Arisaka questions

[Jonathan33]

I recently bought an Arisaka type 99 and there's something funny about the stock. There appears to have been a deep notch carved in the stock to accomodate the bolt handle. But the bolt handle on a type 99 doesn't lower all the way into the stock, and the notch has been patched up with another piece of wood. I've looked at a lot of pictures of 99's and the earlier type 38's and none of them have the notch or the corrective patch. Anyone have any clues about this?

 

[Spiggy]

got any pictures we can look at?

 

[FieroCDSP]

maybe

Could it have come off another rifle as a smithing job? Something happens to a stock, or it doesn't fit right, person takes it to a smith and gets a different stock put on cheap. Got any background on it?(pre-owned, direct from surplus, etc)

 

[Jonathan33]

More info on arisaka

Here's some pics. Sorry about poor quality. You can see the patch pretty clearly. And here's all of its history that I know: Guy who sold it to me said he got it from the son of a serviceman who brought it back from WWII. The mum is ground off so it was probably picked up in Japan during the occupation. It has the 3 cannon balls of the Koishikawa or Kokura arsenal stamped beside the serial number and does not appear to be a late war or "last ditch" rifle. The stock looks original because the butt exibits the laminated two-pieces-of-wood arisaka style. Anyone know what that notch and patch is doing there?

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Got me. However, if it was a last ditch gun they might have been throwing whatever didn't make the first cut onto the rifles.

Does it have the monopod on it? Seems odd if a last ditch would still have that.

 

[Retro]

Not to digress or anything. How are you going to find surplus ammo for that rifle? Japanese surplus ammo are unheard of. Do you reload yourself?

I always wanted to get a Nambu pistol and Arisaka rifle but the ammo issue has been keeping me at bay.

 

[VA27]

Hard to tell from the pix, but it just looks like a repair to the stock. Bullet hole, bayonet gouge, beaver bite, something happened and it was repaired. Don't worry about it.

Retro: as far as I know there hasn't been any surplus 7.7 Jap in decades. But Norma makes brass and I think Hornaday is or has tooled up to make 7.7 and 6.5. I've got a box of 6.5 Jap American Eagle (Federal) that was loaded in Norma brass. Plenty of bullets on the market. It's a lot of fun to cook up loads for these old guns.

Jonathan: before you shoot it, have it checked by a gunsmith to be sure that it is safe.

 

[Manedwolf]

Graf and Sons has had Hornady Custom ammo available for both Japanese calibers for $19 a box for several years now.

 

[Fingolfin]

I believe you can also make 7.7 ammo from .30-06 brass although it requires quite a bit of trimming.