New to Me Arisaka Type 38 Mukden

[capt14k]

Followed an auction to kill the day yesterday and for the most part it was a waste of time. Everything went way high, guessing because of the stimulus checks arriving. However one that wasnt on my radar I ended up going after and I think I did alright on it.

Arisaka Type 38 Mukden. According to listing it is all matching including dust cover. Has full Mum. Doesn't look to be in too bad of shape. Is still chambered in 6.5mm Japanese.

One odd thing is it is import marked. Can't say I have seen too many Arisakas with import marks, but I'm not a Japanese collector. Seems to be marked Merex Alexandria VA. which had a location in Alexandria VA. Based on a little research they were an International Arms Dealer from West Germany, Merex AG. Seems they dealt with China, Southeast Asia, and Pakistan; buying and selling arms.

Curious if anyone has anymore info on importer or these imports. Also any opinions of rifle are welcome.

[Dirty_gaijin]

New to Me Arisaka Type 38 Mukden

They were on Chinese arsenals probably and got imported in.

I forgot about that auction. I was eyeing that one

[MrSupermotoracer]

[capt14k]

They were on Chinese arsenals probably and got imported in.

I forgot about that auction. I was eyeing that one

In reading about Merex that is what I figured too.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[oc16]

I have a type 38 with the mum re chambered to 30-06 fun gun but extremely annoying to clean arisakas do not have chrome lining.

[Rogerbutthead]

You re-barreled/rechambered a 6.5 Type to 30 caliber or it was a Type 99 in 7.7 rechambered for 30-06?

If it was a Type 38 in 6.5mm rechambered for 30-06 - how does it kick?

[echo1]

You re-barreled/rechambered a 6.5 Type to 30 caliber or it was a Type 99 in 7.7 rechambered for 30-06?

If it was a Type 38 in 6.5mm rechambered for 30-06 - how does it kick?

Pretty nice capt. Especially the dust cover.

I have a couple T38 long rifles. One was given to me in'60 by my uncle, liberated in New Guinea, and a T38 training school carbine. I've also got a couple T99s, one a parts built wall hanger, the other a "Substitute Standard" AKA last ditch. I had another T99 Sport in .30-06, turned down bolt, nice birch Monty, 4X Weaver. I never heard of T38s in 06 before. PAX

[Dirty_gaijin]

Pretty nice capt. Especially the dust cover.



I have a couple T38 long rifles. One was given to me in'60 by my uncle, liberated in New Guinea, and a T38 training school carbine. I've also got a couple T99s, one a parts built wall hanger, the other a "Substitute Standard" AKA last ditch. I had another T99 Sport in .30-06, turned down bolt, nice birch Monty, 4X Weaver. I never heard of T38s in 06 before. PAX

I've heard type 99s being converted but never type 38s. That sounds off to me.

Sent from my Galaxy S10 5G using Tapatalk

[MrSupermotoracer]

[Skirmisher]

Nice Mum, decent gun. Discrete import marks. How much did it go for if you don’t mind?

Skirmisher

[capt14k]

Hammer price was $400 + 20% = $480 final price

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[jigenax]

I've heard type 99s being converted but never type 38s. That sounds off to me.

Sent from my Galaxy S10 5G using Tapatalk

There was one interesting story in American Rifleman about an Arisaka conversion done in the 1960s. A gunsmith had a customer who wanted to covert his Arisaka into a hunting rifle chambered in 30-06. Gunsmith reamed out the chamber, mounted a scope and replaced the furniture with a nice Monte Carlo stock. It all looked good until the smith tried to zero it in. All the shots tumbled and keyholed the target.

Unable to figure out what went wrong, he wrote to the NRA Technical Dept about it. They were baffled too and asked the smith to send the rifle for examination. After they received it, they too experienced the key-holing effect of each shot. Then they noticed the bullet holes were unusually elongated. They shot a few more into a bullet catch and examined them. The bullets were stretched and measured 6.5 mm in diameter.

That's when they realized the Arisaka was a Type 38, not a Type 99. They sent it back and published an article about the 2 different calibers used in Arisakas and warned conversions should start with a measurement of the barrel diameter.

[Dirty_gaijin]

There was one interesting story in American Rifleman about an Arisaka conversion done in the 1960s. A gunsmith had a customer who wanted to covert his Arisaka into a hunting rifle chambered in 30-06. Gunsmith reamed out the chamber, mounted a scope and replaced the furniture with a nice Monte Carlo stock. It all looked good until the smith tried to zero it in. All the shots tumbled and keyholed the target.



Unable to figure out what went wrong, he wrote to the NRA Technical Dept about it. They were baffled too and asked the smith to send the rifle for examination. After they received it, they too experienced the key-holing effect of each shot. Then they noticed the bullet holes were unusually elongated. They shot a few more into a bullet catch and examined them. The bullets were stretched and measured 6.5 mm in diameter.



That's when they realized the Arisaka was a Type 38, not a Type 99. They sent it back and published an article about the 2 different calibers used in Arisakas and warned conversions should start with a measurement of the barrel diameter.

I know SK converted type 99s to 30-06. They say US 30.06 on top.

Sent from my Galaxy S10 5G using Tapatalk

[jigenax]

I know SK converted type 99s to 30-06. They say US 30.06 on top.

Sent from my Galaxy S10 5G using Tapatalk

Yep, the US armorers oversaw the conversions of Type 99s after the US military trainers noticed many of the SK troops were too small to handle the M1 Garands. But instead of marking it "30-06" they used "US CAL 30" on the side of the receiver. Other markings indicating 30-06 conversions were by civilian gunsmiths. See the pic from a known example.

T99conv.jpg