Sporterized Arisaka

[riceone]

When I was a teenager in the late 40's and early 50's we hunted on top of the Mississippi River levee. Every one used rifles cause you could see the deer coming couple hundred yards on the outside of the levee and about 75 or 100 if coming from the river side. It was very dangerous as people on both sides of the deer shot at it which ment when it crossed the top of the levee we were shooting at each other. Why some one did not get killed I don't know. I can remember squatting down behind a car wheel for protection.

What I wanted to tell was a Doctor and his wife from Memphis use to hunt at the same place and they had two T38 carbines that had been sporterized by Highsmith in Memphis. I thought those were the prettiest rifles I had ever seen. Both had scopes. As the years went by and I had a little money I wrote to a gunsmith about making me a sporter out of a Japanese carbine. He sort of chided me for wanting to send money on a "jap" rifle. So I let it go and started learning how to do it myself. I made one or two that I am glad noone knows where they are. But I have always thought sporterized Japanese rifles were pretty.

I'm not real fond of the yellow stock but I sure would like to have the T99 in 308 in another stock. That safety took a lot of skill and thought. I'd like to look at it.

Riceone.