Saw this and was surprised to see this rifle still wearing its chrysanthemum

[conan32120]

 

[5whiskey]

The photo is so grainy that I can't see the mum. But it doesn't surprise me that rifle wears one. The overwhelming vast majority of Arisakas that came to the US were turned in at the end of hostilities between the US and Japan. It was a condition of their surrender. The Japanese ground the mum off the receiver on all these rifles out of respect to the emperor. Most rifles brought here were from this grab bag of turnovers. The majority of rifles with intact mums were actually captured during combat, with the deceased or wounded Japanese issuee of said rifle having no opportunity to grind the mum off before being killed or wounded. These war captures didn't always make it back, and thats why intact mums are more rare.

This dudes Grandfather could have literally stacked bodies during WW2, having a combat capture rifle to prove it, and this guy just calls it "a rusty old rifle."

 

[Random 8]

If the price was right, I'd buy it. Even with Mankey bores, those can still shoot decently. Parts can be had, and some JB-80 and polishing paste goes a long ways to prettying them up

 

[caribou]

Its a Type 38 6.5x53 Japanese long rifle. They also made carbine versions.

The two gas vent holes on the receiver ring say T-38. If it were one vent hole, it would be a 7.7x58 Type 99.

Clean it carefully, but lightly. See if the screws are still staked before you start to turn them, they are often staked and desirable when found that way. Hopefully the woods original Urushi finish is under al that dirt and dust.

 

[Random 8]

Its a Type 38 6.5x53 Japanese long rifle. They also made carbine versions.

The two gas vent holes on the receiver ring say T-38. If it were one vent hole, it would be a 7.7x58 Type 99.

Clean it carefully, but lightly. See if the screws are still staked before you start to turn them, they are often staked and desirable when found that way. Hopefully the woods original Urushi finish is under al that dirt and dust.

Thanks for the ID! My Japanese rifle ID is a bit shaky. Just a clarification, the caliber of the T38 is 6.5x50. Sure you knew this, and just mis-typed.

I presently own one of those "stacked bodies" T-38s that @5whiskey was talking about. I'll tell you the full story as I know it, since Arisaka threads don't come up often and it may be enjoyable for some.

A close friend's Grandfather sent the rifle back from the Pacific theater. I'll see how well I can remember as it's been over 20 years since the old man told me the story himself. It's a T38 carbine he captured from a coastal artillery position on an Atoll I've forgotten the name of. It was part of the larger Guadalcanal operation. His Reising was disabled in the action, and he actually fielded a carbine for awhile until he was able to replace it with a Springfield, and later that with a Thompson. His quip while telling the story was he only used guns with blood on them (insert sardonic laugh). He showed me the USMC medal he was awarded in taking that position. He also said that he didn't believe he killed the actual soldier carrying the rifle he sent home, (found one in better condition to put on the boat home), but that he did field the exact rifle after taking it from one guarding the approach to the big gun with his "H&R single shot". Said it was like a bolt action version of his dad's .25-35 deer rifle, and quite nice to shoot in combat...handy in tight places and quick to the shoulder. He was a man of light build, so he got sent into a lot of tight spaces. After taking the T38 and the man wielding it, he crawled through a crack in the rocks to a high position, and reduced the gun crew and support with (T38) rifle fire, taking the gun out of action and paving the road for the final assault of the position. Soapy was a young woodsman before entering service, and an old woodsman in the brief time I knew him. Said the only reason he sent it home is he thought it would make a handy deer rifle in the Northern MN forests. He killed many deer and bears and even a moose with it after returning home, all with field expedient soft points made from surplus military ball.

My friend is not much of a gun guy. A few years after Grandpa's passing, I asked him about the old rifle. We did some digging in the attic and there it was. Luckily 2 feet away from the leak in the roof! It was dusty but not rusty. Unfortunately gramp's box of "war stuff" including medals, papers, uniforms, bayonets and other stuff was directly under the leak and had morphed into an amorphous green blob. Wanting a home defense handgun, my friend traded me the rifle for a knock off Beretta 92 on the condition I never sell the Arisaka and if possible let him shoot it occasionally when I visit. Yep, no problem!

 

[5whiskey]

@Random 8 thanks for sharing that. I'm glad Soapy's rifle found it's way into hands that will appreciate it.

Edit to add: And yes believe it or not these rifles often ARE shooters. I have a Type 99 (no mum, but still kind of a good story as it was given to me by a total stranger) that is one of the more accurate mil-surps I own. It too needed care to clean up, but nowhere near as much as the rifle in the OP needs. With my handloads, on a great day, I can shoot almost 1 moa with the rifle with original iron sights. Other days, when my 44 year old eyes have trouble focusing on the front sight post, are another story. My load for it didn't take long to work up either. I need to look around for it, I know I had trouble finding data for the powder I was using. I think I took .303 max load and used that as my starting point for the 7.7 and worked up from there, as I remember. I made the brass from resizing .30-06.

 

[lysanderxiii]

The photo is so grainy that I can't see the mum. But it doesn't surprise me that rifle wears one. The overwhelming vast majority of Arisakas that came to the US were turned in at the end of hostilities between the US and Japan. It was a condition of their surrender. The Japanese ground the mum off the receiver on all these rifles out of respect to the emperor. Most rifles brought here were from this grab bag of turnovers. The majority of rifles with intact mums were actually captured during combat, with the deceased or wounded Japanese issuee of said rifle having no opportunity to grind the mum off before being killed or wounded. These war captures didn't always make it back, and thats why intact mums are more rare.

This dudes Grandfather could have literally stacked bodies during WW2, having a combat capture rifle to prove it, and this guy just calls it "a rusty old rifle."

Yes and no.

The ones with an intact chrysanthemum are worth more, but it does not automatically mean that it was a battlefield pick-up. The systemized defacing of the chrysanthemum was not universal, there were a good number of rifles surrendered before the Japanese got organized enough to start systematically destroying the chrysanthemum. Also, there were places like Indochina, Formosa, and all the other bypassed islands that surrendered there weapons with little to no communication with the home islands.

Arisaka Myths and Misconceptions

 

[CapnMac]

To echo @lysanderxiii it's further complicated in that Arisaka were issued out to other nations without mums. But, also, vast numbers of the rifles in China and Manchuria simply "changed hands."

Sadly, the history of Arisaka rifles is horribly incomplete (having the factory records burnt or blow up not helping any), and the amount of fuddlore is staggering.

I'm to the point that anything I "know" about Arisaka comes with an Asterisk, and at least one footnote to the asterisk.