For the record — I have nothing against JFK and do not think Oswald was anywhere close to a decent (or sane) human!
Recently starting looking to build (more of a conversation piece than anything) a Carcano rifle similar to the one Lee Harvey Oswald used to assassinate President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963. I've always been interested in the history of the event — being from Texas and visiting Dealy Plaza several times.
Palmetto State Armory recently offered some surplus Carcano 91/24's for sale for a reasonable price. (Oswalds was a 91/38 ). They're the same length with a few minor differences. Looks like they're sold out now. Glad I grabbed it when I did.
Arrived as advertised - Full of cosmoline and a little banged up. Tore it down, cleaned up & re-blued all the hardware. Scuffed & re-oiled the stock. Turned out pretty decent. Have yet to fire it, but have no reason to think it won't. Local gun shop gave me a matching bayonet for free they had laying around for years collecting dust. Really makes it look neat. Found a sling that was sorta similar to Oswald's and a similar-style Bushnell 4x scope as well. Still waiting on the scope mount to be delivered.
Anybody else ever mess with these rifles? I know they don't have much of a reputation for quality being an Italian mass-produced military piece. Was really just interested in having historical conversation piece from one of the most infamous events of the 20th century.
How it arrived
Broke down and cleaned up
Bayonet attached
Back together
With sling added. Still need the mount for scope...
After buying all this and refinishing, I came across the real-deal Carcano 91/38 in an online auction. Surprisingly, I won (less $ than I paid for the other gun) and am awaiting delivery. Will try to get more authentic scope/mount and sling. Can't find anything for sale currently, but looks like they command big bucks when they do pop up. We'll see how it goes! Dad wants me to sell him the one I fixed up, so he can have a cheap conversation piece too
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