Carcano M91/41

About the Carcano M91/41

The Carcano M91/41 is an Italian bolt-action rifle, the last service-rifle pattern of the long-running Carcano family. Introduced in 1941, it marked a return to a full-length infantry rifle (only slightly shorter than the original Modello 1891) after the carbine-length M38, in order to properly exploit the velocity of the 6.5x52mm cartridge that underperformed in shorter barrels. It feeds from a six-round en bloc clip, uses conventional rifling in place of the original gain-twist barrel, and carries a graduated tangent rear sight. It saw service with the Royal Italian Army during the Second World War.

The M91/41 was the final new-pattern Carcano. After the short M38 carbine left the 6.5x52mm round underpowered, the Italian army reverted to a long-barrelled infantry rifle in 1941 to recover ballistic performance, making it the last evolutionary step of a rifle line that began in 1891.

Carcano M91/41 specifications

Conventional four-groove rifling replaced the progressive (gain-twist) rifling of earlier Carcanos. The adjustable rear sight is graduated to 1,000 m.