Type 38 Carbine Questions

[Singer B]

You know you are in trouble when you walk into your local gun store and the owner asks you "can you please take a look at something for me and tell me what it is?" He presented the rifle to me and it was obviously Japanese but very short and definitely not a Type 99. After several minutes of on-line research, we were able to identify it as a Type 38 carbine. The person who brought it into the shop was an 80+ year-old gentleman who claimed he received it from his father's closet many years ago and was all-original. We eventually made a deal and I brought it home today.

It is in really great condition (maybe too good?). It has an intact mum but the numbers I have seen so far do not match. It has obviously been apart as evidenced by the boogered up screws. Here are my questions:

1. It has a cleaning rod. Is it original?
2. The wood and finish are really nice. Is this the original finish? I have not seen this type of deep brown coloring on any of my other Japanese rifles.
3. I believe it is a Series 5 Nagoya?
4. Anything else you can tell me?

I will start the conservation work this weekend but wanted to confirm the above information before I moved forward with certain processes.

Thank you for your assistance!

[J-ROD]

You are correct, this is a series 5 Nagoya. It appears to be in good condition with correct cleaning rod. The stock looks to have been lightly sanded, can’t tell the type of finish applied. The safety is not correct for a series 5 Nagoya carbine, the large tang was on earlier Type 38 rifles from the Tokyo arsenal, before Nagoya and Kokura. All numbers should match the receiver, if the bolt doesn’t match but matches itself, it probably came from an earlier Type 38 rifle. Rifle and carbine bolts are the same so should still work correctly.

These issues may turn off hardcore collectors but if you paid $400 or less, you got a good deal. These are fun little rifles to shoot.

[J-ROD]

I forgot to mention, an original Nagoya cleaning rod should have proof marks. Look for a small stamp that looks like a “ri” or “w”.

[Singer B]

You are correct, this is a series 5 Nagoya. It appears to be in good condition with correct cleaning rod. The stock looks to have been lightly sanded, can’t tell the type of finish applied. The safety is not correct for a series 5 Nagoya carbine, the large tang was on earlier Type 38 rifles from the Tokyo arsenal, before Nagoya and Kokura. All numbers should match the receiver, if the bolt doesn’t match but matches itself, it probably came from an earlier Type 38 rifle. Rifle and carbine bolts are the same so should still work correctly.

These issues may turn off hardcore collectors but if you paid $400 or less, you got a good deal. These are fun little rifles to shoot.

Thanks! Since I had never seen one before, I knew I had to have it so I paid substantially more but it is definitely a cool addition to the collection. I'll look up the safety and start searching for the correct one
I might get lucky and find one!

[Aragorn243]

I have one, missing the cleaning rod in the photos I took but I probably found a replacement for it, I didn't leave those things go back in the days I was still buying rifles and you could actually find the parts for them. I don't recall what I paid for it either but it's value at the time was $250 so probably less than $200. It's been a few years. It does have a dust cover, not sure if it matches or not.

[Geokop]

Unfortunately, the stock has been sanded and refinished on this carbine. There's not much collector value here with the stock, and mismatched / incorrect safety issues, however, as mentioned, these are very fun to shoot... Quick to point and aim, and with a mild recoil. Enjoy!