Siamese Type 66 Arisaka

[Eaglelord17]

So my conclusions on handling it is this is a very effective military rifle design. Bolt is very smooth. Rear sight is a beefy and effective ramp sight. Bolt assembly/disassembly is fantastic as all the later Arisaka designs are. The magazine has a quick release floor plate (unfortunately not hinged though, but still better than the standard Mauser style plate). The sliding dust cover which would be very handy for a soldier. It does have some weirdness which I unfortunately can't learn much more on as the middle barrel band screw is seized in place and was partially stripped when I got it (front band was also seized but I managed to get the screw to move). I put enough downward forces and sideways torque to bend my screwdriver tip but still couldn't get it to budge and since Type 66 Arisaka parts aren't thick on the ground I am not going to try any more on it.

Overall I would say this takes the best features of a M98 Mauser and the Type 38 Arisaka design and blends them together. If it was a bit shorter, with a 100m zero and a better rimless caliber (say 7.65x53, or 7mm Mauser) I would be hard pressed to find a better military service rifle.


That fantastic arisaka bolt design

Floor plate release

Nice rear sight

Arisaka action with the sliding dust cover

Siamese crest on the receiver