You lost me when you started sanding it, I just got my 1918 M91 today. This weekend I will strip it down and clean it. No sanding or buffing tho. Good ol fashioned cleaning and some linseed oil. Not knocking your choice, to each their own..🙂
Thanks for watching Gary. Yes I knew that was going to be a sticking point for many and boy have I heard about it. It's a cheap rifle and there are a ton of them still around.
I am ok with the sanding but not with a power sander. That said, some of the carcanos I have gotten, you wouldn't know the difference either way. Certainly makes it quicker!
He should have never sanded down the stock. If you use "Murphy's Soap Oil" & a "Green Pad". It will completely strip the old wood stained finish away. This preserves all original markings that would or will be lost by using a barbaric sanding machine. Then after the stock dry's (which will take only a few minutes.) Then use a walnut wood stain for gunstocks.
You're obviously not an antique firearms collector. You can find a modern bolt action, used, for about the same cost. You turned a historical collectors item, into a worn firearm.
Thank you for watching. Yes the sanding was a controversial decision that I knew would get some comments. For me, the gun was so cheap and abundant that it was worth the risk. I might try steaming next time. Thanks for the tip!!
You keep doing you bud. I don't know what this comment section is all about. I just got this gun today ,and I know how to take it apart and clean it. I understand that these guns have a lot of history. That's the whole reason why I buy them. The last time I checked if you own the gun you can do what you want with it. Keep making videos you do a great job.
@@mattdale81861 Oh please!! Cry us all a river, why wont you!! At least the gun has been restored and salvaged for future generations to enjoy. I wouldn’t go as far as sanding away the engravings, but if there is rust, it def has to go!!
You ruined a shotgun, it's one of our best WWII collectible shotguns, I understand it's okay to clean them and remove the rust, but nothing else. when you remove the scratches, the dents on the butt, and give it the paint, you erase its history, what it has experienced, what makes any shotgun unique. We Italians cry when we see these things, your Garand, springfield, we clean them, we treat them well, but we leave everything that has happened to them on the battlefield. We have respect.
@@shauncry1917 it is okay to remove the rust and clean and do everything possible to get it back to being as it was manufactured, without any modification or alteration
Guess what you just sanded an original handguardless m91 carbine. The rarest of all carbines in which 99.9% of all cav carbines had handguards retrofitted. Lord ignorance is bliss.
Nice... I dig my little Carcano Calvary rifle.... Y'all check your serial numbers numbers... Mine was built in 1942 while Italy was still under Mussolini's fascist rule... There's something special about owning a firearm used in war.
@@Rocco4Jesus Yes, there are many late model cavalry carbines available for $250 and lower... this was an early 1891 carbine in its original configuration with the more scarce, early pattern bayonet lock and rear sight though.
They are not really that sought after. I bought one because they are Italian!! lol It’s really fun to shoot. They are a cost effective way to collect a small price of history.
Any military rifle will go up in value over time if left in its original configuration, once you start sanding and wire wheeling metal... you just killed all value.
Hey Jarod, thanks for watching. Yes everyone has an opinion when you post. I do understand where they are coming from. Believe me, I knew I was going to hear it when I sanded the stock. And yes, for $300 they can have their own Carcano and do as they see fit with it. Maybe even buy two lol
People need to stop whining about how OP cleans up his very own firearm. Probably the armories in Italy should learn how to store those carcanos properly?
@@FC-ue1yc Thank you for watching. That’s the beauty of the TH-cam community. The diversity of opinions. I was torn between sanding and not sanding but it was a $300 rifle. They are in such low demand and they are so abundant.
@@Rocco4Jesus I personally think you did a very good job. A quick question: did you have to remove all the old bluing before the application of cold blue? My moschetto is coming next week and I pretty much want to copy and paste what you did.
Thanks for the video. What kind of buffer wheel were u using? Were you using the steel wool scrub, wire wheeling, blueing, and polishing wheel for every metal part or just some? What grit did you use for the sander? Also did u buff and reblue the barrel too? Seems too big to do all that especially inside the bore
Hi Jb. Thanks for watching. I used a cotton cloth wheel with white compound. I was especially diligent when buffing the bolt so as to get a smooth action. It worked very well as it is one of the smoother bolt actions that I own. I only wire wheeled parts that were rusted, steel wool 000 then 0000 on everything else. If the blueing was still intact, I did not re-blue so most of the re-blueing was on parts that were rusty and wire wheeled. I wanted the barrel to maintain the appearance of age so I did not blue it at all. Just polished a little with the steel wool. The only exception was a small portion that rusted that was under the stock. When I sanded the stock, (wow did I get backlash for that so be careful if you post) I started with 120 and finished with 240. I hope that answered all of your questions. Let me know what else I can do for you. God bless!!
Thank you so much for the video! I have the exact gun just purchased from Classic Firearms..will follow your lead, Rocco. Where do I purchase ammunition for this weapon; I'm having a hard time locating it. Thank you in advance man!
Please forgive me, I missed this one. Ammo is very difficult to come by. There are a few sources online that have it sometimes. Graff & Sons are usually where I find it. Ammoseek.com is a great search site for all ammo too.
He should have never sanded down the stock. If you use "Murphy's Soap Oil" & a "Green Pad". It will completely strip the old wood stained finish away. This preserves all original markings that would or will be lost by using a barbaric sanding machine. Then after the stock dry's (which will take only a few minutes.) Then use a walnut wood stain for gunstocks.
Shame. Tbh these are the kind of things that just break every gun collectors heart and start by making the market even worse than it already is. People please learn from these mistakes. No matter how beautiful the restore turns out in 1-5 years tops this thing will go from oh Carcanos aren’t that collectible and easy to get blah blah blah to now starting to go up in price. It’s the same with the mosin nagants. Just remember this when buying one. But just know this is extremely frowned upon in the gun community. Please do your own research and ask before doing something sad like this. This rifle that was worth $200 now could’ve been worth $1,500 in a matter of months to a year. But as soon as you restore one it plummets the price by more than half leaving you with basically nothing. Don’t make the same mistake this guy did. Ask you gun dealer or someone who is knowledgeable. Trust me. Have a wonderful day guys and happy collecting.
I totally understand and agree with you Jentz, as I have firearms I won't touch like this. For me, it's not always about maintaining a dollar value on a firearm, sometimes you just want to do a project and enjoy it. Thanks for watching!!
I was watching a narcissists channel putting down Carcano. Then I read your comment and came to your channel. Thanks for the excellent video. I left my stock as it was . Also through much research I found out that my southern Scottish ancestors were mixed with the Romans so i will call you my cousin Rocco...Ps I also own a MotoGuzzi.
Real nice video.. I like the way you speed up the parts the were very obvious to the watcher. Great job on the stock just like all my carbines. I gotta get me a wire wheel. does the wheel take off the original finish ? I sub ya to.
Hey thanks for watching!!! The wire wheel will take off the finish if you really lean into it. Typically you would be using it to remove rust in which case the finish is not a concern though. There are also brass and nylon wheels that you could use that a much gentler on finishes.
With all my rispect for your refurbishment hard work, Lieutenant Kilgore would say: “I love the smell of history of that rifle” … and that has been unfortunately deleted forever.
Awesome video ! Thanks so much. I just picked up a 1938 Carcano short rifle and never restored one, but your video will help me so much! I just pray that plate you were using was not your grandmother’s from the old country 😂😂 ! My mom’s parents and dad’s parents were from Italy and I’ve seen similar plates in my gramma Rose’s house
Thank you Joe. Good luck on your restore. You will love these rifles. Great piece of Italian history!! Yeah the plate looks like an oldie but it’s just a cheap set we bought from A&P years ago. LOL
Hey Stag!! Do you mean the band that holds the sight and the bayonet? I didn’t remove that, but if you need to get yours off, there is a small screw that you remove and then it slides off. It might need a little persuasion.
@@Rocco4Jesus no the band that holds the front stock and handguard on. It just slides up and down the barrel. I can't figure out how to get it off without risking breaking it. Its got the sling swivel on it.
Hi Shaun. Thanks for watching. I’m with you on that but that’s the beauty of a public forum. The free exchange of ideas, knowledge, and opinions. Everyone buys firearms for different reasons. Some folks like to leave them completely untouched (I am in that camp most of the time depending on the firearm) and some folks are on the extreme other end and buy them to carve them up and have fun with them. (I do not modify from original design unless something is unsafe) I bought this because it was an inexpensive Italian milsurp that I could have some fun with.
I don't agree or disagree just wanting more information. I have one but it is rusted and I would like to get it operating so I can use. (For fun) I need more opinions
Ces fusils n'ont que peu de valeur, donc ça ne gêne en rien. Je viens d'en recevoir un avec de la rouille et la crosse bois toute abîmée. Je vais aussi lui refaire une jeunesse.
Good job, you destroyed a Carcano... in a italian group of collectors people is crying for the mistakes that you do... restore is keep the history of the gun, not rebuilt it... this is like delete the monalisa and re-paint it again...
Nice work, Rocco. You took an old beat up virtually worthless relic and resurrected it to its former glory. I thought you did good particularly on the stock as you didn’t sand off the rack number on the butt. There are some people who prefer old rifles as rusted out, ugly, unsafe to shoot wall hangers, and that’s fine for them. They can let theirs rust away to powder. Enjoy it :)
F**k those guys. I bet you they wouldn’t even have bothered buying it to bring a potential deer slayer back to it’s glory days. I want two or three Carcano’s myself while they are good buys and would restore every one of them as well. Awesome job!!
You lost me when you started sanding it, I just got my 1918 M91 today. This weekend I will strip it down and clean it. No sanding or buffing tho. Good ol fashioned cleaning and some linseed oil.
Not knocking your choice, to each their own..🙂
Thanks for watching Gary. Yes I knew that was going to be a sticking point for many and boy have I heard about it. It's a cheap rifle and there are a ton of them still around.
I am ok with the sanding but not with a power sander. That said, some of the carcanos I have gotten, you wouldn't know the difference either way. Certainly makes it quicker!
He should have never sanded down the stock. If you use "Murphy's Soap Oil" & a "Green Pad". It will completely strip the old wood stained finish away. This preserves all original markings that would or will be lost by using a barbaric sanding machine. Then after the stock dry's (which will take only a few minutes.) Then use a walnut wood stain for gunstocks.
Especially since these will be worth $1000+ in 10 years. But this one will be worth significantly less because of the restoration.
@@robertjones2811 Sorry, no chance of a $1000 carcano in 10 years. At most maybe $500-600
@@jon4139 98ks were $300 10 years ago. Nagants were $100. We saw 98s selling for over $2000 and $1000 nagants in 2020.
Thanks for watching
It's his gun she wants to stand if he can sanded I mean you didn't even mention anything about the upper handguard
Nice and clean, good job on that old fighter.
You're obviously not an antique firearms collector. You can find a modern bolt action, used, for about the same cost. You turned a historical collectors item, into a worn firearm.
Thanks for watching
At first I was like "damn he ruined it with the sanding " but that is a pretty gun
Hi Andrew. Thank you for watching!!
Great job, l do not sand myself. I steam the wood and remove some of the dents, but your gun looks very nice.
Thank you for watching. Yes the sanding was a controversial decision that I knew would get some comments. For me, the gun was so cheap and abundant that it was worth the risk. I might try steaming next time. Thanks for the tip!!
@@Rocco4Jesus oh your most welcome. I did a video on how l refinish mine if you’re interested. But l do like how yours turned out.
You keep doing you bud. I don't know what this comment section is all about. I just got this gun today ,and I know how to take it apart and clean it. I understand that these guns have a lot of history. That's the whole reason why I buy them. The last time I checked if you own the gun you can do what you want with it.
Keep making videos you do a great job.
Thank you Anthony
Go collect baseball cards then. Ruin those
@@mattdale81861 Oh please!! Cry us all a river, why wont you!! At least the gun has been restored and salvaged for future generations to enjoy. I wouldn’t go as far as sanding away the engravings, but if there is rust, it def has to go!!
You ruined a shotgun, it's one of our best WWII collectible shotguns, I understand it's okay to clean them and remove the rust, but nothing else. when you remove the scratches, the dents on the butt, and give it the paint, you erase its history, what it has experienced, what makes any shotgun unique. We Italians cry when we see these things, your Garand, springfield, we clean them, we treat them well, but we leave everything that has happened to them on the battlefield. We have respect.
Thank you for watching Valerio
Valerio colonna so it is ok to remove rust and clean?
@@shauncry1917 it is okay to remove the rust and clean and do everything possible to get it back to being as it was manufactured, without any modification or alteration
Shotgun?.....
Is more a massacre than a refurbishment.
Please, never again!
It was one of the rarest 91 existing, a first model Cavalry Carbine .
Thanks for watching Paolo
Guess what you just sanded an original handguardless m91 carbine. The rarest of all carbines in which 99.9% of all cav carbines had handguards retrofitted. Lord ignorance is bliss.
Thanks for watching
Nice... I dig my little Carcano Calvary rifle.... Y'all check your serial numbers numbers... Mine was built in 1942 while Italy was still under Mussolini's fascist rule... There's something special about owning a firearm used in war.
This looks like it's pre WWII. I got a lot of flack for sanding the stock because it was so old. lol
"How to turn a $300 rifle into a $150 rifle"...
Thanks for watching Cory. It was a fun project. There are still a ton of these available. Sometimes as low as $250.
@@Rocco4Jesus Yes, there are many late model cavalry carbines available for $250 and lower... this was an early 1891 carbine in its original configuration with the more scarce, early pattern bayonet lock and rear sight though.
I wonder if these things will go up in value! I’m thinking about getting another one!
They are not really that sought after. I bought one because they are Italian!! lol It’s really fun to shoot. They are a cost effective way to collect a small price of history.
Mosins did. When the supply starts diminishing prices start going up.
Any military rifle will go up in value over time if left in its original configuration, once you start sanding and wire wheeling metal... you just killed all value.
Nice job on that. I'm in the middle of restoring a carcano myself right now.
Thank you Ninja, let me know how it comes out!!
I have 3 carcanos
Nice job. Haters gonna hate.. Each hater should buy 2 to make themselves feel better.
Hey Jarod, thanks for watching. Yes everyone has an opinion when you post. I do understand where they are coming from. Believe me, I knew I was going to hear it when I sanded the stock. And yes, for $300 they can have their own Carcano and do as they see fit with it. Maybe even buy two lol
@@Rocco4Jesus I bought 2 😆
You have a early carbine one without a handgaurd. Nice
Thank you Joe
You destroyed a rifle. What a shame. Now it does not have any value as a military collectable rifle.
Thank you for watching Giovanni
People need to stop whining about how OP cleans up his very own firearm. Probably the armories in Italy should learn how to store those carcanos properly?
@@FC-ue1yc Thank you for watching. That’s the beauty of the TH-cam community. The diversity of opinions. I was torn between sanding and not sanding but it was a $300 rifle. They are in such low demand and they are so abundant.
@@Rocco4Jesus I personally think you did a very good job. A quick question: did you have to remove all the old bluing before the application of cold blue? My moschetto is coming next week and I pretty much want to copy and paste what you did.
Bellissima arma e bel documentario
Molto grazia fratello mio
@@Rocco4Jesus mi è sempre piaciuto. Io ne ho uno cal 8x57 e li tengo molto stretto 👍
Good job!
Thank you Craig and thanks for watching!!
Video should have been called “How to destroy the collectors value of a Carcano”.
Thanks for watching!!
Thanks for the video. What kind of buffer wheel were u using? Were you using the steel wool scrub, wire wheeling, blueing, and polishing wheel for every metal part or just some? What grit did you use for the sander? Also did u buff and reblue the barrel too? Seems too big to do all that especially inside the bore
Hi Jb. Thanks for watching.
I used a cotton cloth wheel with white compound. I was especially diligent when buffing the bolt so as to get a smooth action. It worked very well as it is one of the smoother bolt actions that I own. I only wire wheeled parts that were rusted, steel wool 000 then 0000 on everything else. If the blueing was still intact, I did not re-blue so most of the re-blueing was on parts that were rusty and wire wheeled. I wanted the barrel to maintain the appearance of age so I did not blue it at all. Just polished a little with the steel wool. The only exception was a small portion that rusted that was under the stock. When I sanded the stock, (wow did I get backlash for that so be careful if you post) I started with 120 and finished with 240. I hope that answered all of your questions. Let me know what else I can do for you. God bless!!
@@Rocco4Jesus ty very much!
Nice job
Thank you Wiggy. Thanks for watching.
Thank you so much for the video! I have the exact gun just purchased from Classic Firearms..will follow your lead, Rocco. Where do I purchase ammunition for this weapon; I'm having a hard time locating it. Thank you in advance man!
Steinel Ammo has 6.5 mm carcano in stock- pricey but good stuff
@@montana_guy8001 thanks man!
Please forgive me, I missed this one. Ammo is very difficult to come by. There are a few sources online that have it sometimes. Graff & Sons are usually where I find it. Ammoseek.com is a great search site for all ammo too.
great job ! Thank for this video will be helpful if i do my own
He should have never sanded down the stock. If you use "Murphy's Soap Oil" & a "Green Pad". It will completely strip the old wood stained finish away. This preserves all original markings that would or will be lost by using a barbaric sanding machine. Then after the stock dry's (which will take only a few minutes.) Then use a walnut wood stain for gunstocks.
Thank you for watching Kevin. Yes I agree that would have worked as well.
Shame. Tbh these are the kind of things that just break every gun collectors heart and start by making the market even worse than it already is. People please learn from these mistakes. No matter how beautiful the restore turns out in 1-5 years tops this thing will go from oh Carcanos aren’t that collectible and easy to get blah blah blah to now starting to go up in price. It’s the same with the mosin nagants. Just remember this when buying one. But just know this is extremely frowned upon in the gun community. Please do your own research and ask before doing something sad like this. This rifle that was worth $200 now could’ve been worth $1,500 in a matter of months to a year. But as soon as you restore one it plummets the price by more than half leaving you with basically nothing. Don’t make the same mistake this guy did. Ask you gun dealer or someone who is knowledgeable. Trust me. Have a wonderful day guys and happy collecting.
I totally understand and agree with you Jentz, as I have firearms I won't touch like this. For me, it's not always about maintaining a dollar value on a firearm, sometimes you just want to do a project and enjoy it. Thanks for watching!!
Looking sharp, bet it feels like you could take on the whole Austro-Hungarian army all by yourself.
Thank you for watching!!
Nice work. I am getting ready to do something similar to mine.
That's great, take your time and enjoy it.
I was watching a narcissists channel putting down Carcano. Then I read your comment and came to your channel. Thanks for the excellent video. I left my stock as it was . Also through much research I found out that my southern Scottish ancestors were mixed with the Romans so i will call you my cousin Rocco...Ps I also own a MotoGuzzi.
Sorry I missed this Bob. Dude you rock, owning a Guzzi!!!!!! I'm jealous!! Thank you for watching.
Real nice video.. I like the way you speed up the parts the were very obvious to the watcher. Great job on the stock just like all my carbines. I gotta get me a wire wheel. does the wheel take off the original finish ? I sub ya to.
Hey thanks for watching!!! The wire wheel will take off the finish if you really lean into it. Typically you would be using it to remove rust in which case the finish is not a concern though. There are also brass and nylon wheels that you could use that a much gentler on finishes.
@@Rocco4Jesus THANKS
Beautiful work!!!
Thanks for watching. It was a fun project.
With all my rispect for your refurbishment hard work, Lieutenant Kilgore would say: “I love the smell of history of that rifle” … and that has been unfortunately deleted forever.
Thank Bizio
Thank you for watching Bizio
Very cool. Fun project
Thanks for Watching!!
Lots of whiny people in the comments. If they want to save these guns so bad they should buy a couple
Thank you for watching Austin.
Awesome video ! Thanks so much. I just picked up a 1938 Carcano short rifle and never restored one, but your video will help me so much! I just pray that plate you were using was not your grandmother’s from the old country 😂😂 ! My mom’s parents and dad’s parents were from Italy and I’ve seen similar plates in my gramma Rose’s house
Thank you Joe. Good luck on your restore. You will love these rifles. Great piece of Italian history!! Yeah the plate looks like an oldie but it’s just a cheap set we bought from A&P years ago. LOL
How is the bolt when you bring it back is it rough or smooth ?
Very smooth. The buffing made it almost frictionless. Thanks for watching.
Is this considered an antique
Thank you for watching. Yes it is stamped 1900. As far as I can tell, that’s the manufacture year. Maybe someone on this thread knows more??
Very nice job. What was the Zep cleaner you used? Some type of soap?
Yes it was a degreaser. I bought it at Home Depot. (sorry for the late response)
How did you get the front band off the barrel? It doesn't show it in your video?
Hey Stag!! Do you mean the band that holds the sight and the bayonet? I didn’t remove that, but if you need to get yours off, there is a small screw that you remove and then it slides off. It might need a little persuasion.
@@Rocco4Jesus no the band that holds the front stock and handguard on. It just slides up and down the barrel. I can't figure out how to get it off without risking breaking it. Its got the sling swivel on it.
Oh, I had to slightly bend it open. I was very gentle and only opened it enough to get it off.
@@Rocco4Jesus how did you do that?
@@HiddenThingsofGod Its been a while, but I think I put a large flat screwdriver in the opening and gently twisted.
What is wrong with restoring??
Hi Shaun. Thanks for watching. I’m with you on that but that’s the beauty of a public forum. The free exchange of ideas, knowledge, and opinions. Everyone buys firearms for different reasons. Some folks like to leave them completely untouched (I am in that camp most of the time depending on the firearm) and some folks are on the extreme other end and buy them to carve them up and have fun with them. (I do not modify from original design unless something is unsafe) I bought this because it was an inexpensive Italian milsurp that I could have some fun with.
I don't agree or disagree just wanting more information. I have one but it is rusted and I would like to get it operating so I can use. (For fun) I need more opinions
Can I just pay you to do mine???
Thanks Bubble, that's quite a compliment. Thank you for watching
Oh my God, you made big mistake!!!!!
Thank you for watching Cranby
Why is this a mistake? I have one that is siezed debating simple restore.
Ces fusils n'ont que peu de valeur, donc ça ne gêne en rien. Je viens d'en recevoir un avec de la rouille et la crosse bois toute abîmée. Je vais aussi lui refaire une jeunesse.
I'm sorry, I don't speak that language, but thank you for watching!!
Good job, you destroyed a Carcano... in a italian group of collectors people is crying for the mistakes that you do... restore is keep the history of the gun, not rebuilt it... this is like delete the monalisa and re-paint it again...
Thank you for watching Daniele
Nice work, Rocco. You took an old beat up virtually worthless relic and resurrected it to its former glory. I thought you did good particularly on the stock as you didn’t sand off the rack number on the butt. There are some people who prefer old rifles as rusted out, ugly, unsafe to shoot wall hangers, and that’s fine for them. They can let theirs rust away to powder. Enjoy it :)
@@Rocco4Jesus He's right. That was a pre WW1 cavalry carcano without the upper handguard. Destroyed it
You did a great job. Don't listen to these clowns.
F**k those guys. I bet you they wouldn’t even have bothered buying it to bring a potential deer slayer back to it’s glory days. I want two or three Carcano’s myself while they are good buys and would restore every one of them as well. Awesome job!!
Holy shit lol, this was an early production without the upper handguard lol. I hate to be that guy but you ruined a piece of history
Thanks for watching Helen
Nice job