Found a Arisaka Type 38 rifle and Type30 bayonet

[dwr461]

I finally beat Candyman into BJ Pawn!

The rifle.

The bolt doesn't match. The cleaning rod is gone. But the mum is intact and it has a dust cover for the bolt. It's toe was broken and then carved up to take the rough edges off. Also there is a bit of wood missing to the right of the rear sight. I have no idea when this damage occurred so I won't be be doing anything to it. I can't make out the first character to determine the series but I think it's Kokura Arsenal. It's got a lot dirt which I'll remove and clean the bore. After which I'll just preserve it as is.

The Bayonet.

I have three Type 30 bayonets. I got no idea what animal I got here. As you can see it has a little plaque with the number 67 on it. The number 67 is repeated on the other side of the grip but stamped into the wood. I don't see any manufacturer's stamps on it. It's possible they've been removed. It's tough to tell without cleaning the surface rust and dirt off of it. The blade has seen some use and has service rust on it. I understand that Type 30 bayonets came from the factory somewhat sharp. This edge is blunt and seems to either have been never sharpened or lost it's edge from use. (Japan was the only country to issue sharp bayonets during WW2.)

Dave

 

[dwr461]

The rifle images. I don't know why they didn't go into the first post.

 

[john17427]

Wow, and it has the mum. Cool.

 

[762NATO]

Nice that you found one with the mum still on it. Any plans to shoot it?

 

[dwr461]

You bring the ammo we'll shoot it all you want. While your at it bring 7.7 too I still have not shot my Type 99 either.

Dave

 

[Grandpa23]

What is the "mum"?

 

[dwr461]

Look at image DSC_4004, the marking to the left that looks vaguely like a chrysanthemum? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Seal_of_Japan

That was/is the Imperial Seal of Japan. Most specifically the seal of the emperor of Japan. When arms were surrendered the Japanese would deface the seal. The American's were also instructed to deface it when it was taken into possession by their command. But not every rifle's seal was defaced but the majority were prior to coming to this country.

My rifle also has a mismatched bolt. That's very common. The rifles were taken from the Japanese and placed in two big piles. Bolts in one and rifles stacked in the other. If a GI wanted a rifle he grabbed one of each from the pile.

So what I have here is an intact chrysanthe "mum" on a rifle without any importers marks.

Now my Type 99 Arisaka has an intacted mum and ALL matching parts. That's even a bit more rare.


The rest of writing Japanese in image DSC_4004? Well they are the numbers "3" and "8" with the character meaning "Type." At least that 's what I'm told.

Dave

 

[Grandpa23]

Look at image DSC_4004, the marking to the left that looks vaguely like a chrysanthemum? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Seal_of_Japan

That was/is the Imperial Seal of Japan. Most specifically the seal of the emperor of Japan. When arms were surrendered the Japanese would deface the seal. The American's were also instructed to deface it when it was taken into possession by their command. But not every rifle's seal was defaced but the majority were prior to coming to this country.

My rifle also has a mismatched bolt. That's very common. The rifles were taken from the Japanese and placed in two big piles. Bolts in one and rifles stacked in the other. If a GI wanted a rifle he grabbed one of each from the pile.

So what I have here is an intact chrysanthe "mum" on a rifle without any importers marks.

Now my Type 99 Arisaka has an intacted mum and ALL matching parts. That's even a bit more rare.


The rest of writing Japanese in image DSC_4004? Well they are the numbers "3" and "8" with the character meaning "Type." At least that 's what I'm told.

Dave

Gotcha! Thanks for enlightening me!

 

[762NATO]

Sorry, brother, but thanks! Have neither. Maybe one day when I can get a car I'll drive on up to Red Stick, and it's on. I think Norma loads for 6.5 Jap. The bottom is 7.7.
http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/index.php/cName/rifle-ammo-65-jap

[URL]http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=7.7+jap&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9030084833440390413&sa=X&ei=CDcgT7PMFMKg2gXdqdSXDw&ved=0CDkQ8wIwAQ#ps-sellers[/URL]

 

[Win1917]

I've recently drug out my T-38 carbine and started shooting it again too. Finally picked up a set of dies for it and gonna try 120 gr and 140 gr Core-lokts since I've got a pile of both on hand. I still have a box of Norma 156gr RN that I want to save for deer season cause I've always been curious to see how they'd work on deer.

Hornady make ammo for the 6.5 Japanese too, much less expensive than Norma

 

[dwr461]

The Type 38 carbine is kind of a rare bird. I've heard that the 6.5 Arisaka round is very pleasant to shoot.

Dave

 

[Win1917]

I'm not a collector or anything but it doesn't seem like you see the carbine around too much. This is one my grandpa brought back and it's in primo condition. He had also brought back an infantry rifle too but as a teenager my dad cut the barrel off for some reason or another so that one is long gone.

I'd actually kinda like to find a decent sporterized one some time to hunt with. A moderate capacity 6.5mm like that is plenty for deer hunting around here.