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there is an interesting Carcano sporter variant made for the canadian market in the 1930s I will show now and like allways I collect the topic to attrac more knowledge ...

The Eaton's Carcano

first question: who is Eaton's?
or better who was it?
Daryl????

"The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, a Presbyterian Ulster Scot immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue that was found in the homes of most Canadians. A changing economic and retail environment in the late 20th century, and mismanagement culminated in the chain's bankruptcy in 1999."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eaton%27s

so eaton's sold guns and ammo also and typical for such mail order catalogs it were mostly simple basic model's. they had also some own products like the 12 ga. shotgun cartridge "Eatonioa"

or the single shot bolt action rimfire rifle "Eatonia" that looks very belgian to me.

from the 1899 catalog

1916

1934-35

there are several eaton'S catalog's online like 1926 and 1934 but the eaton's carcano is not in this so I believe it must be between this years
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/cmc/0...&img13.y=12

sometimes in the 1930s Eaton's sold a carcano sporting rifle in 6,5x54 Mannlicher Schönauer build for them by the H. W. Cooey Machine & Arms Company in Cobourg, Ontario. looking at the rifle I have very strong doubt about this story because the Eaton's carcano smell so strong austrian -german.
but take a look at a rifle for sale in canada

http://www.adpost.com/ca/sports_games/6927/

the pistol grib was made by glueing a piece of wood on the original stock. the original .268 diameter barrel was cut and a new .264 diameter barrel was screw in the original barrel stub for the 6,5x54 MS which was a very popular sporting round than around the world. the 6,5x52 Carcano was not available as a comercial sporting round before the 1950s.
nothing against canadian craftmansship but style and the double set trigger looks very continental.
So was this rifle realy build by a canadian shotgun maker? I believe we have another example of the international guntrade here. the rifle could be made by small firm like Sodia in Ferlach for example using captured WW 1 rifle forgotten in an austrian store and found again in the 1930s to made a cheap copy of the desired but expensive .265 Mannlicher sporting rifle. the carcano was not available as cheap surplus market before WW 2!

interesting the Eaton's carcano had his own urban myth
its believe by some that the .264 barrel was only pressed in the original barrel stub and hold by a little screw and so unsafe to shoot it.
but thats the truth:

"Pic 1 - The Barrel "Stub" into which the new barrel is affixed and widely believed to be pressed in and held by a set-screw. False, as stated above. "

"Pic 2 - Left to Right - barrel with tiny indent for set screw, barrel stub, set screw, receiver"

http://www.milsurps.com/content.php?r=303-Myth-Busted-Proof-Testing-an-Eaton-Carcano-Rifle

the rifle like every other carcano is very strong and safe to fire.

here are two other rifle's, the bottom one with a lacquered stock that is not original.
we can see that this sporting rifle was build in a bigger lot.

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?352594-Eaton-carcano

Edited by lancaster (22/03/14 05:30 PM)