Future value of Carcano carbines

[Guns and Guitars]

I have a Carcano 1891 carbine that I don’t use or really need. I’m thinking about selling it to free up space in my safe, but I don’t want to regret the decision at sometime in the future. Does anyone who knows more about these than me have any predications into what the future market for these might look like?

 

[MachIVshooter]

Nobody has a crystal ball, market value is dependent on demand.

Carcanos, with few exceptions, have held at a relatively low price point for a very long time. They're not particularly desirable, they are fairly plentiful, ammo availability sucks and is expensive, they require en bloc clips, they use non-standard bullet diameters with extremely limited selection, and are poor candidates for custom builds due to odd features and mediocre strength.

That doesn't mean it's impossible for them to arbitrarily become desirable and jump up significantly in price at some point, but if looking at it from an investment standpoint, you'd almost certainly do better to sell it and invest in a fund, even at just 5%.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

It's value relative to other bolt action milsurps will probably remain at the lower end. They made a bunch of them, lots and lots survived the World Wars in good condition, and I suspect that as a group Carcanos were less frequently sporterized than other milsurps. There are probably specific rare models that command a collector's premium today, but I think the common models will remain entry-level collectibles.

On the other hand, values for the entire milsurp collecting genre have become quite pricey in recent years. Carcanos are worth more today than I think they ever were, and will likely continue to appreciate over time. I don't see a day when they'll command a equal or higher price than an unaltered K98k or US 1903, but Carcanos are still legitimate milsurps.

FWIW, I'm still in shock at today's prices for an unaltered M1917!

 

[trackskippy]

I'll bet if you put it on Gun Broker and say you've had it forever, and bought it out back of a bookstore in Texas in 1963 from a squirrely-looking skinny dude, you'd get a good buck for it if you start it at a penny.


Then again, if you dont want to embellish, the "finished auction" section of the search there, is a good place to see what people are willing to pay for one. Thats usually the first place I stop for a quick reference, at least for current prices and trends.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

It hasn’t been long since Royal Tiger imported a large quantity from Ethiopia. Most were not in great shape, but several were from WWI.
Then there were the ones that came from Italy. These were kept in storage since WWII and didn’t see much use after the war.
As stated before, Carcanos have never been at the top of the food chain for collectors, other then a few that collect them. I have a friend that has about 50 or more Carcanos. He bought several in the past three years, maybe over 100 of them. He kept the more desirable rifles and sold off the rest.
So right now a Carcano will sell for around $250. I don’t see them going up in price any time soon because, some of the companies that have been selling them are starting to drop their prices a little. And the fact that the market is flooded.
I still have a few Carcanos in my collection. One is a carbine that the Egyptians rechambred to 8mm Mauser for a training rifle.
If your rifle is just a run of the mill Carcano, and you no longer care for it, sell it and put the money into something you want. Maybe something that is more likely to increase in value.

 

[caribou]

The value will go up.

Its value would be more if the ammo was easily available or if they were rechamberable to an easy to find cartridge.

I dont like the sights on mine, or rather the way they are used, in the Italian style.

 

[TTv2]

Mosin's went up in value because they were cheap, but decent Russian rifles that still has an adequate ammo supply and back in the day the ammo was cheap. The ammo isn't cheap anymore, but it is available and relatively affordable. Carcano's are crummy rifles and the ammo situation with them is much worse.

If you want something similar to compare to the Carcano, the Arisaka would be considered a better made rifle in a more reloader friendly chambering (cases can be formed from .30-06 brass) and the prices for those without the mum or have been sporterized is roughly $250. I could see the Carcano's going up to $250, but it would take at least 5 years and would match the rate of inflation.

So, no, I don't see Carcano's becoming the new Mosin's.

 

[dh1633pm]

I got two for posterity. Just so I could say I have one. Got them in a trade with Gunny. One day, I’ll shoot them.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I got two for posterity. Just so I could say I have one. Got them in a trade with Gunny. One day, I’ll shoot them.

They went to a good home.

 

[jmorris]

I have one in 7.35x51, since my Grandmother passed away decades ago. I would have rather had the 8mm Mauser she also kept in the pantry.

Its been almost as useful as a landscape rock all the years I have owned it. Too crummy of a rifle to turn into something else really. I keep it because I have never regretted selling something I still have and it will become someone else’s problem when I am gone, same way I got it.

 

[valnar]

Ten years ago I would say the Carcano is one of the worst milsurp guns around. Why would you want to buy one? They aren't gonna go up in value.

And then the Mosin's joined the chat.

 

[redneck2]

I fail to understand the obsession over the possibility that a gun may increase in value the equivalent of a tank of gas, and it will take 5-10 years. Money comes and goes. In my 72 years I figured out too late that money isn’t nearly as important as life experiences.

If the gun somehow brings you pleasure I’d keep it. If not, it’s gone.

 

[Mosin77]

I bought a couple of Carcanos so I could see them, play with them, say I have them… I like them in a “platonic milsurp” sort of way. They’re not the best at anything but they’re cheap, have some history, and smell like cosmoline. For approx. $200 each shipped, it seemed a fair transaction. I don’t expect them to skyrocket in value any more than inflation, due to the reasons already mentioned.

 

[giggitygiggity]

Carcanos creep up in value very slowly. They’re common, often not in great condition, and use ammo that is not super common. As such, they’re not highly desirable.

If you are looking to make a profit from one, you’re probably better off selling it for what you paid and investing that money into a blue chip stock or mutual fund or even a CD as the value of those assets will likely increase at a far higher rate than that of a Carcano.

I suggest just keeping it and enjoying it for what it is.

 

[mokin]

I bought one back when Ronald Reagan was Commander in Chief. I paid $55.00 for it. I paid another ten dollars for a couple of clips. Ammunition was fairly expensive and only loaded by Norma. I didn't shoot it much and I saved the brass. Over the years I have started handloading and bought more clips. While the rifle hasn't ever been one I've used a lot, I've had a good time with it. I shoot it a couple times a year. At this point, it gets about the same treatment as my other milsurps. When I see the prices they go for now, I think it was a pretty good investment.

Like others have said, if you like it, keep it. Shooting a Carcano comes with some challenges. If you'd rather have something else, sell it.

 

[kje54]

Don't want a Carcano but just did some price research. Most of the prices for good to very good with the exception of GunBroker (of course) are already back down at the $200 range. Wait a while and they will likely drop even more. If they get down to the $100 range I might buy just to say I have one........

 

[Guns and Guitars]

Thanks for the feedback. I don’t have an obsession with hoping this gun makes me a bunch of money, and I do have money invested in mutual funds, etc. I just didn’t know if there’s something special about these that I’m missing, which might cause them to increase in value faster than the rate of inflation. I have one from the batch that was kept in storage by the Italians. It’s in good shape but nothing special.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I have one in 7.35x51, since my Grandmother passed away decades ago. I would have rather had the 8mm Mauser she also kept in the pantry.

Its been almost as useful as a landscape rock all the years I have owned it. Too crummy of a rifle to turn into something else really. I keep it because I have never regretted selling something I still have and it will become someone else’s problem when I am gone, same way I got it.

Despite the ammo challenge, I personally think this model has more historical interest than most Carcanos. Due to war pressures, the Italians had to give up partway through the cartridge switch and sold a big batch of 7.35s to Finland, where they served as second-line weapons. Most Finnish Carcanos have the SA stamp on the receiver, and many were fitted with a taller front sight to zero at closer range.

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/m38-carcano-best-bolt-rifle-of-world-war-two/

While interesting, it's still not particularly valuable (so far anyway). Interarms later took these off the Finns in a trade for STEN subguns.

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/ask-ian-did-the-finns-hate-the-carcano/

 

[jmorris]

I’d trade mine for a Sten, would even cover the transfer fee…

 

[Terry G]

Very hard to say. If I got $30.00 for mine I would have doubled my money.

 

[AlexanderA]

A Carcano carbine was one of the first guns I had ($9.99 from Academy Surplus in Austin, Texas). Not a fan. I ended up giving it away.

 

[BreechFace]

Out of all the WWII bolt actions in my opinion the Carcano's are the worst. I have one strictly for my collection, but don't see myself shooting it much if at all in my lifetime.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I have fond memories of eating fried squirrel harvested by my Dad with an M.38.
Because of that, I have added one of those to the three other Carcanos and the Model I in my weapons archive.
If I run across more variations thin I will pick them up.

 

[WestKentucky]

The biggest thing going for the Carcano is the probability that it killed JFK. If it were certain then there would be less speculation and less attention. If it were known to be false, again no speculation and less attention. The conspiracy theories keep the Carcano interest slightly above what it should be. The people that remember JFK’s assassination are fewer by the day and there’s really not much interest anymore, and the Italians didn’t do anything to really make a name for the rifles so I would actually expect the value to be dropping. The fact of the matter is that the conspiracy theorists make an awfully good case for the Carcano to be considered one of the worst rifles in history. If it is so awful that a significant group of people believe that the shots can’t be made reliably and have done numerous attempts to prove the rifle incapable then that speaks volumes to how good of a gun that they are.

 

[theotherwaldo]

My father always said that the Kennedy assassination was proof that Marine marksmanship training always overcomes the mediocrity of the tools and weapons that are handed to them.
Of course, we also worked out several ways that the assassination could have involved bullets from Oswald's gun without involving Oswald... .