Type 38 help

[ohiostate111]

I have a Type 38 that i recently purchased and i need help with. It is a Naygoya arsenal with mum still intact. It has been "sporterized" and isnt in the best condition. The barrel is shorter than other t 38s i have seen on the internet. I was wondering if any body could help me figure out more about this gun and what i should do with it. It also is missing the firing pin and the bolt end cap. Any help and advice is appreciated. Thanks

[Bill Hollinger]

I can't tell much from the photos. They are very blurry. Make sure your camera is set on Macro, use natural light, a tripod and a neural background like an old Army blanket.

[jmoore]

Looks like a Type 38 carbine- what's left of it. Pull it from the stock and then check to see if the bolt matches either the serial number or the assembly number on the underside of the receeiver ring. If the bore's good and the numbers match you MIGHT consider finding a donor carbine that has dramas other than the stock to put this one back closer to "right". Otherwise, it's either a barely useful hunting rifle or a parts donor itself.

[ohiostate111]

Here are better pictures. www.photobucket.com

[Patrick Chadwick]

The only positive feature that I can see is that the "mum" appears to be intact. But the action body would need to be reblued. A pity, because it looks like it was not at all beaten up, but actually had very good bluing before it was just left to acquire rust.

I concur with jmoore: unless the numbered parts match, sell it to someone who will pay for anything with a good mum on it.

[ohiostate111]

I just checked and the bolt matches the last three digits of the serial number.

[Aragorn243]

I'd try getting the rust off of it before making any drastic decisions. I've bought a couple that looked like that where the rust wasn't deep and with a bit of rubbing, came right off and there was a decent finish underneath. Use fine steel wool and/or a flat metal screwdriver tip or something similar that will not scratch the finish but will scrape off the rust. The bolt parts should be easily located but the stock itself will be more difficult and you could wind up getting more into it than it's worth. The mum and matching numbers would make it worth my time to put it back together if I could get the parts reasonably.

[ohiostate111]

I'd try getting the rust off of it before making any drastic decisions. I've bought a couple that looked like that where the rust wasn't deep and with a bit of rubbing, came right off and there was a decent finish underneath. Use fine steel wool and/or a flat metal screwdriver tip or something similar that will not scratch the finish but will scrape off the rust. The bolt parts should be easily located but the stock itself will be more difficult and you could wind up getting more into it than it's worth. The mum and matching numbers would make it worth my time to put it back together if I could get the parts reasonably.

I started getting the rust off the barrel with steel wool and it is helping a lot. It will look much better once I am done getting the rust off. Thanks for the tip!

---------- Post added at 08:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:51 PM ----------

Does anyone know what the value of my gun is and does anyone think it could ever fire again?

[Aragorn243]

Value is obviously subjective and depends on what the buyer is looking for. The mum is a huge plus, the matching numbers is another plus. The butchers stock is a major minus, the missing bolt parts a minor minus.

Because it has the mum, I'd value it at about $100, that's based on a type 38 carbine with no bolt but with mum, badly rusted barrel exterior but with full stock sold for $125 at my local auction a few months ago. I think the bore was rusted out on that one as well. I was shaking my head at the price it went for. It had to be for the mum.

Your's has a lightly rusted exterior, the bolt body, the mum, matching numbers but is missing the stock.

If you can find a new stock for it, finish out the bolt you'd be in the $300 range I'd think.

If the bore is ok (this is something I don't think you've addressed) there shouldn't be any reason you couldn't shoot it assuming you get the correct parts and assemble them correctly.

[ohiostate111]

I will have to decide what I am going to do with it. I paid 40 dollars for it so I might get the bolt parts and look for a stock if i can do that for under 200 dollars or so. I will also check the bore. Thanks again for the help.