Carcanos have been reamed out for this cartridge, yes. Both Austrian military conversions from World War I ("6,5mm Jt. u. Gr."); Greek arsenal conversions after WW II, and Canadian civilian sporterizations after WW II.

Carcano

I couldn't answer your question on which to use to build a new one, but I have an original M/S Model 1903 carbine with the full length Mannlicher stock in 6.5x54. It's also got a Lyman bolt release peep sight and the factory set trigger.

I've taken a little game with it and intend to use it a lot more. I load it with a 160 gr Hornady round nose over 37.4 gr of H4831SC and a Federal 210 primer. This load moves a little over 2000 fps and groups in a 3/4 in group at 75 yards. I'm also playing with the Barnes 140 gr XLC and have got some pretty impressive groups.

This is a great little cartridge/rifle combo. It doesn't weigh anything, handles like a dream and produces almost no recoil. My girlfriend likes to think it is her's, but I keep reminding her that I can replace her a lot easier than I can replace that rifle.

Mac