Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS
- Category
- Carbine
- Barrel
- 450 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.00 kg
- Introduced
- 1938
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS (Moschetto Modello 1938 per Truppe Speciali) is an Italian bolt-action carbine, the special-troops variant of the Modello 1938 Carcano system issued to engineers, artillery crews, machine-gunners and other second-line and support units who needed a handier weapon than the full-length rifle. Introduced in 1938 chambered for the experimental 7.35x51mm Carcano cartridge, most were later produced or reverted to the original 6.5x52mm Carcano as the M91/38 TS after Italy abandoned the caliber change in 1940. It feeds from a six-round en bloc clip through a Mannlicher-pattern integral magazine and uses a Mauser-style two-lug rotating bolt. Unlike the cavalry carbine's permanently attached folding bayonet, the TS mounts a separate knife bayonet on a lug beneath the muzzle, and like other M38-pattern carbines it carries a simplified fixed 200-meter rear sight.
Italy adopted the 7.35x51mm cartridge and its Modello 1938 rifles and carbines in 1938 to give infantry a flatter-shooting round, but with war looming the logistical chaos of a caliber change forced a reversion to the old 6.5mm in 1940, leaving the 7.35mm M38 TS carbines as short-lived curiosities.
The '1938' designation reflects the short-lived 7.35x51mm program; because the caliber change was cancelled in 1940, the great majority of TS carbines were built in or converted to 6.5x52mm and are marked M91/38 TS. Distinguished from the M38 cavalry carbine by its separate knife bayonet and lug rather than an integral folding bayonet.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Italian State Arsenals (Terni / Brescia / Gardone)
- Category
- Carbine
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1938 to 1945
- Variant of
- Special troops carbine
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 450 mm
- Overall length
- 915 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.00 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Rotating bolt
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- En bloc clip
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 700 m/s
- Effective range
- 200 m
- Maximum range
- 1500 m
- Rate of fire
- 15 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
En bloc clip loading
Fixed 200m rear sight
Separate knife bayonet lug
Full length handguard
Two lug rotating bolt
Turned down bolt handle
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 409 carbines | 3.00 kg | 3.00 kg | Near the median |
| Overall lengthAmong 407 carbines | 915 mm | 895 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 423 carbines | 450 mm | 406 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 423 carbines | 6 | 21 | Holds fewer rounds than about 80% |
Answers
Questions about the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS
How much does the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS weigh?
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS weighs 3.00 kg (6.61 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS?
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS is chambered in 7.35x51mm Carcano and 6.5x52mm Carcano.
How many rounds does the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS hold?
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS holds 6 rounds, fed from an en bloc clip.
How long is the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS?
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS is 915 mm (36.0 in) long overall, with a 450 mm (17.7 in) barrel.
Who makes the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS?
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS is made by Italian State Arsenals (Terni / Brescia / Gardone) (Italy). It was designed by Salvatore Carcano.
When was the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS introduced?
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS was introduced in 1938 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS operate?
The Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is rotating bolt.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Royal Italian Army (Regio Esercito)
- 1938
- Italian Social Republic
- 1943
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/carcano-moschetto-mod-1938-ts' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "carcano-moschetto-mod-1938-ts", "name": "Carcano Moschetto Mod. 1938 TS", "manufacturer": { "id": "regio-esercito-arsenals", "name": "Italian State Arsenals (Terni / Brescia / Gardone)", "countryCode": "IT", "foundedYear": 1875, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "6de7e72b4412acb112d424e900f74c649ff4787b994443b6f6b3ef1ed7848d26" }, "category": { "id": "carbine", "name": "Carbine", "description": "Shortened rifles for close-quarters use" }, "country_of_origin": "IT", "year_introduced": 1938, "barrel_length_mm": 450, "weight_empty_g": 3000, "action_type": "bolt_action"}