Original Item: Only One Available. As with other countries in the 1860s, the newly unified Italy was looking to modernize the long guns and other arms used by the Regio Esercito (Royal Army). They were still producing and using large bore 17.5 and 18mm percussion rifles up into the 1860s, when most countries had moved on to smaller bore rifles and even cartridge based arms. Italy unfortunately did not have large resources to acquire new arms, so in the late 1860s they began to convert percussion rifles to the Needle-Fire system, which was at that point in use by France and Germany.

This was tasked to Salvatore Carcano, the head designer at Turin Arsenal. He had traveled through France and Switzerland from 1862 to 1863 to acquire and inspect machinery, and in 1868 had developed a design to convert existing Model 1844, 1856, and 1860 percussion rifles to needle fire. Carcano applied to the Doersch-Baumgarten bolt the security of the Dreyse, with satisfying results. The resulting Fucile Model 1867 was adopted by the Italian army, serving for several years until the Vetterli M1870 was introduced, with a much more standard sized bore.

This is one of 18,000 Model 1856 Percussion Rifles converted to the new needle fire design in 1867 for use by Bersaglieri (Sharpshooters) in the Italian Army. The conversion made full use of all remaining parts, so instead of a new stock made for a bolt action, the existing stock had the side plate and lock plate inlets filled in with wood grafts, and then were inlet for the new bolt action trigger group and receiver was added. The breech of the barrel was removed, and then barrel itself was machined to be the receiver, with a channel for the bolt handle. This is why there is still a cap bolster on the right hand side.

The bolt is a solid design, and is marked PRIVATIVA S. Carcano, indicating it was a protected design by Salvatore Carcano, and most likely was not allowed to be copied outside of the Italian royal armories. Like other needle fire designs, the bolt can be moved freely when it is cocked, when the needle is retracted into the bolt. When it is not cocked, there is a release just inside the front of the trigger guard, which when pulled down allows the bolt to be pulled back. This release can also be pulled down to allow the bolt to be removed entirely. There is a safety in the bolt in front of the cocking handle on the rear, which must be pushed in and rotated to put into safety, which is does by letting down the spring. The sear design is somewhat interesting, as there is almost a "half cock" position when pulling back the handle.

As best we can tell, the action is fully functional, though as with most needle guns, the end of the needle is broken off. We checked the bore, and it is in very good condition, with a mostly bright finish showing the four-groove rifling clearly. There is some light oxidation and fouling, now cleaned away, but overall it is really quite nice. The top of the barrel has a standard long range ladder sight, and the front of the barrel has a sight just behind the sleeve of the bayonet fitting.

Overall, the gun has a lovely patina of age, looking to have been carefully cleaned over the past 150+ years. The metalwork has a lovely lightly oxidized look, with signs of past peppering, but no major pitting or rust. The stock is also in great shape, showing no major damage, just the usual wear from age and use. Both sling swivels are still present, though the butt stock swivel is frozen, and the cleaning rod is in good shape with intact threads on the end, though they are a bit worn.

A lovely example of a very hard to find needle fire converted rifle, used early in the unified Italian period. We have not had one of these before, and we suspect it will be some time before we see another, if we do at all. Ready to research and display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: circa 1860 - modified circa 1867
Caliber: 17.5mm
Cartridge Type: Needlefire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 31 1/4 inches
Overall Length: 49 3/4 Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action
Feed System: Single Shot

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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

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Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.