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  • Brickman301

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 23, 2015
    2,530
    FREDERICK, MD
    Need some help for you guys. I have a chance to pick up a M38 carcano in 7.35. The rifle is in excellent shape. It doesn't have the e block clip. When I was looking at it I didn't even think to look for a SA mark. Since you don't see these rifles come up for sale very often, I was wondering what they are going for? Also if it is SA marked, does that add any value?
    Thanks in advance for all the help.
     

    MilsurpDan

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 1, 2012
    2,217
    Frederick County
    The M38 Carcano in 7.35 is one of the more overlooked surplus rifles now and can still be had for pretty cheap. If the rifle in question has a matching serial numbered stock (only the stock and barrel are serial numbered) and it hasn't been dicked with, sanded or reblued, $150-300 is a fair price. Most people will tell you $300 is too high, but if it's a really nice example, I wouldn't feel bad at all paying that.

    Most people dislike the 7.35 rifles due to the lack of available ammo, but PCI makes it, and PPU makes the brass so it can be readily reloaded for. I love mine.

    The funny thing about the SA marked rifles, is that with the M38 Carcano, it is actually the rifles WITHOUT the Finnish SA marking that are worth more and harder to find. I have one such example myself. Only the M38 Short Rifles should be SA marked, the M38 Cavalry Carbine, and M38 Trupe Speciale were never sold/loaned to Finland.

    For that fact, any M38 Cavalry Carbines or M38TS rifles in 7.35 are rare finds.
     

    mawkie

    C&R Whisperer
    Sep 28, 2007
    4,337
    Catonsville
    -One of the nicer, non-Finn'd Carcano's in my collection was a carbine I got at auction w.o. bidding on it! I had bid on 4 long arms (Berdan II, pre-war MAS36, French Gras and Murata) that were part of around 30 rifles buried in the midst of a 3000 lot tool auction. Apparently the estate of a tool collector asked the auction house to sell off his small but nice collection and they agreed. The first edition of the catalog went out and folk from all over the country placed absentee bids based on it. At some point the catalog was revised and lot numbers changed (a big mistake). Me, I bid online and got everything but the Murata (missed out by only $50). I called up the auction house afterwards to pay my invoice and was asked "Would you be interested in buying a Carcano carbine?" Turns out a tool collector in Canada had put in an early absentee bid for a tool and that lot number changed to the Carcano. Obviously he didn't want it so the auction house offered it to me for the start bid price of $85. Couldn't say no to that!
    -And Milsurp Dan's correct. Like German issue FN1922s it's harder to find a non-Finn M38 here in the US. Go figure!
     

    IronEye

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 10, 2018
    790
    Howard County
    Lots of interesting Carcano variations.

    I picked up a 6.5 cavalry carbine at the Timonium antique show a few years ago. The bolt wouldn't close so the seller let it go cheap. Took about 30 seconds to fix it.

    I also picked up a couple of boxes of "Kennedy Assassination" ammo at the same show.

    Last show i saw one of the Black-stained and chromed (?) Mussolini bodyguard variants.

    Lots of possible "Nazi" 8mm conversions that aren't but i keep looking.

    Carcanos are good guns to look at when you don't have a lot of cash to spend.
     

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