ARISAKA

[hooligan1]

A friend from the boonies here in southern Missouri dropped off a few old type 99's and a type 38 Arisaka.
He bought them as part of a big lot at an auction.
Having problems with uploading pics of course, but thought I'd get a little feedback here.
Is there any interest in building customs from these old actions?

 

[tahunua001]

there was a little at one time but it is a VERY small niche. the most beautiful rifle I've ever seen was a type 38 with a quilted maple stock, and very well smithed work. with that said, the split bridge makes them a pain to scope, and any work you have done is going to be expensive and difficult to source parts for. I would leave them as is and enjoy them.

 

[hooligan1]

Well they're not totally complete, the closest one is a type 38 in 6.5 Japanese, while the other 2 barreled actions are 99's with the mums, but have no magazine boxes, but I do have 2 floorplate and a tang. They have triggers but bolts don't match...

 

[tahunua001]

oh, in that case fix up the 6.5 and have at it with the 99s

 

[Gunplummer]

There is no "Split bridge" on either a T-38 or T-99 Arisaka. You must have your mind on those junk Moisins again. Actually, Arisakas scope easily and you can use the original safety. You will have to weld on a bent bolt. They were never popular as build guns, but I suspect that it was the stigma of being Japanese manufactured. You see a lot of cheap conversions to deer guns, but not really many "Custom" rifles. Kind of like the .303 British. Lots of deer rifles, but not a lot of expensive custom guns.

 

[hooligan1]

I have one 99 with a mum that has a bad barrel on it, the other type 99 with a mum has a decent 7.7 barrel, so I will keep that one and get it close to all military config, while the bad barrel one will get rebarreled into something I need.
I noticed the barrel threads are finer than most other actions I've seen. I'm hoping it's no big deal to rebarrel an Arisaka...

 

[Gunplummer]

No worse than most bolt actions. Bad barrel? Rust in the bore? Probably late war with lower grade steel and no chrome.

 

[Blindstitch]

Sounds like fun. I think Boyds makes stocks for both.

I have a type 38 sporterized and a type 38 carbine. Both are great rifles. I think if I had to rebarrel a Type 99 I would probably go 30-06.

The only thing I would like to add to mine is a Timney trigger. To bad they dont make them without the safeties anymore. Maybe I just need to clean it up. Something gritty is going on but it would be nice if the travel was shorter.

 

[lefteye]

My dad had a 38 and a 99. An uncle had three of those rifles - I can't remember if it included two 38's or two 99's. His were "sporterized" with modern (in the 50's) safeties. and triggers. I believe a couple had Douglas barrels. One was a .22-250, but I don't remember the other chambering. My dad's 99 had the fore end of the stock shortened. His 38 looked brand new with beautiful blue steel. I suspect it was never used but was taken by U.S. troops finding a complete box of unused 38's. I was allowed to shoot all of them in my early teens. The .22-250 was awesome - extremely accurate with a Unertl scope with external adjustments.

P.S. I am relying on my memory from 55 -60 years ago. Corrections are welcome.

 

[James K]

Hi, Gunplummer,

I know you know better, but you miswrote on the Japanese rifle receivers. The Type 99 has a low rear receiver, but the Type 38 certainly does have a split rear bridge through which the bot root passes.

Jim

 

[44 AMP]

This is an Arisaka, now in .308Win,

 

[Gunplummer]

James, I know you should know better and just like to nit pick, but what does that little ear have to do with the actual receiver bridge? In what way does it affect the mounting of a scope? That is like saying that T-99 has a split receiver bridge because of that little left over piece that also acts as a third lug behind the bolt handle.

 

[Gunplummer]

oldie but a goodie

Here is one of my old conversions. I did it before you could get a bolt action in 7.62x39 . I still take it out, shot a doe with it this year.

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[Gunplummer]

My 7x57. T-99 receiver /T-38 stock/ Everything I could make out of aluminum and titanium. Like picking up a dry 2x4. Killed a lot of deer with this one.

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[hooligan1]

I cleaned a lb of crud out out 1 of the 99's, and I actually dig these actions the more I check them out.
I still haven't figured out what a "split bridge" is, they all seem to be the same, like a Mauser basically.

 

[Gunplummer]

A Moisin, Carcano, and a few other early rifles have a slot milled through the rear top portion of the receiver. The bolt handle travels through this slot when you retract it. It makes for problems mounting scopes over the bore and you usually end up side mounting the scope.
One of the more popular conversions for the T-99 was to set the barrel back enough so that it could be re-cut to .300 Savage. These guns pop up at shows a lot. I had one I bought at a yard sale and and it was unbelievably accurate at 100 yards with factory ammo (.308 bullets).

 

[tahunua001]

44AMP, that Arisaka is so beautiful it just might tempt me into getting into shooting 308.

A Moisin, Carcano, and a few other early rifles have a slot milled through the rear top portion of the receiver. The bolt handle travels through this slot when you retract it. It makes for problems mounting scopes over the bore and you usually end up side mounting the scope.

add the Krag, type 38, 44, and 97 Arisakas, Japanese Type I rifles, mannlicher schoenaur, and Mauser all mausers between 1871 and 1893, and pretty much all french rifles prior to the MAS36

 

[Gunplummer]

The T-38, 44, 97 Arisakas? Why not the T-99? Part of what you mistakenly call the "Receiver bridge" is still there acting as the third lug. They just milled the slot a little wider.

 

[James K]

Hi, Gunplummer,

Maybe a problem in terminology. The Type 38 does not have a single "split bridge', like the Carcano, through which the bolt handle root passes.

But it has two rear "rings"; a front, solid ring. and a rear partial ring which has a slot for the bolt handle. That ring, like its vestigial counterpart on the Type 99, serves as a seat for the bolt handle root which acts as a safety lug.

Neither bridge was used in any way by the Japanese for scope mounting. Both the Type 38 (Type 97) and the Type 99 sniper rifles use a side mount.

Jim

 

[Gunplummer]

Just admit you are wrong for once. The only real difference a split bridge makes is in scope mounting. You have the receiver ring and the bridge. Period. There is no third and fourth bridge. The only reason the term "Split bridge" came into use was in reference to the mounting of a scope for civilian use. Most military scopes around WWII were mounted so that the iron sights could still be used. I have a couple semi-autos from WWII and there is just a receiver ring and that is it. You pull the cover and it is open in the back. Are they "No bridge" receivers?