Finally bought an Arisaka.

[Yusuke Komiya]

There was a posting on GB, https://www.gunbroker.com/item/796245122, for a matching "Last Ditch" Arisaka Type 99 with a mum. The stock is hasn't been sanded as well. The seller is mishaco who I has an awesome Youtube channel that I've been subscribed to for a few months.This will tide me over until I can secure a early Arisaka Type 99 with all the features. Those seem to be going around $1000 and up over at GB based on complete biddings.

[beerman]

Nice example..pretty uncommon to find a mummed,matching last ditch. These are going up in value all the time.

[SVT-40]

Nice example!!

[fbody_mike]

Nice. Do you plan to take it to the range? I absolutely enjoy shooting mine. Well until my shoulder cries out for mercy.

[Mustang]

Pretty nice example of the "last ditch" Type 99.

Ammunition can be hard to find, but Midway, Buffalo Arms, and Steinel all show it in stock at the moment.

https://www.midwayusa.com/77x58mm-japanese-arisaka/br?cid=10465

https://www.buffaloarms.com/7-7x58-japanese-arisaka-150-grain-ammunition-box-of-20-amo7758

https://www.steinelammo.com/product/7-7-x-58-japanese-arisaka-150gr-sp-light-recoil/

[oc16]

agreed ammo is going to be a pain. about a week ago a pawn shot was trying to convince me to buy a arisaka after I mentioned the ammo scarcity they told me they had some for 30 a box...

[NorcalGSG]

Congrats. That's a nice one!

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Nice pickup and fairly priced. I dumped my Arisakas a while back due to scarcity of ammo, but they are neat rifles though. I am glad it was the enemy armed with them and our boys with the Garands.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

agreed ammo is going to be a pain. about a week ago a pawn shot was trying to convince me to buy a arisaka after I mentioned the ammo scarcity they told me they had some for 30 a box...

That is a decent price, actually.

[highpower]

I tend to buy what I like regardless of ammo availability and I like Arisaka's so I will by any that are in decent condition and are priced right. But then again, I just don't obsess over whether or not I can shoot a particular gun. I have many firearms in my modest little collection that due to scarcity of ammo or fear of breaking an irreplaceable part won't ever get fired as long as I own them.

I now have both a mid WWII Type 99 and a 1914 vintage Type 38, along with a Type 14 Nambu and a NCO sword. If someone was just getting into collecting military rifles, they could do a lot worse than building a Japanese arms collection.

[musketjon]

7.7 Jap brass for the type 99 is simple to make from 30-06 brass if you reload. Just run the '06 brass into a 7.7 full-length sizing die and trim to length. It really is THAT easy.
Jon

[foesgth]

Grafs has the brass. It is a bit difficult to find load data, however, I have found .303 data works well. It is my understanding the Japanese used that round as a base. I cast my bullets and have several that work well. Let me know if you need some "samples" to get you started.

[Cody805]

Awesome score OP! That’s a nice one

[fbody_mike]

My Arisaka is what got me into hand loading. My first time out I bought a few boxes of ammo and went through it in under an hour. Recovered my brass and I have been making my own ever since.
My current load is 150 gr SP Hornady .312, 43 gr of IMR 4064.

[foesgth]

My Arisaka is what got me into hand loading. My first time out I bought a few boxes of ammo and went through it in under an hour. Recovered my brass and I have been making my own ever since.
My current load is 150 gr SP Hornady .312, 43 gr of IMR 4064.

IMR 4064 is a great powder for the Arisaka. I use it for most of my military cartridges. I had better results in the Arisaka with the 174gr Hornady.
Being an official old fart I have been loading WTF rounds for most of my C&R bolt guns. I am teaching my grandson's to shoot and they are too small to enjoy the full power rounds. I load with a cast lead bullet and 10gr of Unique. They are called WTF rounds, because the first time my oldest shot one that is what he said. He had only shot surplus 7.62x54r in his M38 at that point. It is a blast to shoot these old war horses with 22lr recoil.