Carcano/Arisaka

[FourTenJaeger]

Im intrested in seeing your Carcano and Arisaka Bolt action rifles, As I am looking to purchase one -As per my ammo thread in C&R-.

[jms]

Originally Posted by FremontJames

Im intrested in seeing your Carcano and Arisaka Bolt action rifles, As I am looking to purchase one -As per my ammo thread in C&R-.

How about Japanese Type 1 referred to as "Japanese Carcano", uses same ammo as Arisaka type 38, 6.5x50 Arisaka. Manufactured by the Italians and issued basically to Imperial Japanese Navy.

[Milsurp Collector]

[FourTenJaeger]

^ Very nice. Where can I obtain one with the Imperial marks still intact, like yours? as far as I know they were removed to prevent dishonour at the end of the war/when the weapons were captured.

[Milsurp Collector]

Originally Posted by FremontJames

^ Very nice. Where can I obtain one with the Imperial marks still intact, like yours? as far as I know they were removed to prevent dishonour at the end of the war/when the weapons were captured.

You just have to look for them. For example, each of the two gun shops closest to my home currently has an Arisaka Type 99 with an intact "mum".

The Imperial Chrysanthemum ("mum") can be found in three conditions: intact, defaced, or ground.

Intact


Defaced - anything from an X scratched on it like this to chisel marks


Ground (off with an electric grinder or file)


Rifles surrendered at the end of the war had the Imperial Chrysanthemum defaced or removed, probably at the order of General MacArthur, to reduce Japanese shame and humiliation for handing over the Emperor's property to foreign invaders and occupiers.

A large percentage of Japanese small arms were destroyed




or were loaded into landing craft and then dumped overboard into Tokyo Bay.



Rifles with intact mums are mostly battlefield pickups obtained before the end of the war, although some were probably obtained after the Japanese surrender but before the mum defacement\removal policy went into effect.

The mum is just one factor to consider and not as important as original finish on the metal and wood, matching numbers, and rarity. A rifle with matching numbers, original metal and wood finish, and a ground mum is more desirable/valuable than a non-matching rifle with refinished or sanded wood, refinished or poor metal finish condition, and an intact mum. The best of course is original finish, matching, and intact mum.