Help with Arisaka Training Rifle

[John737]

Last Sunday I was at a local flea market when I passed by a military vendor. As an avid collector of U.S. WWII gear, I decided to stop by to have a quick look. Turns out he didn't have anything interesting; a lot of the gear was Vietnam-era aside from a few patches.

As I was turning to leave, I suddenly saw an old rifle leaning against a nearby fence. I inquired about the item to the vendor, who told me it was a Japanese training rifle that didn't fire. He wanted $100, I ended up paying $75.

Despite its rough condition, the rifle appears to have most of its parts intact. It's missing a screw near the bayonet band, the cleaning rod, the safety knob, the firing pin, and one of the sling attachments, but the rest appears to be there. The barrel is real, but its a smooth-bore like the rest of the training rifles. The receiver appears to be functional with an operating bolt and a real magazine.

The only problem is I don't know what model it is. According to the overall design, it should be a 38. On the other hand, all the 38s I've seen online have two gas vent holes on the receiver while this one only has one. In addition, the bolt handles appears to be matching those on the late Type 99s. So I'm split between whether it was modeled after the Arisaka 38 or 99.

Can someone who is familiar with Japanese militaria help me on this one?

Thanks ahead!

Information

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[Aragorn243]

It looks like a Type 99 Long Rifle. Check the length and compare that to the known length's of the various types. It does not look like a Type 38, barrel bands are all wrong.

[John737]

Thanks for the quick reply Aragorn.

I was thinking the exact same thing, but the feature that's throwing me off is the "magazine release button" near the trigger. It's forward of the trigger itself, on the front of the guard, which normally can be found on 38 designs. In addition, the forward sling attach point faces down towards the ground, rather than the to the side like on most 99's I've seen.

Of course, I'm not an expert on any of this. Just speculating off the pretty pictures on the internet. I'll try tracking down the measurements of a 99 long rifle and compare it to my own.

Thanks again!

[Bill Hollinger]

The stock has the type 38 cut-out on the right. Looks like a 38 to me.

[bearrowland]

I wonder if it's a late war parts throw together. It sure looks like the Type 99 i'm working on now, but that mag release button throws it, as well as the trigger guard itself. Can you tell what arsenal its from?

[Bill Hollinger]

John, is it possible to post a few more pictures? Use natural light if you have it It's dark and overcast here Use the Marco setting and tripod if you have one available. Thank you

[Aragorn243]

It is a training rifle. I've seen them with all sorts of things that don't match anything. A mixmaster and custom put together is very possible.

[John737]

Thanks to the above for the help!

I posted some new pictures; it's been pretty cloudy outside but it cleared up a bit today.

As you can see, there is no maker's mark on the receiver. There's actually not a single Japanese character on the entire rifle. The only thing I could find was the two-digit number "60". Arggh! I wish I had asked the seller where he had gotten it!

Hope that helps!

[AZPhil]

I have the same stock/ front barrel band on my Type 38 No series Koishikawa school rifle. This is the first time I have seen one like mine. Thank you VERY much for posting that!!!!
Semper Fi
Phil

[Midmichigun]

Oh! I like this ALOT!! Thanks for posting!!!