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Hi all, my husbands father had in his possession this rife that was handed down to my husband, nobody knows anything really about it and im pretty sure i have it worked out be maybe a Arisaka? It does have a mum on it along with some letters but on the stock it has a number with some symbols and i was wandering if anybody would know what it stands for? Thank you for any help
This is the other markings i see
Welcome to milsurps.:wave:
Those with the knowledge will be along shortly with the answers also as the members are all over the world answers to ones questions can take a little time the key is a bit of patience.
Thank you :) and fully understand about folks being from all over and im in no hurry it is not going anywhere.
It is a Type 38 Arisaka based on the mum and two vent holes in the receiver. The stock markings are unusual for a Japanese service rifle. They look like they belong on either a school rifle or a Chinese rifle. The first is ruled out by the intact mum. The second is possible as many of these were captured and used by the Chinese after the war. How it would come into the hands of an American is the big question if Chinese. I can't read either Chinese of Japanese so meaning is a mystery to me.
All we really know is.....lets say it come from one of the Mariana islands during WWII, we do know this much!...And thank you!
That would rule out Chinese then. It could be a Special Naval Landing Forces rifle. It's the stock markings that are unusual. I don't believe the Army ever used them. I could be wrong as I'm no expert on Japanese stock markings. The navy did do things their own way however and these units were common on the Pacific Islands.
I think i found it.....麻田校 which means Asada school.....No idea about the number 1
Had a friend translate. They said Japanese school as wellQuote:
Originally Posted by Dee
Having no idea about any of this i was staying clear of a school due to things i was reading, there is a little bit of, i will say differences of opinion on what is what on some sites.....Ive read where they say the flower is scrubbed off if being used in a school or circles are over the flower (hope i got this right) then ive read this is not true. So while i know a little more its only made it a little more confusing for me knowing how this rife made it to the USA lol. And then you have was the story behind it one of those tall stories........I do not know.
School rifles do indeed normally have the mum marked over. Another clue would be the serial number which you do not show. If it has two zeros in front of it, it's a school rifle. Seems odd it would be found in the Marianas. School rifles should have been left in Japan.
It does look like it has 2, 0's at the start of the serial number and an emblem at the end, all the numbers are hard to see thats why i never added it but i think it is 80662, sounds like a tall story situation :dunno: I guess it is something now we will never truly get to the bottom of and it is a shame.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aragorn243
In any case, it is most likely a fully serviceable rifle. As an original Type 38, it was probably turned over to the school because it was old. These are still capable of firing unlike a school training rifle which are not. The training rifles are not true rifles and were used for drills. Most are made of substandard materials. Some are designed to fire blanks only. I wouldn't say the Marianas story is incorrect, it is possible it was pressed into service do to wartime shortages.
I managed to see down the barrel and i do see spirals if that means anything, no matter what i now know more than i did before joining this site and for that i thank you very much!!
If you could post pics of say the markings on the left side of the receiver of the bolt race with full length shots of the rifle and any other markings the good folks here may be able to expand of the classification on the rifle, anything is possible in war how to ratify it is hard as its been 73 years since the Japanese surrendered who knows where this rifle has been.
These are the best i could get, i thought i seen one more set of numbers somewhere but now i can not find them so i might be wrong :/
You could have saved a whole lot of confusion by not posting a photo of another rifles markings. That mum has been struck which is normal for school rifles. The metal is in rough shape but the bore doesn't look too bad.
Oh crap! I am so so sorry, yes i should have said 'like this' in the second picture.....when i first real this i was like what...then i went back and looked at the pictures and seen what you are talking about (the flower) Im kicking myself here and truly am sorry because you can not expect help if you do not say and explain things properly, lesson learned for me! Please accept my apology that is due, i was just trying to give what little info i could see but never gave it a thought that by posting the image i did it WOULD come across as it being what is on this rifle! Common sense im lacking :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Aragorn243
Not a big deal. Was an interesting mystery for a bit.
If i ever need help again i promise to take more care!
This is the best Arisaka site on the net. All the links work too.
Nambu World