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I have what appears to be a non-pre-ditch M99 with a moderately pitted and corroded barrel I would like to replace. The only factory replacements with Numrich GP appear to be last ditch, and aren't interested. What I'd like to do is either reline or replace with same military contour (to replace rear and front site) for shooting. I'm a relatively new collector of the M99's and reload the original 7.7 jap, and realize that either project is likely worth at least 2-3 Arisaka's M99.
You can probably buy a shooter with a nice bore cheaper than you can rebarrel or reline yours. They just aren't worth the $ or effort to do this much work on. Hang it on the wall and go to gunbroker and check out the ads.
Thanks.
Just start shooting it. A Japanese private may have gotten punishment detail for letting a bore rust, but certainly the rifle wasn't thrown away because of it.
I've seen plenty of surplus rifles with crummy bores shoot just fine. Your odds are better than 50-50. If you already own the rifle, invest in some ammo, or reloading supplies.
Good luck, and good shooting.
Pic's of the rifle , including barrel & reciever markings could be very interesting.
OK. Reporting back. I've tried my bore conditioning approach that has worked with other rifles, using a Hawkeye bore scope periodically to determine progress.
After a thorough and gentle cleaning with Kroil or foaming bore cleaner, and got it as clean as it would show. Alternating dry patches. I then cut and patched Outer Lead remover cloth alternating with dry patches to condition and smooth the roughness a bit. (this is a procedure I've carefully used on other military rifles that had NRA Fair to Good bores that needed it and have had excellent results)
However, what I've found is that regardless of my effort, the slighly pitted chrome on this Arisaka is like trying to smooth out the egdes of a cheese grater, but it is as clean as it's going to get so I'll take it out to the range and see how she does.
I know the rifling on these were designed as polygonal v.s. sharp cut lands, but I don't even get rod rotation on my tipton bearing handle when moving up and down the bore.
The kicker is that in the last inch of the barrel there is little or NO rifling visible, but some rust scale. Was the rifling designed to trail off near the end, or should I see lands visible up to the crown?
Thanks for the help and guidance.
Re-lining for a high presure cartridge like the 7.7 cannot be done. I would look for a take-off barrel if the rifle cannot be shot as is. Rebarreling could be done but would be pricey considering the value of the rifle.
The rifling, being polygonal, as you state, shows no distinct lands and grooves up close many times. They blend into each other, so that may be why it doesn't look like there's any. Scrub it out well, get aggresive if you have to, as long as the crown is OK there's not much harm you can do esp. w/ this form of rifling! Once the chunks of rust are out, and it check out otherwise, shoot it. If it groups under 6" at 100yds, then its fine. (Probably will shoot 8-10" high, though, maybe more.) If it's under 3" groups, then do the happy dance!Quote:
Originally Posted by how1erd
Yep, let us know how it shoots.
FB
Try gunbroker for barrel or ebay,I have seen them there on both sites. Best Dave