Pics of 'Vietnam bring back' Type 38.

[Anzac15]

The Type 38 arrived today! It is a Koishikawa, no series. To say it has been around the block would be an understatement. I love it! I dont know if it actually ended up in Vietnam, but it sure looks the part. Am a bit reluctant t clean it before I know a little more about it. Enjoy!

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[WarPig1976]

What the hell ate the wood, worms.? If it could only talk...

[Anzac15]

Yep, worm tracks! Its got character, thats for sure.

[CINDERS]

Gads it went around the block backwards that is a fair bit of cast off on the stock by yimminy ! certainly has done some laps and then some

[Calif-Steve]

Any paperwork? It sure looks like a RVN bring-back. The country had District and Province Arms Rooms. They actually tried to keep stuff in good order. Looks like it was in someone's hut. But the paperwork is invaluable.

[Anzac15]

No paperwork at all. And I know that without that, it's just a story. ButId have to say it has seen more than a few elephants.
It was, or was meant to be, stored somewhere for quite a while, as the inside is packed with black, sticky, smelly 'cosmoline'. You can hear it squishing around when you pull on the trigger. Like I said before, I'm on the fence about giving it a light cleaning. I'd be curious to hear what some of you guys would have to say about that. If it were papered, I more than likely wouldn't touch it. As its not, it really is in fact, just a well travelled veteran that maybe spent some time in Vietnam, Republic Of. But I'm afraid a light cleaning would cause it to lose some of its 'character'.

[seabot2]

I have mentioned this before on this forum. There was a large quantity of T38s and T99s imported from China around 1989-1990. If you look up some issues of Shotgun News from those years you will see them advertised by sellers like Paragon Sales. I bought a few from them back then. These guns had the mum on them. Condition of the guns were NRA poor. They were extremely neglected. Stocks were close to rotten. Kind of what you have there.

[browningautorifle]

That one is in a bit of need...needs everything...or nothing.

[Anzac15]

I might at least take it apart to look around in it. In fact, the only thing I've removed is the top handguard, and the bluing is really pretty. Number on the inside of the handguard matches all small parts that I can see. There is no import mark on this rifle (although there's a chance it just missed it if it is imported) Bore is really nice and action is really tight.

[Anzac15]

Well, disassembled it tonight, and it looks like a brand new rifle under the wood. Not a speck of rust. Original stock. Other than the mismatched bolt, it all matches. But boy its sticky!