Why there aren't Japanese rifles among "favorite WWII rifles"?

[Old Joe]

Why I love the Type 38 Japanese rifle:

a) The Jap 6.5 mm cartridge is one of the most pleasant rounds you will ever squeeze off down range. Truly minimal recoil and a nice flat trajectory just make for a pleasant range experience.

b) Firing the 6.5 Jap is a great excuse to reload. Not only is reloading enjoyable but the time I spend in the cellar doing it away from my family is priceless.

c) A Jap Rifle is like a pricey lottery ticket. The varied armory markings and series, not to forget the Mum or scrapped Mum scenario, make them a bit more interesting to pick up and or research.

d) I can usually spend 150 bucks for a Jap rifle and blab knowingly about it at gun shows pretending to have far more useful knowledge than I actually have.

e) There are a lot of beautiful Japanese Sporters out there that gunsmiths have put a lot of work on in the 50's and 60's and are in some unique calibers. I consider these the Americana influence in my type 38 collection and you just cannot beat the price on them.

Of course the Japs were savages, fighting in the jungle sucked, and the rifle can be found in varying quality and workmanship. If you shoot what you collect you would probably have a incentive to grab one if you had the chance to fire a nice one before hand.

Old Joe

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[riceone]

If you are interested in collecting Japanese rifle you would do well to purchase Fred Honeycutts book "Military Rifles of Japan" cost less than $50 shipped to you. Next join Banzia, a Japanese collector group and then get aquainted with anad make friends with a knowledged collector and he will help you find nice rifles and sometimes good deals. A $150 gun will be a $150 gun 20 years from now, but a nice matching with nice original finish on stock and metal will double in price about ever 10 years. I have paid too much at the time for some rifles but they have increased in value to over come that now. Its not an overnight project. roy

[195Pilot]

My Father brought home a type 99 with bayonet after the war. Sat at my grandfathers house for years and At age 12 or 13 I became interested in reloading.(the only rifle we had was my Dads 22 rimfire) After studying My parents bought me a Lyman starter set, this was in the mid 60's. Well the only rifle I had access to that I could reload for was the type 99, formed cases from 30-06 milsurp, trimmed and loaded.
Well when all of my family found out that I had worked up reloads and was shooting that "Jap" rifle here they came with the ones they had brought home or had bought or traded for and gave them to me. They couldn't afford the shells,(was not going to pay that kind of price for Jap shells when Sears and Roebuck 00 buck was cheaper). Have 3 or 4 each of the type 99 and the 38. haven't shot them in decades.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Have 3 or 4 each of the type 99 and the 38. haven't shot them in decades.

If they are in good shooting condition - hang onto them.

Over here, the Arisaka prices have risen considerably in the last year. I believe it is largely because all the good-shooting Mausers, Enfields, Springfields etc. are in the hands of serious shooters, like myself, and all the good-looking Mausers, Enfields, Springfields etc. are in the hands (or rather the gun cabinets) of collectors. So what is available on the open market, especially on the unmentionable auction sites, is often pretty dire, being neither pretty nor a good shooter. As a result, people are starting to look more soberly at what were previously considered the "also-rans".

You may (or maybe not?) be surprised to learn that I also have an Arisaka - a very fine Type 38, with an intact deep-lustre wood finish that looks like the lacquer on an old Japanese or Chinese casket. This is one rifle where I have done nothing to the stock other than just clean it, carefully. And the joint in the butt is perfect, i.e. invisible.

Up to now, I have only been able to test fire it with some Norma ammo, with moderate results. The second firing, with fire-formed and neck-sized cases, should be much better. I shall report on this in due course.

[jmoore]

Type 38 chambers do seem to run onn the large side, Can't be good for accuracy, as it's easy to imagine all sorts of evil things happening to those long bullets as they enter the throat at an angle.

I wonder if the minimum range settings on the sights of these rifles also has had an influence on their popularity. The average Joe shoots mostly at 100yds/m when evaluating a new rifle, so his new Japanese rifle may very well shoot over the top of his target-if it's not tall enough.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Type 38 chambers do seem to run on the large side,

Most delicately put. My T38 chamber is ENORMOUS! The Norma cases develop a real fat-cheeked look. Full resizing would be a disaster.

The average Joe shoots mostly at 100yds/m when evaluating a new rifle, so his new Japanese rifle may very well shoot over the top of his target-if it's not tall enough.

Once again, dead on target (or rather, over the top)!

- Jmoore, you are very familiar with Arisaka idiosyncracies, as demonstrated by your solution of the locked-bolt puzzle. I do not always want to reinvent the wheel, so have you got your Arisaka shooting straight, and if so, how? Please!

Patrick

[jmoore]

Nothing spectacular in 6,5mm, even the sniper. Not horrible, either, though. Sorry, I've just haven't done a ton of load development. The .220 Swift Winchester M70 (1940's era) barreled T38 does 1 MOA or a bit better, so there's nothing wrong w/ the action design! That kind of accuracy is pretty hard to get in most vintage Swift calibered rifles.

The T99 4x sniper, however decided it likes the factory Hornady 150gr ammo. Better than anything I've loaded, but it's all been 174 gr.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

I just stumbled into an original type 38 Kokura and must say the quality of workmanship has put to rest the stories I have always heard about the "inferiority" of these weapons. Obviously antiquated vs. am M1
and that amoung many other factors not the least of which is the bravery and sacrifice of our fathers,mothers,grandfathers and grandmothers is why we are not speeking Japanese or German. Thanks to all of you who preserve the relics of this important time in history. Winners, loosers or even the Swiss.

[blackcat_attilio]

I just stumbled into an original type 38 Kokura and must say the quality of workmanship has put to rest the stories I have always heard about the "inferiority" of these weapons. Obviously antiquated vs. am M1
and that amoung many other factors not the least of which is the bravery and sacrifice of our fathers,mothers,grandfathers and grandmothers is why we are not speeking Japanese or German. Thanks to all of you who preserve the relics of this important time in history. Winners, loosers or even the Swiss.

I agree with you!

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

I agree with you!

A thumbs up fron Italy! I just added a Carcano to my to do list.
Thanks!