well, i headed over next door to look at the "springfield or something" rifle my neighbor called me about yesterday. he said his folks found in in the basement behind the chimney and told him it was his. He said no way, he would never buy anything that rough and ugly, but none of them knew what it was. His folks bought the house in 1955 from a navy man. it is across the street from a VA hospital. over the phone yesterday he says "if you want it, it's yours."

well, as soon as he lifted it up i saw the knob on the end of the bolt and knew what we were dealing with. as he handed it over, the roughness of the stock and machining pegged it as a last ditch. The mum is ground 80% off. there are edges that are untouched. no rust, but it's obviously been used.

the stock looks like it was shaped with a cheese grater, and the machining is horrendous. but as an example of desperate measures, it's something to see. I told him i couldn't take it, as due to the type of rifle it is, it may be worth something. the bore is clean and crisp. there is cosmolene packing all the gaps and recesses. and dust. it's obvious that it hasnt moved from behind that chimney since before 1955.

I don't recall any dust cover slots in the receiver. The sling swivels do swivel. the sight is the fixed ghost ring. there are finger grooves "machined" (by angry beavers) in the stock. there are numerous dents and dings, along with what i assume is patches of original finish. the bluing is probably 80+. wooden, nailed buttplate present and in good order. bolt knob is cylindrical, not pear shaped. handling marks and bumps-and-bruises in the bolt steel and receiver. stock looks like pine. blonde and fairly soft. the are no markings on the front ring other than the partially ground mum. the serial number is visible, though one or two characters look to be japanese (imagine that!). there is what appears to be a makers mark that looks kinda like a pumpkin.

he is going to clean it up a bit and i'm gonna take some pictures this weekend. anyone have any ideas as to the plant that created this work of art (based on the pumpkin like mark)? with no import marks, unseen for 50+ years, the bumps and bruises, that the house was owned by a navy vet... i'm betting this is a battlefield pick-up that saw at least one hard battle. the condition of the bore and bolt face suggest not TOO many rounds downrange.

also, this is not the first gun my neighbors folks have found in the house. his dad also found a colt double action army rounded butt 44 long colt in great condition. it was stashed on top of a duct in the basement! I NEVER found anything like that! (how many of you are headed downstairs to check YOUR ducts?! laugh.gif ) I guess i did have one neat find when we bought our house. a quadrajet from a 70 chevelle big block. sold it on ebay for $100.

heath

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroo_Onoda

Wow! Don't underestimate that rifle. The Arisaka has survived worse treatment and functioned just fine.