo, except when it's century ruining guns lol

[@malkavianstr450]

The Oswald special.

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@ScrogginHausen yup. Carcanos shoot a .268 caliber bullet. Standard 6.5mm is .264 caliber. And yes, 0.004"/0.1mm is more than enough difference to shoot like crap. IIRC, Hornady does make a proper .268" 162gr RN bullet, specifically for reloading Carcano ammo. Another big issue is that the Carcano was never changed to a spitzer bullet, it's launching 162gr round nose projectiles. Which have a terrible ballistic coefficient, and lose speed very quickly. Which makes them have a large drop at range. Make a slight error in guessing the range and you will either shoot over the target or well under it. Basically, in WW2 the Carcano ammo was a good 40 years behind the times. TL;DR: good rifle within 200 yards if you have the right ammo for it, terrible beyond that. If you hit something beyond 200m, it's got great penetration and terminal effect. But it's very hard to get hits even with proper ammo beyond about 200m.

[@CaptainGrief66]

@@ScottKenny1978 There's a reason the Italians went to carbines and fixed sights, engagement distances didn't justify converting a large part of the logistic system

[@chrisntheboat]

I have had the pleasure of shooting this same model weapon about 25 years ago. So very accurate as I remember, and a nice kick.

[@aedynlangstaff46]

I actually purchased something like this for my first firearm purchase. But it’s the cavalry variant with the integrated bayonet I think the m38. No idea when it was done and who did it but it’s cool. Fires very well too, though it definitely throws a big fireball 😆. Edit: mine has two recoil lugs so I’m looking forward to that future video.

[@Franky46Boy]

The Indonesians after 1949 converted many Dutch KNIL Steyr-Mannlicher 6.5 mm carbines to .303 British ammo. Because of the more powerful recoil they added rubber pads to the butt stock and/or compensators at the end of the barrel.

[@DtWolfwood]

A carcano you can afford to shoot 😮

[@leggo0116]

I had a chance to buy a carcano at a gun show a few years back. I'm kicking myself for it now lol

[@dbmail545]

I'm a bit surprised that they did not rechamber those in 8mm kurz like the the VS-1.

[@genericpersonx333]

The problem is that the 6.5mm and 7.35mm Carcano cartridges are about 20mm longer than 8mm Kurz. Converting to 8mm Mauser basically only required boring out the existing barrels by a few millimeters. Trying to get a short bullet to fit the barrel would require a whole lot of modification that probably would be done easier by making a whole new barrel, which was what the Germans were most concerned about avoiding.

[@mytmousemalibu]

Too much work/not enough material in the barrel to set it back far enough to rechamber for 8 Kurz. That ammo was far more valuable for the arms it was used in to be spared for single shot last ditch efforts.

[@glenn8248]

What about the different bolt face sizes?

[@TheCraftedMine]

ooh, I love the carcano one in 8mm would be amazing to have me wanty

[@nostrodelaantares8416]

based Monika

[@samiam619]

Alternative Title: Germany takes cheap rifle and turns it into unshootable more expensive rifle.

[@AWPtical800]

Could it have been an issue where the wooden block cracked with age and an owner just threw it out?

[@Notcoolkopet]

Do a video on the ag043 rifle made by Sergei simonov

[@mollymcallister1671]

I wonder why they didn't re-start production of the clips for the 88 commission rifle? That shouldn't have been too hard, or was it a matter of too much effort fiddling with the magazines to get that configuration of ammo and clip to fit?

[@ScottKenny1978]

Probably didn't have the tooling anymore.

[@gordondelacroix253]

"Country didn't convert guns if they are dangerous to their own soldiers" The Italian with the Vertterli-Carcano: _Osservare_

[@schiltronmunitions3820]

Still on the hunt for one. Would look very nice next to my German-occupation manufactured Steyr M95.

[@shadowblaster124]

"We'll touch on this a little later in the video" *Touches it now*

[@biggerbehindthetrigger2814]

More unknown history to me. I should have come across a few of these working in the industry for 30+ years. Nice find and information. I always learn something from you. Thank you. Happy Safe Shooting 🇺🇸💪.

[@IceWolfLoki]

"There's 2 different calibres, this may cause issues... lets introduce a 3rd!"

[@RhodeIslandWildlife]

TY Ian

[@tylerhovind7187]

Still planning on dping a video on the post-war guns?

[@Shas879]

"We'll touch on this again" Immediately pokes it :D

[@laurentdevaux5617]

Well, in fact for the Volksturm guys, the choice was rather tricky... "How do you want to die ? Fighting the Soviets or firing a 8mm converted Carcano ?". The best being do both, akin to sign its own death warrant...

[@duna451]

You should go over the Mauser geha conversions

[@robertcolbourne386]

Ian we come for the historic firearms but we stay for the ramblings !

[@alexmiller2089]

When I was 14 I saw a German 8mm Carcano at a yard sale for $89. I asked dad if I could buy it with my allowance but he said no :(.

[@acatwithafancyhat5782]

aw thats a damn shame.

[@ericgarringer6911]

Boo your dad!

[@ClickClack_Bam]

I just bought one for $200 + $20 shipping, out the door yesterday 07-17-23.

[@witchywoman165]

These 8mm Carcanos pop up on gunbroker often, most of them though tend to be cavalry carbines. Id love to have one, they often go for about $350. I would not doubt that most of them are post war though.