Japanese Rifle

[Jerry Blankenship]

I have a old Japanese rifle that come from the war grounds in WWII , It has the imperial crown on it an a no.45852 ,I would like to know what cal. it is,And would it be safe to shoot.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Pics would help greatly as I'm not aware of any japanese arms being marked with a crown?

 

[Cypress]

It sounds like you have a Japanese Arisaka rifle. There were two different calibers, one was 6.5x50 or 6.5 Jap and the other was 7.7 Jap. The former was chambered in most the type 38's and a few others and I believe the 7.7 was the Type 99. Your best bet is to post a pic and let the great minds here tell you what you have. For the most part these actions were extremely strong and should be safe to shoot if the rifle is correct and in good shape. The symbol should be a mum (flower) not a crown. Do a search for Japanese Arisake rifles!!!