Does anyone have any ideas what to do with an Arisaka Type 99 that's missing all the little extras and has a rusty bore? The action seems to be in good shape. I'd like to replace the barrel and stock. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I reload, so I'm up for wildcat cartriges if that's the best route. I'd really like to have something unusual. But if this seems like a bad idea or not cost effective please let me know.

Jake

My dad and I had one long ago and in the end the rusty bore was so over size that the bullets tumbled.

That jap rifle was made by loosers.

Dump it.

"That jap rifle was made by loosers.

Dump it."

Spoken by a true loser.
The Type 99 is a Mauser style action, however the late war type 99's were kind of crudely made, but are quite strong (but ugly IMO).
The biggest hassel about doing a rebarrel on one is cutting the (shot glass shaped) bolt recess in the breach face.
Finding aftermarket parts and pieces won't be easy, but Bishop (and others) made some nice sporter stocks for them.
The easest cartridges to convert it to would be things in the Mauser (__x57mm) IE: 257 Roberts, 7x57 8x57 or wildcats baised on them.

Mausers were made by losers too, does that make them bad?

Good reading on the Jap is P.O. Ackley's report on trying to deliberately blow one up. Didn't happen. I have had,(and still have one or two) several 99's and 38's over the years in 257 Roberts, 6.5X 257R, .300 Savage and 257X.308.The main reason I bought them was because they were literally a steal, in the $100 to $150 range and were ready to go. Some scoped, some not. The safety can be a problem with a scope, but with a little patience is workable. All have shot well.And some have even looked reasonably good.

The Ariska action to my eye is not a Mauser system but a Manlicher because it has the bolt handle going thru the rear receiver bridge.

This fact makes it very hard to mount a scope well. This and that the rifles are as close to landfill in terms of value anyway make them of interest to only a few.

I met a club member who had got a Ariska in .30 jap and he was shooting it with 30/06 brass. As you know the base diameter of the jap is larger so the cases were bulging out. He had made the rear sight that mounts just in front of the receiver into a peep sight which is not a bad idea.

I picked a bench to shoot from at the far end of the range. Not to say that he is not a nice guy.

The Type 38 has a solid rear bridge. It appears to be a split bridge as it is cut out in the rear half for the bolt handle to turn down.
Scopes can be mounted with the same mods that would be made on the military 98 action.

In fact the 38 represents a genuinely improved 98 Mauser. The bolt and safety are made up of only about 6 parts total, and can be field stripped in seconds without tools. The action is a good one. The 38 is a great candidate for rechambering to .260 Rem. Don't know about the 99....a rebarrel would probably be best. The mid barrel peep on the 99 is factory issue.

Funyn how in these time of the lastest whoom-boom super blaster Mag chamberings few folks know much about firearms. Course a review of a current American Rifleman vs one for the 60s back proves that!

Is the 99 a super duper action?

Good strength if made earlier in the war. Even some of the butt ugly ones are strong, finish was an afterthought, and I wonder when one is really pushed for production how well one keeps check on the metallurgy.
Lots of folks whine about the cock on closing feature of the 14 and 17 Enfield, Type 38 and 99 Japanese actions. Not really that big of deal but some like to make it so!

Barrels in the 99 . . . The bore diameter and condition varies greatly. I have one that has a pristine bore and is small enough to shoot .308 bullets out of it.

30-06 brass is too small . . . may be so but the sizing die works it on every loading so if I was using Norma 7.7 it would be worked heavily also.

Is it the action of choice in todays world?

Nah, 98 is easier, simpler to rebarrel/restock but if you have time and can do some of your own work have at it and enjoy the project as much as the goal.

That said, the barrel in my Type 38 looks like a mile of logging road, but holds about 1.25" at a hundred and you know what, deer can't tell it isn't sub MOA as we know all off the shelf rifles are today. Ain't seen a decent chamber (all I have seen are eccentric)in the 38 yet.

LouisB

Just opinion of course and worth all one paid for it.

Savage 99, there is a Jap. service rifle with a split receiver bridge. It is a 6.5mm with what is essentially the Italian Mann.-Carcano bolt & receiver and an Arisaka Mauser-type magazine. This rifle was a substitute standard (made in Italy???) The Type 38 Arisaka 6.5mm and the Type 99, a modified Arisaka in 7.7 x58mm (.303"), ared both modified M98 Mauser pattern rifles. The main difference between these and Mausers is the way the striker/safety mechanism is designed, and the fact that they cock on closing, rather than on opening. Beautiful sporters have been made from some Arisakas, but there is a lot of work involved, and an aftermarket trigger is required to provide a side mounted safety. Right after WWII, when domestically manufactured rifles were still scarce, there might have been justification for spending money on one of these, but today, I would not mess with one unless you do the work yourself and don't count the cost of your own labor against the overall cost of this project.

I have one of the type I 6.5 Jap's, it was made by Beretta, and is half Carcano, half Arisaka. I bought it in a pawn shop for $60, and it is very accurate, 1 moa with stock sites shooting Federal American Eagle 140 fmj's.

Wade

If you sent me an E-mail message relating to Arisakas let me know. I used reply two different ways and the message failed to get to you so I am a bit MORE suspisious of the origin of "your" message.!

Had not seen or heard from you and want to make sure you sent the E-mail, not a virus, got burned twice that way already (opening reasonable sounding attachments).
Thank goodness for the new restore function in XP (knew all of those folks at Gates' outfit would make up for the gaping attack holes in the OSs sooner or later). Ever hear of a Linux virus . . . NO, hackers use it, and aren't out to punish the great Linux creator in the sky.

LouisB

I acknowledge the Jap action is strong, I also know that your throwing good money after bad...They are ugly as sin, bulky, and poorly made and machined, hard to scope and stock IMO and they have absolutly no resale value....I would toss it in the junk pile, sell it, whatever and spend the money on something worthwhile.

Why try and make a silk purse out of a sows ear?

I think I've decided to reload a few rounds, fire it a few times to see what it's all about, and then shelve / sell it. Thanks for all the info, it's exactly what I was looking for.

Actually, some years back I had one that had been sporterized by Jeffery in England, and was chambered for the 6.5 X 54. It was a very nice little rifle. - Dan

If the bore is rusty watch out. Early 99s had chrome bores and were very strong. Towards the end of the war they started doing away with items such as, chrome bores, windage sights and eventually different steel alloys. Eventually they were producing the 99 "Last Ditch" model. I would not shoot one of these.
An early 99 in good condition makes an excellent, strong shooter. I have one sporterized and scoped with the original military barrel cut down that is one of my most accurate rifles when shooting .312" hornady spire points.

[ 03-03-2003, 22:35: Message edited by: parryj ]

"I acknowledge the Jap action is strong"

You can say that again. There is a a true story of someone who, upon purchasing a surplus 6.5mm Arisaka, had it rechambered to .30-06. Only problem was, he didn't put a new barrel on! Upon firing, the .308 cal bullet was being forced down a .264 cal bore and squeezed to something like a flying pencil. The pressures that action withstood would have been horrendous. Apparently, the recoil was a little stronger than normal, but the hunter was none the wiser and used it to shoot several deer before anyone put 2 and 2 together. That rifle is supposed to be housed in the NRA museum now. I don't know if it is a testament to good design and workmanship, or absolute human stupidity and the guardian angels that guy had watching over him!