Arisaka Type 99 - I think?

[gofast]

I acquired a rifle from my great uncle that has the markings of an Arisaka Type 99, but it looks nothing like any other Arisaka Type 99 I have been able to find.

The barrel indicates that it is a Series 1 rifle from the Nagoya armory with a serial number of 73001. It does not have the mum on the top of the receiver nor does it look like one was ever ground off. In general, the entire barrel and receiver look too modern to me to be original. The bolt handle also does not look like any original Arisaka bolt I have seen. I think the stock speaks for itself as not original.

My question is could this be an original that has been sporterized or does anyone know of a company that made some kind of reproduction? Unfortunately my great uncle cannot tell me anything about the gun.

For photos check out the link: http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n47/contractkillers/Arisaka Type 99/

 

[Jagermeister]

Looks to me like it is a sporterized model 99. Many years ago I did several of these, and the stock looks somewhat familiar.

JM

 

[Cosmoline]

Sporterized Arisaka. No new receivers were made after the war. I believe we expressly forbade it. I can't see the barrel very well but it's probably just a cut down original.

 

[Jim K]

The receiver clearly says it is a 99 Type. It is very likely that the "mum" was ground and when whoever did the sporterizing work polished the receiver smooth and reblued it, all traces vanished. Caliber should be 7.7 Japanese, but quite a few 99 Types were reamed to .30-'06 or rebarrelled to other calibers, so check carefully before shooting.

Jim

 

[gofast]

Rifle caliber

I had thought that the rifle might be a different caliber since it has had so much work done to it. How would I find out what the correct caliber is? Would a well equipped gun shop be able to tell me or am I going to have to risk using an incorrect cartridge to find out?

 

[Cosmoline]

Any gunsmith can do a simple chamber cast for you. It shouldn't take long or cost too much. It's well worth it.

 

[gofast]

Need gunsmith

I need help finding a gunsmith in the San Francisco Bay Area that can do a chamber casting to help me determine the caliber of my Arisaka Type 99. I have called several gun shops and gunsmiths and none of them could do it or were willing to do it. Please help me if you can. I would really love to find out more about this rifle and possibly shoot it someday.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Caution use this info at your own risk

From looking at the pics it does not appear as though the barrel has been set back.....SO...... That means that a 30-06 ream job is the only likely possibility over the rifle being in the original 7.7x58 Japanese. The 30-06 case being a good deal longer than the 7.7jap round it stands to reason that if a 30-06 cartrige will not chamber that in all likelyhood the chambering isthe original 7.7jap.

I have a t99 sporter much like the one you pictured I determined that the chambering was original by fireforming a necked down 8x57 case in the chamber using some Unique powder with some malt-0 meal over the powder and a wad of TP holding everything in the case.

 

[DixieTexian]

My uncle has an old Arisaka, and I did some research on it a few years ago. It was one of the earlier ones that was supposed to have good steel, I think. I couldn't find anywhere that had cartridges at the time. Is there a way to get them now?

 

[Jim K]

AFAIK, Norma still makes the 7.7 Japanese ammo. It is pricey, but easily reloaded. Ammunition can also be made from .30-'06, but I don't know anyone doing it on a commercial basis. The cases swell a bit, but then can be neck sized and reloaded.

Jim

 

[Spiggy]

Hornandy has a line that costs about $25 a box. Brass is also reloadable.


Good part, the ammo should take .303 bullets

 

[Blackfork]

Arisaka 6.5 Type 44 Carbine

I shot a doe Monday afternoon with a Type 44 Arisaka 6.5 Carbine using Hornady 140 gr ammo. Did the trick.

 

[DixieTexian]

I don't reload, but out of pur curiosity, what goes into making the Jap 7.7 out of .30-06 rounds?

 

[sandy4570]

DixieTexian I don't reload, but out of pur curiosity, what goes into making the Jap 7.7 out of .30-06 rounds

I use 30-06 brass that my buddies retired from M1 Garand .What you need is Lee full length sizing die in 7.7 I would ran the 30-06 through and then I will use hack saw to cut off the excess (30-06 brass is 64 mm long and 7.7 brass is 58 mm long so I have to saw off quite a few millimeter of brass) .I use Lee brass trimmer (cutter and lock stud ) which I mount in the power drill .It would help if I anneal brass before any cutting and trimming .I then deburr and chamfer the case mount and load them up with starting load from Lee manual .Some of the brass will swell upon firing and I have read from a few sources that it is not a good idea to use heavy load in converted 30-06 brass because the head diameter is actually smaller than 7.7 and case rupture /case head seperation might occure. I only use start up load and neck sizing only so I don't have to worry much about case head seperation.
Graf and son now offer Hornady made 7.7 X 58 brass and I think it is a much better option and time saving than sitting in the kitchen table with hack saw tried to cut 100 brass in the evening.
You can also converted the 8 mm Mauser into 7.7 X 58 .I have quantity of Turkish 8 mm ammo .I have to pull the bullet out , dump the powder and ran the brass into 7.7 die with broken decaping stem(which I happen to have one handy) then I will use the Lee bullet sizing die to reduce .323 bullet into .312 diameter (I use .314 sizing die and .312 die ) then I would use either H4350 or H4895 for powder. This is quite a lot of work and I wish Wolf ammo will come out with 7.7 X 58 mm (which I doubt very much )

 

[sandy4570]

need help finding a gunsmith in the San Francisco Bay Area that can do a chamber casting to help me determine the caliber of my Arisaka Type 99. I have called several gun shops and gunsmiths and none of them could do it or were willing to do it. Please help me if you can. I would really love to find out more about this rifle and possibly shoot it someday.

Did you try Imbert and Smither in San Carlos ? They have gunsmithing service there but they are also deal in old surplus rifle (where I got my Type 99 Arisaka, Greek Mannichler Schoner, Mauser verguiero etc) so I suppose one of them might be able to help you figure out what caliber of your rifle is.