I have owned a couple of 6.5 Carcano's. They are a little rough but other than that, are perfectly good guns. They are accurate, powerful and reliable which is all that counts.
Not meaning to brag but I once won our gun club's all comers match and I think the shot was a difficult one. First of all it was a moving target and not really all that large if you mean his head. Also the shots were made very rapidly. The shot is possible but not likely. I guess the fact that it is possible is all that counts tho.
The Mannlicher-Carcano enthusiasts at this website seem to think the same thing.
This link is from the same site and covers the model number, part numbers, importer information, scope configuration, independent testing, and overview of Oswald's infamous M91/38 Mannlicher-Carcano short rifle, serial number C2766:
"... This one rifle embodies the undeserved reputation that the Carcano is not an accurate, safe gun. The Warren Commission report is rife with the initial opinions of witnesses (i.e., FBI, ATF, etc.), indicating that they thought the Carcano was not capable of being the assassination weapon, basically repeating heresay. These witnesses found through their own testing (and by later independent recreations) that the Carcano was capable of being the assassination weapon. It is our opinion that not only was the Carcano capable of being the assassination weapon, any similar weapon could have been capable of this. This page has been added here mostly for completeness sake; much has been written about the rifle, most of it not worth the paper on which the words were printed. The two best books on "C2766" are by Howard Bloomgarden and John Lattimer..."
History should put the idea that 'Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcano rifle -- "The world's worst shoulder weapon" -- was incapable of shooting President Kennedy'.
The ammo was bought with the rifle. IIRC.
Nope. The ammo shipped with the rifles by Milt Klein's Sporting Goods in Chicago was Italian military ball, surplus and unreliable. Even during late WWII when the Nazis were desperate for workable small arms for use by the Hitler Youth and planned resistance forces, they preferredto rechamber Italian-suppliedCarcanos to use their standard 7.92x57mm Mauserammunition rather than depending on the Italian-produced ammo,
The ammunition used by Oswald was of Winchester Repeating Arms origin, 6.5x52 Carcano manufactured under a CIA contract during the early 50's. The intended use is not clear, but varies from being supplemental production for the Italian Military, use during the Greek civil-war, anti-communist efforts in Albania, etc. These rounds found their way into the surplus market in the early 1960's, and were also astaple of the Anti-Castro Cubans planning a second invasion of Cuba in early 1964, intelligence penetrations of which were ongoing in the Southwest at the time- The Cubanswere hardly inclined to trust most of their previous CIA handlers following the Bay of Pigs betrayal, absent demonstrated proof that Kennedy would not again interfere with their plans.
The subsequent investigation into possible sources of the ammunition used by Oswald indicated that there were only two sources for it in the Dallas area, the most probable source being Dallas gunsmith and weapons consultant John Thomas Masen- though when questioned by the FBI, he denied recognizing Oswald as having been a customer. Interestingly, Masen is still in the business.
