Arisaka Type 38 vs Mosin 91/30

[Steel Horse Rider]

I have acquired a couple of Arisaka's in the past few days, both Type 38's, one carbine and one long version. The long version is about 2" longer than my Mosin 91/30's. I also have an original Arisaka bayonet which has a good bit of length which leads me to believe the rifle and bayonet were probably longer than the average Japanese soldier was tall. Seems to me it would make for some mobility problems. No wonder they went to the Type 99. The Carbine version apparently has had the chamber reamed out for the 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser round as the fire formed case which resulted from my first round measures almost exactly those dimensions. Sure would have been nice had the gunsmith who did the conversion would have marked the change somewhere!!!

 

[56hawk]

Interesting. Didn't know the rifles were that long. I picked up a Type 38 carbine a few weeks ago and it's pretty short. Haven't shot it yet since I haven't found any ammo.

 

[mmitch]

Here's one my Dad brought back, no mum.

Lapua and Hornady sell 6.5 Jap ammo.

Mike

 

[JagerMachine]

I love my Type 38 rifle.. It is deadly accurate even with the iron sights.

 

[caribou]

Mosins and Arisakas

Look at the Finnish M-39 sometime, and you can see the impression the Arisaka made on them.
The best features or construction, from the wood saveing spliceing to the bayonet mounts, front sights and the earlier M-27 forend fix of "popsicle sticks" to reinforce the nose cap all lean tward Arisaka

The Russians had thousands of Arisakas from their fights with the Japanese, and they were Common in Revolutionary Russia, as well as Finland, but not nearly as numerous as Mosin Nagants.

The Finns perfected the Mosin with those features to great effect.

 

[gunnutery]

Norma also makes ammo for the Arisakas. Last I checked they were running about $35 for a box of 20. My roomate in college inherited an Arisaka from his grandfather. I cleaned it up for him and ordered some ammo for him.

 

[fpgt72]

I have a type 99 with all the swiss army knife goodies on it, AA sites, mono pod, dust cover...original sling.

And yes I agree the thing is a spear.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

The old Norma ammo casings are undersized and will look funny after firing and I don't think I will reload them. I found some Norma manufactured in 1981 and there is a definite difference in the size of the brass from the Hornady. I plan to play with some different powders to see if I can get the velocity up even with the limited case capacity of the 6.5 x 50 round.

 

[Jimfern]

expansion

Are you seeing expansion in the brass body towards the head (rim end)? I noticed that with some Privi brass I reloaded for my 38 Carbine and thought maybe it had been rebored for a different cartridge.

I can't seem to find it now, but I read somewhere that the bores were oversized for easy extraction. I will make a point of measuring the diameter of some new Privi brass and once fired to share with you to see if we're getting the same dimensions.

Regards,
Jimfern

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

The information I found said that the original Norma cases were built to the wrong dimensions (too small). The swelling starts about 1/8" or so in front of the extractor ring. I measured the case and it is only slightly larger than the cartridge dimensions given in the Lee Manual so I don't think the chamber is too worn. The Type 38 carbine is becoming quite a project as it appears that the existing modifications were either done improperly or not completed, I intend to stop back to the shop I bought it from and see what they know about the history of the rifle.

 

[Jimfern]

From a previous post-

When I resize with my RCBS dies, I measure it at .445". Shot out of the carbine, the brass measures .454" so my brass is expanding roughly .01" The cases are the same length.

Is that what you're seeing too?

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I discovered today that my carbine had been converted to 6.5 x 57 Mauser so I am going to return it. I will be able to get several rifles for the 6.5 x 50 cartridge but the 6.5 x 57 is just too much of an oddball for me at this point.