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Just arrived from Africa. original Carcano M. 1891 rifles. The rifles are in fair to good condition. All of them are original and were left in Ethiopia when the Italian forces were kicked out of the country in the early 1940s. These rifles have not been on the US market for decades. A true find of history! Please note that some rifles might have a minor crack in the handguard and/or stock. These are beautiful collector rifles and shooters. These rifles are used and show their history. These are military rifles which have served in WW1, Italy and finally in Ethiopia. You can expect some battle scars and wear.
Hand select bore will pick the best bores available out of the batch. The best bores are generally fair to good with rifling visible.
Hand select manufacture is possible. Possible manufacturer options are Terni and Brescia, for other manufacturers please leave your request in the order notes and we will pick that manufacture if possible. If we are unable to pick that manufacture we will contact you.
The Carcano rifles are functional. The guns have seen extensive combat. Stocks have dents, dings, scratches, gouges, and
show signs of handling and storage. Further concerning the stocks, most stocks are solid but some may have small cracks in the wrist and/or in some cases even a little trench art. You can expect a piece of history which has a tremendous historical and collector value.
The rifles have varies degrees of finish. Some guns have
excessive wear, some have up to 40% of original finish.
We do offer a hand select in which we will pick the best of
10 from any particular group. There is a hand-select fee involved.
Some stocks may possibly have trench art (field carvings).
Others may have some silver thumb tags resembling a cross. Remember that
Ethiopia’s population is 50% Christian and 50% Muslim.
As a Parts of our pre delivery inspection we cycle the bolt
and the trigger is pulled to check for dry fire function. I have no doubt that
all of these rifles will function properly. However, as with all surplus
firearms, it is important to follow all safety protocols before firing.
Important Safety Warning – Please note, as with any surplus
firearm we advise that you have the rifle inspected by a competent gunsmith
before firing. In addition, all cosmoline needs to be thoroughly cleaned from
the rifle… especially from the bore, the gas system, trigger group and the
bolt group and special care needs to be taken to ensure that the firing pin
moves freely within the lower bolt.
The positive about of the Carcano Rifles …
These are C & R Eligible
You will receive a true piece of history which has seen
extensive service on varies theaters.
They are historically significant and make a fine addition
to any collection…..
We also have a variety of manufacturers to choose from! Any manufacturer can be chosen for a $50 Hand Select fee. Please see the list below for manufacturers:
Terni
Mida Brescia
Roma
Torre Annunziata
If you pay for the “Hand Select Manufacturer” option, please put your preferred manufacturer in the order notes. Thank you!
Visit our friends at Milsurp Munitions, they make correct new production ammunition for C&R and Antique Firearms.
See items related to this product.
30 reviews for 1891 Carcano Rifle 6.5×52 with 1 Free Clip
Danny Ray –
Received this rifle in very good shape. It was fun to clean up and oil the parts. I found very little rust. The bore had good riflings and should be a great shooter!! Thanks RTI for sending me a nice rifle in very good shape. I may order another one!
Thanks & God Bless!! Stay Safe and Stay Healthy!! Danny
Garry –
Well they sent me a real nice Carcano rifle. This one actually had nice rifling. No cracks and even a cleaning rod this time. Seems to be a roll of the dice. Happy with this one.
Nick –
I received my rifle after a pretty long wait, the rifle was filthy but cleaned up great can’t wait to take it out. I had to wait for a while on customer service after they lost my FFL info and didn’t email me about it till I asked them directly.
Rob –
I’ve just purchased the Carcano m91 long rifle. It hasn’t even shipped yet but I had to comment on simply finding a Carcano in long form. While the carbines are available everywhere, no one but Royal Tiger seems to have long rifles. They are part of that great Ethiopian find. Can’t wait to unbox mine and write a review on the actual rifle.
The rifle arrived a week after placing the order. The wood is in great shape. The barrel and receiver are also great. The bolt itself is quite pitted, but functions just fine. It’s an 1918 year made in the Terni factory. Everything is there and original. All in all a good rifle at a good price.
Zachary –
The long rifle form M1891 is rare to find, so I was pleased to locate it at this price. I purchased a hand select option and although the rifle lacked any of the cracks or rust that is warned about, the metal has been filed down to the white and the bore is non-existent. There is almost no visible rifling and pitting is in deep gouges. Fortunately, the rifle is only for display.
Chris P –
I ordered the regular version not had select and hoped for the best. Rifle showed up in great shape. Stock has normal wear with no cracks and no significant damage. Exposed metal has lost most of its bluing with some still left. Barrel has plenty of rifling left and no sign of pitting. Rear sight clicks in place and stays secured in all positions with a good click. Mine also came with a cleaning rod which was a surprise. Only reason its not a five star is when I did a bullet test it swallowed it. I don’t suspect my rifle will be accurate but I’m very satisfied with it. RTI is three for three for me.
George Hazelwood –
My first purchase from RTI so I was a little nervous because of some of the reviews online. I have to say the rifle was dirty and needed a good cleaning but overall was in great shape. No cracks to the stock, which cleaned up very nicely, and only some minor surface rust that cleaned up with some oil and a brass brush. Bore was fair to good, with some rifling, but I didn’t buy this to be a shooter. For the price I would say this was a good purchase. Will most likely purchase another gun from RTI so I hope my luck is this good the second time around.
daniel –
ordered during “flash sale” for 349. Rife came very well packaged and was in complete (including cleaning rod). It also was in excellent condition, including the bore which is unusual for most of these. I am 3/3 with RTI and remain very satisfied. Thank you. DH
Jeff –
I passed on the hand select option so I kept my expectations somewhat low. I was very pleasantly surprised. I received a 1918 Terni in remarkably good condition. Though (as expected) there’s very little remaining metal finish, the wood is exceptional. ZERO cracks or gouges and only a few minor dings. The bore was filthy but cleaned up nicely after several applications of foaming bore cleaner. It’s now shiny and shows strong rifling. The action even has a strangely ‘un-Carcano-ish’ smoothness! RTI really came through on this one. I’m very pleased.
Sylas Ramos –
Shipped very quickly, took a lot of cleaning and delicate repair work to get it back into pristine condition.The Rifle came very dirty caked in cosmoline as expected for the price. I got a Torino 1893 antique fair bore quite visible lands and grooves (believe it or not) with a rare cartouche belonging to emperor Menelek II on the stock. I was originally worried about the chamber because the bolt face was mangled however upon inspection and magnafluxing the rifle I found no cracks or damage to speak of, so I am sure that they probably threw in a bolt from some other junk rifle. I was able to easily replace the bolt carrier with an original straight handle bolt, and reinstalled the rest of the internal components. There were also Minor cracks in the stock and hand guard which were easy to fix luckily none in the wrist of the stock which leads me to believe that this rifle was not fired as much as some others that I have seen from this stockpile.
Dan M –
I was very happy with this carcano rifle i got. The rifles are more rare than the carbines which i already had. Carcano rifles were quite used in their day so i expected it to be in rough shape but it was pretty good. I wanted an older one and i got an 1899 so that was cool. for being so old it was in really nice condition. Everything matches except the un numbered bolt! (it may be original im not sure) Action was smoother than my other one and unlike my other one the extractor that came with it worked. The blueing was really good. 95%+ Stock had no cracks or anything, No missing parts. couldnt be happier
Brad Jacks –
I have been wanting to add a ww1 era 1891 long rifle to my collection of carcano carbines for some time. The rifle I recieved definitely filled the spot being a 1918 Terri some of the finish worn but fine with me I had rather have it original than rearsenaled the stock cleaned up great after lots of elbow grease an getting oil back in it. the wood grain really popped as there is some tiger striping on the front of the stock that definitely couldn’t be seen b4 cleaning. Barrel was extremely dirty as well an has definite ware to the rifling upon inspecting target after a 6 shot test fire none of the bullets tumbled which is awesome shot to point of aim with a spread of a foot an a half. I’m not looking to shoot it all the time but I am overall very happy with the rifle I added to my collection still be shootable an in the overall condition for the rifles age. Thanks for the opportunity.
Solomon Johnson –
Hey folks, this is my new favorite carcano. It never jams , and the action is smoother then my carcano carbine. Beautiful peice of history , will continue to shop with rti
Shane –
When I receive the rifle I was quite surprised. All of the finish was gone. But that is to be expected. Stock was in amazing condition. Everything functioned as it should. Nothing was missing other then the cleaning rod which I expected. Didn’t take a whole lot to clean it up. Now for the bad. Barrel was heavily pitted and little to no rifling left. What bothered me the most was that there was a bulge in the barrel about 1 inch behind the front site. I would have given it more stars for the over all condition, but with the bore and the bulged barrel it’s definitely not going to be a shooter.
EdS –
Received my rifle in June and it was dirty as expected and the bore pretty shot but rifling was present. What wasn’t expected was a broken bolt which had the bolt handle broken off completely. This was an old break also as it has paint over the break. Took alot of back and forth but RTI did send me a new bolt eventually (middle off August) so now the rifle is complete. Overall the gun is what I expected for condition and cleaned up nicely. Just not sure why it was sent out with a broken bolt, but although it took awhile rti made it good with a replacement so ok with the rifle in the end.
Gabriel Panoussi –
This rifles absolutely gorgeous I had an issue with the the barrel bands however RTI was quick to respond with a solution. I keep bugging poor Stephanie at RTI. She has demonstrated nothing but patience with me.
I have no problems making future purchases with RTI this will be my 9th rifle from them and guess what I plan on buying another carcano on the next month. Or maybe I’ll get something else really cool. Once again I am a satisfied customer thanks to team RTI and Stephanie’s incredible patience.
Only have one small issue and that is that the muzzle is worn on this one. I have not shot it yet but the rifling was in excellent shape. I’ll see how accurately groups even with that worn muzzle. The rest of the rifle is great condition good bluing minimal pitting. I have lots of cleaning ahead of me but that’s part of the fun. Thanks again team RTI!
ROBERT BROOKS –
Recently purchased both an Enfield Number 1, Mark III and a Carcano M1891 from Royal Tiger Imports. I am very pleased with both rifles. Yes – they needed a good cleaning – that wasn’t a surprise. It was an enjoyable experience and I’ve learned a great deal about military surplus wooden stocks.
Ryan8th –
The rifle itself was in good condition, finish gone, loose on the barrel band but that was expected for a rifle with such a long service life, my disappointment stands more with RTI. I had paid the good bore fee but received a rifle with a 6.5 rifle with a 30 cal muzzle because it was so worn by the cleaning rod. I would have been happier with it had I not paid the bore fee. An email to RTI came with no response. Disappointmenting as this was the 3rd rifle I bought from here and had planned on ordering more in the future.
Mark Zuniga –
I bought one of these rifles on the Black Friday sale and tried to pay for hand select bore but it showed out of stock. Thought about not buying then but went for it at only 250$. I also bought and Enfield no4 mk1 as well and mentioned in the checkout comments for good bores. This rifle looks nice and is all there with only a hairline 2 inch crack at the tang. The bore is a sewer pipe from the muzzle down about 15 inches. The rest actually looks good. Interested to see how this shoots but overall happy as my Enfield they sent had a decent two groove barrel to make up for it. One thing I will say while I have gotten rifles with good bores from rti they always have worn out muzzles but still shoot decent for my accuracy standards.
Ken J –
Purchased several rifles including multiple Carcanos from RTI last few years. Most as expected or better condition. I chose hand select option best overall and requested specific date range if possible for this M91 for my collection. Rifle I received was in very good condition, required a lot of cleaning as usual which is not a problem for me, but had very good bore and nice furniture without any major cracks. Cleaned up very well and a nice addition to my Italian collection. THANKs to RTI warehouse staff for providing a nice example based on my request…..
Jose Martinez –
I received an example of the M91 rifle dated 1933 and was manufactured at the Terni arsenal. It cleaned up quite nicely, but some corrosion on the metal. The dents and dings to the wood were commensurate with age. Only complaint is the fact that the barrel of my rifle failed the bullet test and ate the entire bullet down to the casing, which indicates that the rifling on the upper part of the barrel is worn. I cannot expect to see good accuracy out of this weapon and fired projectiles may keyhole and not hit their target straight on, but rather, the bullet will tumble on its sides. Somewhat frustrating, since I paid the hand select fee and stayed away from B-Grade. I wanted a shooter and am not sure that I have one here. I still need to get in some range time to confirm, but not likely that a rifle with a shot out muzzle and/or worn bore will be particularly accurate. Still, a nice conversation piece and a fun weekend project, but cannot recommend for those who want a shooter.
Justin –
Received a nice rifle that was a Terni arsenal! Thanks again RTI!
jertekrol (verified owner) –
Overall, very happy with this purchase. I ordered an A-grade without hand select. It arrived at my local FFL within 48 hours. Gun was very dirty and had some light surface rust but fully functional. Not missing any parts besides cleaning rod. Small chip in handguard, small stock repair that is not very noticeable, various gouges/ dents in stock as expected. Barrel actually still has about 60% original finish(mostly under stock and handguard). Receiver maybe 40% finish. Safety, trigger, sights, magazine all work properly. Bore is very dirty but rifling is present and should clean up alright. Will definitely buy from RTI again.
WilliamOBrien –
Well the rifle was in fair shape and cleaned up nicely, but the rifle was restocked in Ethiopia and needed some work. The butt stock was bent, butt plate a hammered piece of metal held on with square head nails. missing cleaning rod and the barral was counter bored. after several cleanings the rifling is still dark. suprisingly it doesn’t swallow a bullet. Still have to put it to paper. I straightened the butt stock. Got a new butt plate and still looking for a cleaning rod. All in all the rifle turned out ok and as a bonus its Manufacturing date is the same as my other two carcanos 1917. what are the odds?
CharleneOstrowski (verified owner) –
I’d say I got exactly what was offered, 1918 Terni, rusty bore, but does have rifling the length of it. Will have to shoot to see what’s really left. Muzzle swallows loaded round, but an unseated bullet doesn’t go in beyond 1/4″. Little finish remaining, and some minor rust in bolt/chamber area. Included cleaning rod, and only the sight spring button head missing. Functions all check out, and the dark, almost black stock, is solid, with only few age cracks near butt plate screws. For 2 bills, not complaining here.
BlakeKeniston (verified owner) –
Was nervous about purchasing but at 200 bucks it’s hard to beat. I lucked out and got a complete rifle with a mirror bore, dated 1911. These rifles absolutely need a thorough cleaning. If you’re not up to the task, find someone who is. Do not try to shoot these without scrubbing the last 100 years off.
Jamesy362 (verified owner) –
After paying for hand select im a little disappointed but not completely upset. I did get a rifle with a decent bore but the handguard is almost split down the middle and don’t even fit on the rifle. Parts of the bolt are rusted and broken but replaceable. I’m om with the rifle but I just expected something better with hand Select
RandallReinke (verified owner) –
Receive the rifle 2 weeks after ordering and am very happy with my purchase. The finish on the metal and the wood is better than I had expected and the bore is much better than I expected. It was a little rusty but cleaned up quickly and doing the bullet test in the muzzle shows very little wear so it should be a good shooter.
shanebrown4668 (verified owner) –
Purchased my second one of this on the last sale. This one is a whole lot nicer then the first one. Stock is in excellent shape, Hand guard was broke but at least this one wasn’t wire wheeled like the first one. Bore was way better then I expected. Has good rifling and by the bullet test minimal wear. Way better then the bulged sewer pipe barrel that was on the last one.
RandallReinke (verified owner) –
Very happy with the rifle I received and also the good price. Both wood and metal are in better condition and I was expecting and while the bore was rusty it did not take much work to get it looking quite nice. It’s still a little dark but the rifling is very good and doing the bullet test in the muzzle shows the muzzle is still very good… The rifle functions as it should and is accurate as expected…
I have bought quite a few rifles from this company over the past 5 or so years and have been happy with them all.