Rebarrelled type 38 arisaka

[God Bless America]

Is the bore still 6.5? Bolt face is cut for a magnum. Might have a .264 WM. Maybe a 6.5 Rem mag.

[Springfield45]

Complete and total BS.

I agree There were very few Type 38's made in 44 or 45. Most are early nineteen forty's and pre-war rifles of high quality.

Is the bore still 6.5? Bolt face is cut for a magnum. Might have a .264 WM. Maybe a 6.5 Rem mag.

I don't think his bolt is altered at all. It looks just like mine and the others posted.

It looks like you have a Type 38 rifle (Series 26) made at the Kokura plant in Japan close to 1940.

http://oldmilitarymarkings.com/japanese_markings.html

If your Arisaka has not been re-chambered I think you have an extremely large chamber that will cause bulged brass and in extreme cases like yours maybe bad extraction. Mine bulges cases also.

http://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=30129

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/arisaka-model-38-6-5x50-bulge-in-cartridge.557440/

You need to get your rifle head spaced to be sure it is OK to shoot. Also have it verified for the correct caliber in case it has been re-chambered. It may be safe to shoot but better have it checked to be safe. It is possible that after you fire the case will fire form the the chamber and extract normally.

If you are determined to shoot it you can strap it down and use a string tied to the trigger. Examine the fired brass. It will most likely be bulged a little if normal.


This is what it looks like if it has been re-chambered to .257 Roberts.

[smle-man]

Take it to a gunsmith and have a chamber cast done to see what it is really chambered in.

[Milsurp Collector]

I agree There were very few Type 38's made in 44 or 45. Most are early nineteen forty's and pre-war rifles of high quality.

That's correct, Kokura ended Type 38 production in 1941 and Nagoya and Jinsen ended Type 38 production in 1942. Production switched to the newer Type 99 design.

Second, most of the factories making Type 99 rifles were not "rubble by then" (late in the war). Production continued right up to the end of the war. I have a Series 35 Type 99 that has one of highest reported serial numbers of the last Toyo Kogyo series. It was made weeks if not days before the atomic bomb was dropped a few kilometers away in Hiroshima. The Kokura Arsenal was in the city that was the primary target of the second atom bomb mission, but when it was obscured by clouds and smoke the mission went to the secondary target, Nagasaki.

Furthermore, late war Type 99 rifles were never made "out in the back woods in someones hutch". Some woodwork was subcontracted outside of the factories, but the rifles were made in factories. As I said, that post was total BS.

[Terryl]

That's correct, Kokura ended Type 38 production in 1941 and Nagoya and Jinsen ended Type 38 production in 1942. Production switched to the newer Type 99 design.

Second, most of the factories making Type 99 rifles were not "rubble by then" (late in the war). Production continued right up to the end of the war. I have a Series 35 Type 99 that has one of highest reported serial numbers of the last Toyo Kogyo series. It was made weeks if not days before the atomic bomb was dropped a few kilometers away in Hiroshima. The Kokura Arsenal was in the city that was the primary target of the second atom bomb mission, but when it was obscured by clouds and smoke the mission went to the secondary target, Nagasaki.

Furthermore, late war Type 99 rifles were never made "out in the back woods in someones hutch". Some woodwork was subcontracted outside of the factories, but the rifles were made in factories. As I said, that post was total BS.

As stated in the history books...But when the large city's and factory's came under the sights of the B29's the Japanese took notice, so the sub-components (screws, springs, bolt parts, stocks, butt plates and other small stuff) were delegated out to smaller factory's lying in smaller towns and villages, these parts were then assembled at the main arsenal and proofed there.

This also helped the main arsenal keep up with the big demand.

Three weeks after the war my Dad was part of the unit that looked over the left overs of the country's industrial infrastructure, there was nothing left in MOST big city's, but the smaller towns and villages that were untouched by the B29 bombing raids had a surprising industrial infrastructure (small but effective) left standing.

Some of the small factory's around the main arsenal had boxes of parts labeled and waiting for shipment to the main plant.

So this "Boots on the ground" info about most of the factory's lying in ruin was told to me by him, I do not delegate it as BS.

And if you look at my post about this, I did not directly say that the main arsenal was bombed, it and other industry's in that city were left UN-touched as they were top targets for the "gadget" as it was called, and were left off any target list, this to see how well it worked, and it did work.

My Farther had a nice collection of 38's and 99's, some were early models some were late war, most went to my brother when he died, I got a late war model 99, (in 7.7) had it been produced a few years earlier it would have never left the factory.

[Terryl]

I think it would be a better idea for someone with a true "38" to measure the diameter between the bolt lips and supply this info to him, then he can do the same measurement on his bolt, as it does not look right. (compare his bolt photo to the one below it)

Taking it out and firing it would not be a good idea, not if the bolt is the wrong one, (for a model 99 in 7.7) or if someone has mickey moused it together.

[Milsurp Collector]

And if you look at my post about this, I did not directly say that the main arsenal was bombed,

C'mon, you're only making it worse.

it also could be a late war rifle, towards the end of the war these things were made out in the back woods in someones hutch as most of the factory's [sic] were rubble by then,

Again, the OP is talking about a Type 38. No "late war" Type 38's.

Then you said "these things" - and since we're talking about a Type 38 rifle, that implies "these things" are rifles, not small parts - "were made out in the back woods in someones hutch". Again, BS.

Then you said "as most of the factory's [sic] were rubble by then". Sure, much of Japan's industrial capacity - and cities in general - had been bombed, but the factories making Arisaka rifles were still up and running. So if an aircraft factory or shipyard factory was in rubble at the end of the war, that wouldn't cause a Type 38 - production of which had pretty much ended in 1942 - to be "made out in the back woods in someones hutch." Nor were late war Type 99 rifles "made out in the back woods in someones hutch."

[Terryl]

Yah BS................

[Sampachi]

If you are in the Bay Area, you can compare it to my T38 carbine. I'm betting that it was rechamberd to the Roberts cartridge. Replacing it with another barrel would be a pita for sure, unless you knew someone with gunsmithing skills.