Type 99 Range Report

[bob q]

All the 7.62x54r dies I have came with .311 , including the cheap Lee die that I use for 7.7mm neck sizing .

[BJung]

I did not know there was that much interest in the test shooting of Arisaka's . I have load tested my over 250 Type 99 rifles and 80 ish Type 30's and 38's . With the 6.5 rifles I have many that show great accuracy and have won matches with some . I once shot an original Type 97 as a 2nd rifle in a national Benchrest match . I did a five shot group average with 5 targets of 0.875 and a best group of 0.63 . Type -99's are not inaccurate as a rifle , but are hard to get a good group average with the large peep sight . I can cut my groups in half with a small hole clip on aperture for the rear sight . 6.5mm rifle are all over the board on what bullet and load they like depending on bore size and what type barrel they have on them . The 7.7mm's seem to fall into two groups , chrome bores and non-chrome . In most 7.7mm rifles the Hornady .312 150 sp in the best bullet , the .312 174 rn will help with some really large bore rifles . Speer bullets are bad and the Sierra's are just ok . With the chrome rifles it seems the faster you shoot them the better they shoot .

---------- Post added at 02:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:06 PM ----------

Also for the OP . Type -99's have large to extra large chambers and PPU cases are too small , plus dies make the case too small . You can see the soot ring around the case head where it was too small to seal and did not expand enough . Neck sizing fired cases with a 7.62x54r die will help .

bob q, Can you share some of your favorite loads with us? I'd like to know what other field tests were like. I'd love to visit you someday. I've seen all those nice pig hunting videos in Texas and I want to try a cast lead bullet for hunting. CA made hunting with lead bullets illegal.

[bob q]

The 7.7mm is not too finicky about powder . Any powder around the burning rate of I-4064 is good . My best bullet is the Hornady .312 150 sp . About 43.0 to 46.0 of I-4064 is a good place to start . The chrome bores do not tent to shoot cast as well as the non-chrome bores do . I do a lot of pig hunting here in Texas . Just got off the phone with a buddy who is hunting a 184,000 acre ranch and has got 5 so far today , in the snow . A cast bullet would be ok for the smaller pigs , but any over 200 lbs tend to get hard to knock down . Shot through the heart without a really hard hitting caliber , a big pig can still run a couple of hundred yards . Head shots work best . My best day at my ranch was 14 in one day , two over 250 lbs .

[Ovidio]

Must come over...

[bob q]

You could start with my 35 cal Carcano . It's pig count is well over a ton . 250 or 275 grain rn bullet at about 2200 fps . That does put the big ones down quick . Depending on your recoil tolerance , you could try the 500 Bandit . 50 cal 500 grain bullet at 2300 fps . I have another beast rifle , 900 grain bullet . Spring is best . If you really want to come over they are having the Sweetwater rattle snake round up March 12th - 14th and it is only 30 min from my place .

[BJung]

I found a use for the Speer 7.7-150gr SPs didn't group well with my Arisaka by shooting it through my sks

[bob q]

It is a big party . There is also a gun show . I have always done well at the gun show as it is a big local event and lots of locals bring stuff from their closets to sell at the show . Lots of venders , cookouts . Everything you can think of with the snakes , they milk a bunch and it is a major source for anti-venom . It does bring in a lot of people from Europe , it is a real WEST Texas event . They have a rare M-103 heavy tank at the park .

[BJung]

I will add this last post as a reference for future T99 Arisaka Shooters until I return to the shooting range again. I was not sure where my POI would be using the military sights. I shot at 100/200/200 yards using the 100/200/300 marks on the sights. My POI results was 1" high and 1" to the left for 100 yards, 1" high and 4" to the left for 200 yards, and around 0" and 12" to the left for 300 yards using 7.7-174gr Hornady FMJ bullets. In other words, I was hitting paper and not missing the target.

[bob q]

My friend ended up with 16 hogs on his hunt . Back to 7.7mm . What maker and series is your rifle ? The early rifles are usually pretty close to the sights but by late war they can be so far off you would miss a man a 200 yards . Also every late rifle I have the front sights were never zeroed , still in the exact center .

[jungletrigger]

Hello, I found your thread by chance and would like to know what your latest range results for your T99 currently is.

I started shooting test loads in my T99 again and would like to share information with you.

My first tests used Speer 150gr SP .311 bullets and resized military brass. The initial brass was sooty but by just neck sizing the fireformed brass, the cases were less so. My accuracy at 50 yards was the same as yours, about 1-1/2" at 50 yards. I forgot which powder I used but I think it was the same powder.

I slugged my barrel and it came out to .3115". Hornady .312 bullets shoot better groups than the .311 Speer bullets. The heavier 174grain bullets were more accurate than the 150grain bullets. I tried the Barnes .311 TTX bullets and results were ok. Woodleigh has a .312 all copper bullet I might try if I can't find a Hornady GMX .312" bullet. I use Reloader 15 and 19.

1-1/2" at 50 yards is a good job, keep it up and thanks for sharing you report with us. Very helpful.