Despite attempts to replace the 6.5mm cartridge that had been deemed obsolete after the Great War, the improved short rifle pattern of the Carcano rifle would service as the official standard issue of the Regio Esercito in the Second World War.

The French MAS36 was intended as a stopgap until a suitable semi-automatic rifle could be developed, but this was not to be. The Fall of France in 1940 led to it being the final rifle adopted by the Third Republic, as well as the last bolt action rifle standardized by a major power.