Type 38 Questions

I'm thinking of making an offer on a Type 38 but have a couple of concerns that I'm hoping you guys can help clear up.

The biggest thing is that it has a rather large oval stamping on the right side of the butt with characters in it that translated to "for the practice of training only". I had this translated by a native Japanese lady so I'm pretty confident in the translation.

There are no other markings on the rifle that I know of that would indicate that it was in fact a training rifle. It has a full mum, no circles stamped over it. There is no extra character stamped on the receiver above the type 38 characters to indicate a school rifle. There are no extra zeroes in front of the serial number.

I have not been able to physically inspect it yet, so I don't know what the bore or bolt is like. There is some surface rust. Cleaning rod is there. Stock looks to be in fair to good shape considering the age. I don't know if it is shoot-able or not.

Seller is asking $250.

My questions are.

1) Do you think this is a training rifle?
2) Any idea why it would be stamped on the stock as a trainer but the other markings show it stayed in service? Possible bore or chamber issue maybe?
3) Fair price? I know without pics it's a crap shoot. I just have concerns about it being something that may be un-shootable because of head spacing or bore or chamber issues and being priced unreasonably.

I'm not really looking for a shooter. More likely it will just be a display piece, but I don't want to overpay for something that it isn't.

Thanks

Some training rifles were removed from service due to wear issues. These were usually overstamped on the mum. Could be it got missed. Could be someone else swapped out the stock.

Pricing is tough. $250 isn't a lot for one with the mum but the training stock would be a concern. Bore condition might be the deciding factor. If it's bad, I wouldn't pay that much. If it is good, I'd have some thinking to do.

Training rifles have their own collectors but in general they are not worth as much as a service rifle. A future purchaser is always going to question that stock.

That's pretty much the same as I was thinking.

Here are some pics

http://s726.photobucket.com/user/Jet...?sort=3&page=1

For the practice of training only = 訓練の実施にのみ...................

I would have to go with the instructions written on the stock. Not for live ammo. But if it's matching and in generally good appearance, it seems worth US$250 as a variant.

With the proof marks on the barrel, it was once a first rate rifle. But with the training stamp, maybe not anymore.