the model 1891 carcano rifle is roundly criticized, derided, because of the difficulty encountered by most in the operation of the action's safety. the criticism is almost universal, that it is very difficult to operate the safety with the right thumb, if not impossible.
which "criticism," so far as it goes, is correct. you would have to have an extremely strong right hand and thumb to be able to do it.
now, given this fact, you would think that someone might wonder, even "look into," whether or not the italians intended the rifle's safety to be operated in a manner involving the right thumb only. (a note: the italians are not too shabby at industrial design, witness the ferrari and other contrivances. and, when it comes to wwi and wwii weaponry, the italians made some very nice airplanes, and several battleships that were very good, perhaps even to rival the iowa class battle wagons of the united states.)
at the very least, some bright lad might have suggested that the italian army's manual of arms for the model 1891 carcano would be a good place to look. well, i didn't look there, because i don't have one. but, it really doesn't take to much to figure out an easy way to do it.
first off, if it cannot be done with just a single thumb, then it seems relatively obvious that it wasn't designed to be put on and off safety with just one thumb. that momentous intellectual step having been taken, the obvious suggestion presents itself, that perhaps the italian army wanted the manipulation of the safety to be done with both hands. once that conclusion is acknowledged, it is a relatively simple matter to figure out how to do it. and, below is how i do it.--
placing the rifle's muzzle in a safe direction (toward the ground seems relatively obvious), the action facing "up", the bolt handle is grasped with the fingers of the right hand, and the right thumb placed on the surface of the safety. the left hand is placed over the action, the fingers in front of the bolt handle, and the left thumb is placed on the safety as well. now, pressure is applied to push the safety forward, and the right and left hands pull the action back. this being done, it is relatively easy to push the safety forward, and to push it to the right at the same time. the safety follows a track cut into the end of the bolt, and moves easily into a position from which the action may "fire."
why did the italians go to the bother? well, it is pretty obvious that the italian military did not the rifle to be fired unintentionally, and did not want to place it in an "unsafe position" unless the rifle were being prepared for active & actual combat. and, it is not overly difficult to do this, if it is done correctly.
yet, i have never seen the "safe operation" of the 1891 italian carcano ever set forth in print. what does this say about putting the minds of gun writers into operation, and thought? well, enough of that. now, you know a simple way to operate the rifle so that it may be shot.
john jay @ 03.28.2023
btw. my 1891 carcano was purchased from sarco, as a bare action with an 8mm mauser barrel, fitted. yes, a bit of an oddity. this was done to "aid" the wermacht during wwii, as they were having trouble producing enough mauser rifles in 8mm mauser. on my rifle, nothing was done to anything in order to make such a conversion feasible: a.)the bolt face was not enlarged to accommodate the rim diameter of the mauser cartridge, 2.)the extractor was not altered to handle the larger cartridge, and 3.)to my knowledge, the italians did not alter the dimensions of the cartridge clips, which were a necessary component of the operation of the action & "feed" of the cartridges.
as "made," it would not have chambered a standard 8mm mauser infantry round. (i have figured out how to do it, but, that is another story. this is simply a post on how to operate the safety.)
i am not aware that the germans ever used the 1891carcano in combat, or even issued it. the 1891 carcano was used in a limited role by the finns, and against the russians. the finns tended to discard the carcano's as soon as a dead russian happened on the scene to volunteer the use of his mosin nagant, which the finns actually happen to like. (it may not be pretty, or slick, but it is dependable in the winter and cold. this, the finns admire.)
back to the topic. all in all, there are many admirable features of the carcano. it is simple, it is robust, (and bears a distinct resemblance to the mannlicher schoenauer adopted several years later.) but, the safety is a booger, if you haven't the native wit to figure out how to operate it, and, safely. no pun intended.