The Carcano cartridge was revolutionary for its time. While most nations were moving toward larger calibers (such as the .30-40 Krag or the 8mm Lebel), Italy bet on the smaller 6.5mm bore. This offered reduced recoil, lighter ammunition weight (allowing soldiers to carry more rounds), and excellent ballistic coefficients.
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: Even if you forced them, the Carcano’s wider .268 barrel would never find accuracy with the skinny .258 hunting bullet. 6.5x52r vs 6.5 carcano
While they share similar numeric nomenclature, the 6.5x52mm Carcano The Carcano cartridge was revolutionary for its time
| Criterion | 6.5 Carcano | 6.5x52R | |-----------|-------------|---------| | Rifle cost | Low ($200-400) | High ($800+) | | Ammo cost | High but available | Very high / custom only | | Accuracy potential | Poor (.268" vs .264" issue) | Good (standard bullets) | | Hunting use | Marginal (requires correct bullets) | Good (modern .264 bullets) | | Fun factor | High (cheap rifle, historical) | High (unique action) | 👇 : Even if you forced them, the Carcano’s wider
The 6.5x52R predates the Italian cartridge? Actually, both appeared in the early 1890s. They evolved separately. The Dutch copied the German Patrone 88 rimless concept but added a rim for extraction reliability in straight-pull actions.