Mystery Arisaka M-38

Hello all. I've been helping out at an estate sale for the last couple months, identifying and cataloging rifles in a collection of probably over 1100 milsurp firearms. A lot of this collection so far has been Arisakas of all variants. If Japan made it, this guy had it. So far, out of over 300 rifles sold, only four that I have identified had import markings on them. Most so far have had the mum intact. There have been a few ground, but a lot have not.

Which brings me to the point of this post. At the last auction, I was fortunate to pick up a rifle I had not been able to identify before sales day. It's an Arisaka 38 carbine with non-matching numbers. It's got import marks and numbers on it, but it's an early import from what I can tell. From the stamp on the receiver, it was made at the Kukurn Arsenal. It has the triangle in circle, so it's been proof tested as well. The furniture looks nice. There is a crack in the forearm that was professionally repaired, and done well, but the gun is a mystery. It has no mum, and has never had one from what I can tell. It's not been ground or defaced. It's smooth, with the numbers 7 and 0 stamped in place of the mum. There is no Japanese or Chinese figures on the receiver or anywhere on the gun, except the proof marks from the arsenal. There are no protective ears on the front site.

Another mystery, is it is 7mm. I have handled enough 30s, 38s, and 44s for this auction, as well as having owned several Swedish Mausers over the years, I know what a 6.5mm muzzle looks like. I compared it side by side with my Moisin and the muzzle diameter is similar. A 7.62 bullet will fit inside the muzzle of this M38. I have not had a smith check it for chambering or head space as of yet, as I only officially have owned it since Sat.

Any direction on this thing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help. Attachment 100183Attachment 100184Attachment 100185Attachment 100186Attachment 100187Attachment 100188Attachment 100189

Some were converted to 8x57 by the Chinese.

Arisaka in 8mm

I've thought of that, and looked it up, but doesn't look like that either. There are none of the marks on it that the Chinese stamped on their conversions.

Some were converted to 7.62x39.

Type 38 rifle - Wikipedia

Check to see if it is 7mm Mauser. Mexico did order some 7mm Arisakas though the order got cancelled due to the 1911 revolution. I am not super knowledgable on that variant though so you would have to do some digging to find out if this meets the description of one.

Mexican rifles had the eagle crest on the receiver . Everything on this rifle points to China . The receiver is scrubbed and notched for a longer round , the front sight has been off and it has an import mark . If a 7.62 bullet will fit down the barrel , that means lands greater than .308 , like the .311 of a 8mm .

It's been worked over for sure. The receiver looks like it was sand blasted and then refinished. Quite a few of the shorter rifles were converted to 7.62x39 as AGB suggested. So that would suggest the 8mm Mauser as a possibility with the cut on the top of the receiver for a longer round.

I'll get it to a smith and have it checked for caliber. So far in the estate, it's the only one I've found this way. But there are 1100 or so rifles to go through. It is the only Arisaka I have found without a mum, too.