Friend got an Italian Carcano in 6.5 for Christmas. We were talking about my Jap 6.5 and how I have not got it to function properly. And that I have 4 or 5 boxes of ammo for it. He asked if my ammo would fire in his rifle. Told him I did not think it would be a good idea, but did not know for sure. After he left I saw the carcano shoots a 6.5x52 cartridge. The Jap is 6.5x50 brass. Got me to thinking about how I got some brass for the 7.7 Jap I also have - FIREFORMING 30.06 brass. My question : Can the Jap ammo be fireformed to fit his Carcano?

I would check all actual cartridge dimensions as well as operating psi for both. It may be the same and it may be dangerously different.

I load the 6.5 jap for a coworker. Brass quality is pretty poor with some of the once fired brass he brought me having cracked necks. Unless you have something different this is not the type of brass I would consider fire forming.

The short answer... NO. The 2 rounds are similar, but both different. You MAY be able to get the Jap to fire in the Carcano, but the brass will be much shorter, and the case body is slightly larger on the Jap. These are 2 different cartridges and should be fired in a rifle chambered in that cartridge. If you did fire the Jap in the Carcano, the brass would be much shorter than spec and would not be reloadable.

A very interesting question . I would not recommend that you do it , as by your post it is clear you have no idea what you are doing [ you could not get the 6.5 Jap to work in a 6.5mm Jap ? !! ] . By using real cases and rifles , not just statements made from bad info , it becomes interesting . First the 6.5 Jap is a semi-rimmed case and the Carcano is rimless . But that is not a factor because the way a Carcano bolt face and extractor is made , it will take the larger rim . Using commercial made cases the case head and body ARE the same [ within .002 ] , the shoulders are close enough and the Jap case is only .060 shorter in the neck [ the Carcano has a very long neck so it would not be a factor ] . Both factory cartridges are very underloaded for the rifles that fire them , so pressure is not an issue . Now I on the other hand would fire one , even though I am saying NOBODY ELSE SHOULD . The Norma 6.5mm Jap chambers and fires fine in a 6.5mm Carcano and come out with a fully reloadable case with a neck that is .054 shorter than a Carcano case .

Looks like I’m going to “Banned Camp” but I could not give a rip at this point and could not let a STUPID comment go unchallenged. *** Directed to diablodog*** It is quite obvious you have not paid ANY attention to my previous posts. The reason I could not get the jap rifle to work correctly had NOTHING to do with the ammo or me “having no idea what I am doing”. The 6.5 Jap rifle has a headspace problem that caused frequent misfires. Before you start spouting off about crap you do not know, use your brain or your eyes! [quote=diablodog], as by your post it is clear you have no idea what you are doing [ you could not get the 6.5 Jap to work in a 6.5mm Jap ? !! . By using real cases and rifles , not just statements made from bad info , it becomes interesting. [end quote]. You need to keep your smart moments to yourself!!!!!!

Haha, this is funny, diablodog gives smart alec style answer, (but seems correct) and corroborates what nuprofessor is wanting to do but, both tell each other they are ignorant while agreeing on the premise brought up in the OP. Gotta love the internet