Type 99 arisaka cleaning rod problems

[burb1989]

i`ll try to post some more updated pictures since the only ones i have are when i first got the rifle two month ago. Update: My cleaning rod broke at the screw end. apparently the metal there had been weakened over the years but thankfully i did find a spare last week that has a different head on the outside. it is shorter but it still fits somehow (don`t know how a long cleaning rod could fit into a short rifle but who knows?). I founda reproduction bayonet frog and a sling that is of the period that my rifle was made. Again i know pictures will help and everyones definition of "beautiful" when it comes to guns is different so i`ll show off the old gal`s finish when i can. Until then.........

[burb1989]

here`s some photos of my arisaka for all who are interested. sorry they`re so late but i had to get a new camera. now you guy can form your own opinions on my definition of "beautiful" when it comes to this gun. (Note i did add a few things to the gun in the later month. I found an original sling (which is a different sling than the repop one i mentioned in an earlier post), a repop bayonet frog and belt with ammo pouches, and put the cleaning rod in. hope you guys like it. Also i took these pictures before i realized i forgot to put the frog on the bayonet and put the sling and cleaning rod on.

[Claven2]

Nice rifle, though I notice thecleaning rod isn't in the pics?

[burb1989]

Nice rifle, though I notice thecleaning rod isn't in the pics?

I forgot to put the cleaning rod back into the rifle before i took the pictures (foolish i know) but i need to take new pictures of all my guns anyway so i`ll repost some pics of the rifle with the cleaning rod in it very soon.

[Bill Hollinger]

Remember, it never happened without pictures

[burb1989]

Finally after borrowing another camera ( i swear battery life these days!) here are the newest pics of this rifle with the cleaning rod and the bayonet frog attached and ready to show the world.

[jmoore]

( i swear battery life these days!)

Rechargable batteries! Pay for themselves in very little time. I keep three sets in rotation.

I never seem to find Type 99s with matching numbers and the mum intact at the same time.

[burb1989]

Rechargable batteries! Pay for themselves in very little time. I keep three sets in rotation.

I never seem to find Type 99s with matching numbers and the mum intact at the same time.

I`ll remember some more batteries next time i take pictures.
Anyway my rifle has all matching numbers but the mum is completely gone. I have yet to see a type 99 with a mum intact for sale down south here that wasn`t beat to almighty hell and back. The last one i saw with a mum intact did match but it was in such bad shape i just couldn`t try to buy it. The stock was dented all up, the buttplate was rusted beyond saving, and it was missing its cleaning rod and sling. The only reason i even considered buying it was that it had an orignal monopod with it (which from what research i found is expensive).

[jmoore]

Rifles with intact mums are in rough shape much of the time due to the nature of their recovery- from the battlefield days or weeks after combat has ceased. Piled up and then rooted through by all sorts of military personnel. Rifles without mums were likely in some degree of controlled storage. Processed after the war ended.

[burb1989]

That does make sense seeing as how they couldn`t really keep the rifles clean after they were captured. I`m lucky that the old gentleman whom i bought mine from kept it in such great shape. He told me he worked in a processing center where these rifles were coming in. He took the rifle and a bayonet that came in with it and brought them home. He had only fired it maybe twice in the years he had it. I met him at a gun show when i was looking for another enfield to add to my then growing collection. He saw how much i appreciated all he did during the war and he asked me if i wanted his rifle and bayonet. I asked him how much and he told me he wanted $250 for them both but since i showed a genuine interest in it he sold me both pieces for $150. Came to find out he served in the same navy unit as my grandfather too, which was even more special to me since my grandfather passed away three years ago.