Rechambering Jap 38 Carbine?

[sigman2]

I have a Kokura Type 38 carbine #129xx with no series symbol in front of the serial number.

It is in decent condition. I purchased it from one of the large importers several years back as a parts gun for $10.00. The Mum is ground. It was missing the bolt and upper handguard. I have since replaced these parts. The bore is dark but has strong rifling.

I was considering rechambering it to 6.5x55 Swede since I already have dies and components for that caliber.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

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[Milsurp Collector]

I was considering rechambering it to 6.5x55 Swede since I already have dies and components for that caliber.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

6.5 Japanese is very pleasant to shoot in my carbine, I'm not sure 6.5 x 55 Swede would be as pleasant (muzzle blast and recoil).

6.5 Japanese dies are cheap http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=335612

So is brass Graf & Sons - PRVI BRASS 6.5x50 JAP UNPRIMED 100/BAG

I would leave it as is and start handloading 6.5 Japanese. All the 6.5 Japanese ammo I have I made myself.

[jmoore]

Stick w/ the original caliber!
If you've just the one rifle, a simple Lee loader kit or your favorite brand of neck sizing dies will work great. Besides, the bullets your Swede prefers may not be happy in the Japanese rifle. Additionally, you would be morally bound to mark the new caliber on the outside of the rifle so that whoever gets it next will know NOT to shoot 6.5 Japanese in it!

[Patrick Chadwick]

"Morally bound" Holy regulations!!

Well if that's how it is in the USA, that's putting a trust in sellers that is all too often not justified.

I know folks in the USA treasure their freedom, even though it sometimes seems to verge on anarchy for people in the land of DIN. However, rechambering a rifle and not marking it appropriately is not freedom but a downright dangerous falsification.

Here in Mauserland, where we notoriously have rules for everything, a gun that is rechambered must by law be reproofed, and the new chambering must be stamped on the barrel so that it is visible. Failure to do so is not just immoral, it is illegal!

Patrick

[jmoore]

Note I didn't say LEGALLY BOUND! Seeing as how I recently fell victim to a calber change w/ o visible evidence I was reminded of the USER BEWARE responsibility! (The 6.5 Carcano/Mannlicher fun)

ETA: I COULD blame the Canadians since Cooey did the conversion, but I'm still dumb sometimes.

As a warning to type 38 owners, quite a few were bubba'ed into sort of 257 Roberts and sort of 25-06 too! The '99's are often butchered into sort of 30-06. None of which shoot worth a ****!

Which reminds me that there is/was a 6.5 that someone had run a 30-06 reamer into! A yokel drags it into a local gunshop and complains about the recoil and hard extraction. When asked what ammo he had been shooting, he drags out a box of '06. The gunshop owner doesn't believe that the fellow could possibly FIRE, much less chamber a round, so he just has to drop a shell in----. Let's just say it shook the dust off the rafters! (This was NOT a shooting range BTW). A friend who was there at least had time to cover his ears, I think, its been a while. Anyways, it didn't hurt anything except some egos, even the rifle suffered no ill effects!

[rayg]

Just curious, could you use the 6.5 X 55 Swede dies to just neck size the 6.5 Jap cases if you're going to shoot it in the same gun?
I have a 6mm Win Navy Lee that instead of buying the expensive 6mm dies I just use .243 dies to neck size, Ray

[Patrick Chadwick]

That will not work, for the very simple reason that the 6.5x55 die is 4mm longer. And the Swedish case neck/mouth diameter is larger than the maximum Arisaka chamber neck diameter. So there would be no resizing effect. (Presumaby the Swedish brass has thicker walls).

The Lee dies are cheap enough - certainly cheaper than rechambering a rifle and reducing its historical value to zero! I had the same idea, but after checking the dimensions and tolerances, I simply bought the dies.

Patrick

[sigman2]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts on my question.

Does the type 38 use standard rifling or is it Metford? What is the difference?

I had a friend who was going to turn a barrel down to the carbines dimensions, thread and chamber it. I would have gone with .243 if this was done. However, he has since passed away so that idea is moot.

This would have enabled me to retain the original barrel and chambering.

I'll order dies and brass for the 6.5 Jap. I'll probably end up getting another 38 in rifle length also.

I guess it won't hurt to add another caliber to my reloading... I already load 24 different calibers. LOL

[Milsurp Collector]

Does the type 38 use standard rifling or is it Metford? What is the difference?

"Arisakas have hammer-forged polygonal or Metford-type rifling, where the lands and grooves are gradual rather than having distinct shoulders. With no sharp corners to burn off the barrel life is longer than with other types of rifling. Many collectors mistake the rounded shoulders of this rifling type as excessive wear of the barrel". (From "The Type 38 Arisaka" by Allan and Macy).

Heckler & Koch and Glock also use polygonal rifling Polygonal rifling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Smart choice leaving it in its original chambering. When you shoot it you'll see why.

[ireload2]

"Morally bound" Holy regulations!!

Well if that's how it is in the USA, that's putting a trust in sellers that is all too often not justified.

I know folks in the USA treasure their freedom, even though it sometimes seems to verge on anarchy for people in the land of DIN. However, rechambering a rifle and not marking it appropriately is not freedom but a downright dangerous falsification.

Here in Mauserland, where we notoriously have rules for everything, a gun that is rechambered must by law be reproofed, and the new chambering must be stamped on the barrel so that it is visible. Failure to do so is not just immoral, it is illegal!

Patrick

Ah Mauser land home of the 88 Commission rifle with several different land and groove dimensions. It was ok for the government to make them like that and later sell them into commercial channels without marking. so can you tell me what the land and groove dimensions of my 88 are just from the markings?