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Fucile Armaguerra Mod. 39 (Italian Fence Post)

agentcq

Senior Member
This was my most recent Gun Show find. I purchased it off another dealer/collector/friend who got it from the Olds, Alberta (Canada) Aviation Museum. During the summer the museum decided to clear a bunch of rifles that were donated to the museum (mostly by local Vets) as having rifles was a nuisance and the rifles were simply not on display. The first offer for the rifle was $50, my friend didn't even know what it was but offered the princely sum of $500 which the museum happily accepted.

This was the Italians attempt at a semi-automatic rifle. Originally about 2000 were produced in the newly accepted 7.35 caliber but the rifle was re-designed to accept and function with the Italian 6.5mm round in an attempt to streamline logistics. An original order of 10,000 rifles was granted by the fascist government, but it was quickly canceled in 1940 and production rolled over to standard bolt action production. As a result, only approximately 100x rifles were produced. I can only find three other examples of the rifle on the internet and with a serial of A105, this was very possibly the last or close to the last rifle produced.

Forgotten Weapons has a great You Tube video on the rifle.

As many collectors know, Commonwealth soldiers were not officially granted permission to take home war trophies, as a result most soldiers simply smuggled pistols home (hence why there are so many nice examples of P38's and P08's in Canada but so few crisp K98's or G/K43's). However, someone obviously recognized the importance or rarity of this rifle as it was duffle cut in the middle of the stock and likely snuck home by what I suspect was a Canadian soldier or airman. Sadly the firearm isn't documented but I think that the duffle cut reasonably suggests that this was captured in the field or in a factory.

Nevertheless a cool rifle that looks and has the finishing of a fine watch versus a service rifle.
 

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That's outstanding Agentcq. Congrats brother. That could be the rarest rifle posted here. :happy0180:Pic stickied for sure
 
Wow! Super cool! I’ll be 100% honest, this is the first I’ve seen/heard of this rifle! Love it when that happens.
 
I've literally never heard of these but now I have something else to keep an eye out for at local estate auctions. Lol!
 
So glad you picked it up! When he told me he had some “Weird Italian Semi Auto” I about sh1t my pants!

When I showed him the last Sold price from RIA, I think maybe he did too! Lol

You should bring it over this weekend. We will have steak and wobbly pops and try shooting that old Italian hunk of junk! ;)
 
I'm only repeating what others have already said, but congratulations on a once in a lifetime find!
 
Thank you for all the compliments.

Here is the link to the Forgotten Weapons You Tube video: https://youtu.be/sZ9IACssv2Y

As I am only a friend and not married to my friends daughter, I sadly didn't get $500 family pricing but what I paid was in line with current Canadian G/K43 prices - so still a relative bargain for such a rare rifle. I was actually trying to convince another buddy to purchase it, but while doing so, I somehow justified the purchase in my own mind. I don't even like Italian rifles and have sold all from my own collection, but this piece was simply too unique to pass by, especially as the last one at auction sold for 11.5K USD and it doesn't look too bad besides my WWII German semi-automatics.

If anyone has more information on these, it would be greatly appreciated.

The museum where it originated from is kind of interesting, as it is situated on one of former WWII British Commonwealth Air Training centers; it was much safer to train pilots in the Canadian prairies than in England in 1941. My Scottish grandfather actually met his future Canadian wife by attending training at a similar center and returned to be married shortly after the war.

It is sad that it is not documented, it would be neat to know if it was captured from an Italian, German or simply found in a factory or building....I guess we will never know.
 

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Yeah, I will agree with everyone else, really a tremendous find...never heard of this rifle before!

Interesting for sure....good job snagging it!

Love the crest on the receiver, and interesting how they put a thin piece of wood in the duffle cut repair to kerf taken out from the cut...
 
Glad I owned this rifle but looking to sell or trade. Please see the WTB section of the Forum if interested.
 

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