Want to identify a rifle I bought at a Yard Sale.

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MarineJim57

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The markings on the barrel are as follows: Backward c inside a circle, 55203 three joined circles and a circle with a broken horizontal line in it. And the caliber is 30-06. Any help is welcomed.
 
Speaking of an Arisaka in .30-06, I had a friend who told me that he had bought one at a gun show and wondered why the damm thing recoiled so baddly. He had it checked out and it turned out to be a Model 38 which was originally 6.5mm. The "gunsmith" had rechambered it to .30-06 and they had been firing the .30 caliber bullet through the 6.5mm barrel.
 
Speaking of an Arisaka in .30-06, I had a friend who told me that he had bought one at a gun show and wondered why the damm thing recoiled so baddly. He had it checked out and it turned out to be a Model 38 which was originally 6.5mm. The "gunsmith" had rechambered it to .30-06 and they had been firing the .30 caliber bullet through the 6.5mm barrel.
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Did he actually show you the gun?

The reason I ask is that there IS such an Arisaka, but it's in the NRA Museum in Virginia. Once a gunsmith determined it was a Model 38 rechambered to .30-06, he convinced the owner to give it up and never shoot it again. I'd be surprised to find that there are TWO such mistakes, and even more surprised to find someone would have one for sale at a gun show.
 
I would say between $200 and $400, depending on the quality of the work done when it was sporterized and its overall condition. If it had been left in the original military configuration, it would be worth a bit more.
 
You need to determine whether it has actually been re-chambered to 30-36 or if it is the original 7.7mm. They are very close. The bolt handle has been bent down so it has been worked on so it could have been re-chambered. The 7.7 uses a .311 diameter bullet so the .308 diameter 30-06 bullet could by rattling down the barrel.
 
6.5/30-06

A 30 cal. bullet was fired in 6.5 m/m barrel and just heavy recoil? Me thinks shooter would have been picking steel slivers out of his teeth! Sounds like an urban legend to me.
 
No, it actually happened; the "gunsmith" had to grind down the pilot of the .30-'06 reamer. But I wish folks would quit repeating that old story because it gives too many people ideas about using the wrong ammo.

Jim
 
A 30 cal. bullet was fired in 6.5 m/m barrel and just heavy recoil? Me thinks shooter would have been picking steel slivers out of his teeth! Sounds like an urban legend to me.
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That actually happened and the rifle is in the NRA Museum. But I question whether there were TWO such rifles, and whether any gun store would knowingly sell such a rifle.
 
It should be verified, but most likely, if its been sporterized, it has also been rechambered for 30.06. In your OP you described barrel markings, but I did not understand whther "30-06" was stamped on it somewhere.


I used to have a 7.7, sporterized, and rechambered, with the original 7.7 barrel still on it. My brother owns it now. Was not match grade by any means, but had decent accurracy as hunting rifle.
 
The Type 38 Arisaka, the one made in 6.5mm caliber, was tested by P.O. Ackley along with many other military rifle actions, to determine their strength and safety. Massive overloads that trashed Mausers, '03 Springfields and 1917 Enfields left the little Arisaka undamaged. The breech design and excellent materials of the Type 38 and 99 Arisakas make them very safe. So, the 30-06 in a 6.5 barrel might work, but not to be recommended [emoji15]
 
It is possible - just - that some member of the intellectual classes planned it for a squeeze bore project, with special bullets. The Gerlich system involved a bore tapered along its length, and special bullets with collapsible fins. (Winchester found out that it produced extremely high velocities by means of frighteningly high chamber pressure, and if you are willing to have frighteningly high chamber pressure, why bother with the complications?) Nowadays someone, whose name I find it unnecessary to remember, does a squeeze bore .22LR in which only an exceptionally long chamber throat is tapered.

Do I think either is a good idea? Not really, but it could be what someone did.

A 7.7mm. Arisaka rechambered to .30-06 would probably permit the loading of bullets in the right diameter for the bore, although you should check for the chamber neck clamping the brass onto the bullet, which is dangerous. .308 bullets wouldn't rattle down the bore, but at the best they would cause accelerated corrosion, and accuracy might or mightn't be poor.

I once tested the .312-groove barrel of a .303 P14 Enfield I was about to rebarrel. Thin-jacketed flat-based bullets gave very creditable accuracy for a fairly worn and frosted bore. The rifling engraving was the correct depth all the way around, showing that they had upset to seal the bore. But Nosler solid-based boat-tails keyholed more often than not, and were engraved only one one aide of the bullet, which centrifugal force had pressed against the bore.
 
How would a 30.06 fit into the chamber neck of a 6.5-06? The case neck of the 30 caliber itself would block it...right?

Like trying to stick a 45 Colt cartridge into a 357 cylinder.
 
How would a 30.06 fit into the chamber neck of a 6.5-06? The case neck of the 30 caliber itself would block it...right?

Like trying to stick a 45 Colt cartridge into a 357 cylinder.
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The rifle in question was re-chambered using a .30-06 reamer, so it had a .30-06 chamber, to include a .30-06 lede. It was just the bore that was 6.5mm.
 
In East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, 7.7mm Arisakas chamber reamed for .30-06 were popular in the 1950s by hunters who fired .30-06 to get 7.7-06 casings for handloading with proper bullets. Some just used the 30-06 for brush hunting. I had trouble finding 65 yards clear on the old family farm to shoot a centerfire rifle.

I have seen a few Arisaka WWII brink backs both as-issued and highly sporterized. A lot of folks realized that the wartime propaganda blasting Japanese equipment as inferior was just propaganda. Arisaka sporters are often highly prized.
 
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