The Japanese, then and now, use both number systems, and there seems no real rhyme or reason as to which is used where. I know of no use of the Japanese numbering for serial numbers of weapons, but the model 'Type' numbers are always Japanese. I have never been in Japan, but have been told that it is (or at least was) common for stores to display prices in both 'arabic' numbers and Japanese. The latter was a lower price and that is what you paid if you could read the Japanese numbers; if you couldn't, you paid the higher price. I laughed MAO at that story; really neat. The Firearms Forum is on online community for all gun enthusiasts.
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For today’s Friday Field Strip, we’re looking at the Japanese Type 99, a rifle with more than meets the eye. The Type 99, commonly but somewhat erroneously called the “Arisaka”, is a rifle that was once widely known as a crude, last ditch weapon of the Japanese Empire, but which has since become well-respected among modern collectors and historians, with many even considering it to be the best bolt-action of the Second World War. The Type 99 was a development of Kijiro Nambu’s Type 38 rifle, shortened, and rechambered for Strangely, two other 7.7mm cartridges were in use with the Japanese armed forces at the time; in use with the Navy for aircraft machine guns, and in use with the IJA in their machine guns.
The 7.7mm rifle round, however, was a distinct development, dating back to the Russo-Japanese War. In that conflict, Japanese soldiers observed that was giving lackluster terminal ballistics, especially at long ranges. As a result, the IJA undertook to develop a more powerful round, of 7.7mm caliber. This project was shelved, however, when the experience of the Great War made it clear that new support weapons like the infantry mortar had greatly reduced the importance of long-range rifle fire, and while the IJA still desired a larger round than the 6.5mm, it was not considered worth the logistical upset. In 1923, the Great Kantō Earthquake devastated the Japanese capital, damaging the Itabashi powder plant and the Koishikawa arsenal. It was determined that the latter would be too costly to repair, and so the arsenal was moved to Kokura, more than 500 miles away.
This essentially halted development of the project, and, with the exception of some testing in 1929, major progress would not again begin on a 7.7mm bore infantry rifle until 1938. By 1905, the Japanese had adopted a much more effective 139gr spitzer projectile for the 6.5mm cartridge, but the development of the 7.7mm continued; whether this was because it was perceived to give even greater effectiveness (by the 1930s, the Japanese were fighting Chinese opponents armed with Mausers in the larger German 7.9mm caliber) than the Type 38 spitzer round, or for some other reason is unknown to me. The final 7.7x58mm rimless cartridge adopted with the Type 99 rifle fired a 182gr flat-based spitzer bullet of modest shape at an equally modest 2,400 ft/s muzzle velocity. As a final note, some source documents (in Japanese) regarding the development of 7.7mm ammunition if any bilingual readers are interested. Covers the changes made to the rifle from the Type 38; while I could restate them in my own words, the information would be identical: A set of guns, consisting of an infantry long rifle and a cavalry carbine, were developed together to share as many parts as possible, with the latter expected to take over the Type 44’s role. These were further simplified into one pattern with a long and short barrel configuration. Both rifles were finished by the middle of 1939 but would not be approved until 1940, with short rifle production starting in 1941.
Unlike the previous models named after the Meiji year, this was named from the start of the entire imperial calendar, 660 BC, making 1939 year 2599. The long rifle was quickly dismissed as unnecessary (we will cover it in detail separately some day) and, much like the Kar98K, the Type 99 short rifle in a cavalry configuration became the standard rifle of the IJA. While the Type 99 was mostly just a Type 38 chambered in 7.7x58mm there were some changes. The ejector now passed through the left bolt lug entirely. The magazine floor plate was hinged to prevent its loss in the field.
The front sight now featured the same sort of protectors found on Type 38 carbines. A chrome lined bore made for an incredibly strong, easily cleaned, fouling resistant barrel; perfect for island hopping and extended sojourns into wet jungle environments. The addition of a monopod was intended to assist with prone shooting in open environments and provide a resting rail of sorts on the bottom of the forestock to prevent gouging and cracking of the stock when resting on rocks and other hard, uneven surfaces. The Type 30 bayonet was carried over yet again, this time mounted to a forward band with reinforcing tangs to improve strength. The resulting rifle was an improvement over Nambu’s Type 38, shortened and incorporating several novel features. These included a sliding, integrated dust cover, a folding monopod, and flip out anti-aircraft sights.
Unfortunately, these three features have garnered a substantial amount of mockery and derision, but there is more to them than immediately meets the eye. To understand the first of these, we must turn to the five points Kijiro Nambu adhered to when developing the Type 38, the Type 99’s predecessor which also incorporated a dust cover:. The rifle must be easy to assemble and disassemble.
The entire bolt assembly had to be simplified vs. The Mauser by reducing the number of parts. The rifle had to be strong and continue to function in adverse conditions. The rifle should attain 100% reliability and freed from all mechanical failures. The rifle must have a dignified appearance, which will ensure that the users will not handle it carelessly or abuse it. Animation of the Type 99’s mechanism.
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Image source: candrsenal.com The Japanese expected to fight in all conditions: In snow, on beaches, in saltwater spray, and in humid jungles. In adverse conditions where debris permeates all mechanical devices, a sliding dust cover was not at all a silly idea, and indeed dust covers sealing mechanisms against debris ingress have become a common feature on modern weapons, including the AR-15, AK, and many others. There is a commonly-repeated idea that Japanese soldiers discarded the “useless” dust covers of their rifles, and that is why the covers are now rare on the US milsurp market. However, this idea makes less sense than it initially appears to. Firstly, far from being useless, the dust covers are very effective, sealing the action almost totally against dust and debris.
Secondly, Japanese soldiers were famously harshly disciplined troops; examples exist of soldiers being savagely beaten by the order of their superiors for failing to adequately clean their weapons; would discarding an actual piece of the weapon really be so readily dismissed as trivial? Finally, the vast majority of earlier production rifles (before the dust covers were omitted from production for expediency reasons) appearing in photographs in the hands of Japanese troops retain their dust covers; evidently, Japanese soldiers did not so readily discard them. A more plausible explanation for the absence of dust covers on rifles in circulation in the US was suggested by Othais of C&Rsenal: Most rifles with intact chrysanthemums have a mismatched bolt.
A rifle captured with an intact mum would either have been captured off a dead body, or captured from a depot or forward base. The best way to render the weapons inoperable would have been to separate the bolts from the rifles, dumping the rifles in one pile, and the bolts in another. So when a USGI wanted to take the rifle home, he grabbed a rifle, grabbed a bolt, and went. Most dust covers were probably discarded by US troops bringing the rifles back home, or lost when the bolts were separated from the rifles’ receivers.
The folding monopod, too, is a more worthwhile feature than many give it credit for. Many post-war rifles would feature integrated folding bipods that gave the shooter some additional stability when firing; the Type 99’s monopod is a simpler and cheaper, though perhaps somewhat less steady, incarnation of the same philosophy. Further, the monopod acts as a kind of guard for the forward stock, protecting it from the volcanic rocks and other hard, rough surfaces that might otherwise gouge the wood. For a rifle expected to be used anywhere, including on Pacific islands, this would be a welcome, if non-essential feature. Yes, in the Second World War they proved useless against the high-flying, fast-moving US aircraft that became common after 1942, but the sight was developed based on experience fighting Chinese forces, who in the 1930s fielded relatively primitive, fragile, slow-moving aircraft. Chinese pilots, too, tended to be inexperienced, and flew low reconnaissance missions that would make them reasonable targets for groups of infantry armed with rifles, firing salvos.
Further, at least theoretically, Japanese infantry were issued which would have been very effective against the aircraft of the period. Finally, the Type 99 was one of the first rifles ever produced with a chrome-lined bore. While this feature was deleted in the late-war “economy” models, it truly was ahead of its time. A chrome-lined bore is an almost invaluable feature in humid climates like the South Pacific, and its inclusion in the Type 99 greatly reduced the degree to which the rifles suffered from the wet and humidity. Indeed, the US would learn the value of a chrome-lined bore not once, but twice. Famously, the earliest M16s were issued without chrome-lined bores, which in the humid climate of Indochina caused undue problems with the design, and contributed to the poor reputation that would scar the AR-15 family for decades afterward, but earlier than that, US M1 Garand rifles rusted to ruin in the Pacific theater, too: Materials to clean and oil the small arms were much in demand.
Cleaning and preserving (C&P) materials had been in short supply to begin with. Many of the M1 rifles had been issued without oil and thong cases. Often when the men had the cases they simply threw them away to lighten the load they were carrying. By 3 December the shortage of gun oil, small individual containers for oil, brushes, cleaning rods, and other C&P items was serious enough to effect operations. A “luxury model” Type 99, complete with dust cover, monopod, anti-aircraft sights, and an intact mon. Image source: candrsenal.com For the production history of the Type 99, The Type 99 was produced by eight factories over the course of its service life.
These included Nagoya and Kokura in Japan, the Jinsen Arsenal in Korea, and Hoten (Mukden) in Manchuria. Subcontractors on the mainland were Izawa Jyuko, Howa Jukogyo, Tokyo Juki Kogyo, and Toyo Kogyo, whose markings will be displayed to the right of either Nagoya or Kokura on the rifle. We’ve included some images to help explain the arsenal markings you’ll find on the right side of an Arisaka Type 99 receiver and the estimatedyears these guns were produced at those factories. These figures were provided by Don Voigt, author of the excellent book The Japanese Type 99 Arisaka Japanese rifle production serials are set in blocks of 100,000 with numbers from 0 to 99,999 before the count starts over again. Each time it rolled over a character was placed, in a circle, at the front of the serial to mark the change in series.
These were from the phonetic Japanese alphabet. The order of this alphabet was taken from a pangram poem, Iroha. We’ve listed the alphabet in order in the attached image.
Most collectors to date have referred to this number method in terms of a “series” in which the first production run of 100,000 without a prefix are known as “Series 0.” We found this to be a bit confusing but not entirely important to ‘correct’ because serial prefix production was not universally linear, with blocks of serials given to individual factories. So rifles from Nagoya’s 11th run would be produced about the same time as rifles from Kokura’s 25th. Ultimately, the Type 99 short rifle only served for about four years and never replaced the previous Type 38. The Japanese decision to enter WWII against the United States and Britain ultimately led to extreme production demands and shortages of raw materials. Put more and more pressure on Japan radical changes were made to speed manufacture of rifles from inferior materials. The Type 99 underwent adjustments in fits and spurts, ultimately transforming one of the greatest bolt actions made into one of the worst. The monopods were dropped early on, the aircraft wings later, cleaning rods were shortened and then ditched, chrome was done away with, wood fittings became rougher cut, metal quality diminished, finishing became nearly non existent, sling swivels became crude holes and slings became rope, adjustable rear sights became fixed holes and sight protectors were dropped, upper handguards were shortened, plumb shaped bolt handles became cylinders, and more.
The final product was crude and simple. With thousands of these on the mainland at the end of the war, it’s no wonder the U.S. Soldiers brought home such a poor opinion of the rifle. But these “Last Ditch” Type 99s are so far removed from their original design they could almost be called another model entirely. One aspect of this increasing simplification of the rifle’s production that Othais made very clear to me in our conversation about the rifle is that while features were deleted, and the crudity of production was increased, one element never sacrificed was the quality of the steel used to make the weapons. All “last ditch” Type 99s are safe to fire (provided they are in good working order), and while the Japanese eventually did run low on high quality steel with which to make the rifles, their response was not to create and issue dangerous guns that would surely explode when fired, but to devise a different rifle entirely, the “Naval Special Rifle”, which locked a high quality steel bolt to a high quality steel barrel, set in a cast iron receiver, thus saving on valuable materials. These are a distinct pattern of rifle to the Type 99.
A “last ditch” late model Type 99. Note the extremely simple sights, barrel-shaped bolt handle, and lack of a top front handguard. Image source: candrsenal.com Type 99 production ended with the cessation of hostilities in 1945, when its service life for all intents and purposes ended as well. The rifles would soldier on other hands in later conflicts in the Pacific and Asia, but when the Japanese took up arms again in 1954 with the creation of the Self-Defense Force, it was not Type 99s that were issued, but surplus US M1 Garands. Overall, the Type 99 is an underrated and underappreciated rifle, which thanks to its sound design and chrome-lined bore is a strong contender for the title of “best bolt-action rifle of the war.” Paradoxically, the last-ditch late-war examples are also some of the worst bolt-actions of the war, and have contributed significantly to the rifle’s mediocre reputation among American milsurp enthusiasts. That, however, is beginning to change as appreciation grows for the fascinating and eminently collectible Type 99. A very big thank you to Othais, of C&Rsenal, who helped tremendously with ensuring the accuracy of the information presented in this article.
I learned a lot about the Type 99 by talking to him, and it’s well worth your time to pay and a visit, where you too can learn all sorts of cool things. All his images and videos in this article were used with permission. Is available at this link here.
Also, contains some period information on the rifle. Anyone wishing to read the markings on their Type 99 should consult.
Great video and accurate information. I have been collecting Type 99’s for years now, and currently own 30 or so (including substitute 99’s), and I can honestly say they have been the most fun to collect and research over the years. I can also add that they are generally the most pure WWII rifle that can be found today without being rebuilt/ reissued, etc. Believe it or not, more Arisaka’s were surrendered/ captured post WWII with the matching dust cover than we have been led to believe (tales of the gun signified this claim). It was in fact the most common part to loose while removing bolts post war. There were many Japanese soldiers that fought their entire service with a dust cover attached to their rifle. If we really think about it, how much louder is the dust cover rattling in the receivers linear travel than the bolt cycling itself?
The arisaka action is almost unique in itself to not call it a Mauser derivative. The 2 biggest mauser-esque features include 2 frontal locking lugs with an interrupted lug for the ejector, and the mauser-style claw extractor. The Type 99’s locking lugs had slightly more bearing surface than Mauser 98’s bolt lugs.
It is also important to note Type 99’s did not have a formal “safety lug” per se, however, the bolt handle did in fact recess into the receiver a small amount (Type 38”s had a higher Receiver bridge behind the bolt handle). Both Type 38’s and 99’s also inhibit a more supported chamber than most manually operated military rifles of that time. Again, great video and information as always.
What I really enjoy about TFB is the enthusiasm the authors have about the subjects they write an article about, especially when little knowledge exists. We all have our preferred interests and backgrounds, however, to enjoy and appreciate the mechanics/ history of the multitude of firearms there has to be one thing present; enthusiasm.
The Japanese Arisaka can be an information black hole, with as much suspense and urban legend as there is truth. Ian has also done a pretty good job at covering the arisaka(s) history.
Even the desperation rifles had chrome bores. At least the two given to me by a friend. The bores looked horrible.
Then I put a couple patches down the bores. Wow, I was pleased to see both bores were perfect. In the book, “Shots Fired in Anger” the writer said several of his men not only picked up Japanese 6.5mm rifles they used them instead of the M1s.
It appears that Col. John George may have had the bore issues referred to in the article. He said his men liked the light weight 6.5mm rifles over the M1 rifle and carbines. I’d still like to find a nice 6.5mm Japanese rifle-carbine. The bolt disassembles easily. Take a new Vanguard, and take it apart, it mimics the Japanese 6.5s and 7.7s. Man, I wish my Type 99 was awesome.
I bought the rifle sans bolt for $45, all covered with rust and looking like crap. No matter says I, I will buy a $100 bolt online and it will probably still run fine. No, apparently with a mismatched bolt and heavy rust it will not run fine Sometimes it locked up and I had to beat it open and closed, making my Mosin Nagant seem to run as smooth as silk in comparison. It even failed to fire a few times, apparently not cocking when I ran the bolt. (The bolt is in good condition, it obviously has to do with the other components.) My plan is to A) Shoot my Mosin and Lee-Enfield more, and B) Try cleaning the Arisaka out some more and see if that helps.
A Type 99 short rifle. Type Place of origin Japan Service history In service 1939–1945 (Japan) Used by See Wars Production history Designer Designed 1939 Produced 1939–1945 No. built 3,500,000 Specifications Weight 3.8 kg (8.4 lb) Length 1,118 mm (44.0 in) or 1,258 mm (49.5 in) length 657 mm (25.9 in) 730 m/s (2,400 ft/s) Feed system 5-round internal box magazine, stripper clip loaded The Type 99 rifle Arisaka or Type 99 short rifle ( 九九式短小銃, Kyū-kyū-shiki tan-shōjū) was a of the design used by the during. Contents. History During the in the 1930s, the Japanese soon found that the 7.7mm cartridge being fired by their in China was superior to the cartridge of the, necessitating the development of a new weapon to replace the outclassed Type 38. The (IJA) developed the Type 99 based on the Type 38 rifle but with a caliber of 7.7mm.
The Type 99 was produced at nine different arsenals. Seven arsenals were located in Japan, with the other two located at in China and in Korea. The IJA had intended to completely replace the Type 38 with the Type 99 by the end of the war. However, the outbreak of the never allowed the army to completely replace the Type 38 and so the IJA used both rifles during the war. As the war progressed, more and more cost saving steps were introduced in order to speed up production.
Late war rifles are often called 'Last Ditch' or 'Substitute Standard' due to their crudeness of finish. They are generally as crude as the 1945 dated of Germany, or worse. The Type 99 was produced in four versions, the regular issue Type 99 Short Rifle, the Type 99 Long Rifle (a limited production variant) and takedown Type 2 Paratroop Rifle and the. The standard rifle also came with a wire and an anti-aircraft sighting device. The Type 99 was the first mass-produced infantry rifle to have a chrome lined bore to ease cleaning. All of these features were abandoned by mid-war.
Other users During the, approximately 126,500 short and 6,650 long Type 99 Rifles were re-chambered under American supervision at the Tokyo arsenal to fire the then-standard cartridge. Apparently intended for the South Korean 'gendarmerie', few rifles appear to have been issued at the end of the war in 1953. Were fitted with a lengthened magazine well and had a small notch cut in the top of the receiver to accommodate the.30-06 round's 1/3 inch greater length.
Accuracy suffered, due to the difference in cartridges, rifling rate and characteristics, but they were nonetheless functional. Conversions to both.30-06 and as well have also been performed by civilians, often along with modifications. After 1946, the re-chambered large numbers of Type 99 rifles to fire the cartridge.
Indonesian forces used a large number of Type 99 rifles in the fighting against the Dutch during the (1945–1949). The received Japanese rifles of all types after 1945 and converted some short Type 99 rifles to fire the U.S.30-06 cartridge during the early 1950s.
The Flip-up Anti-aircraft rear sights of a Type 99 rifle. The calipers on the sides are to determine the speed of the targeted aircraft. To gain the superior hitting power of the larger 7.7mm cartridge, several caliber 6.5mm Type 38 rifles were modified for the new round. Although the tests proved satisfactory, the army decided that the added recoil and larger chambering for the 7.7mm cartridge would require an entirely new rifle for the cartridge. It utilized a cock-on-closing action and an unusual mechanism, operated by pressing in the large knurled disk at the rear of the bolt with the palm of the hand and rotating it in a 1/8 clockwise turn, which is often misunderstood by Western shooters who are used to the Mauser's thumb lever safety. It featured a quick-release bolt and antiaircraft sights, as well as a sliding bolt cover and monopod.
Arisaka Type 99 Stock Replacement
As a bolt-action rifle, the Type 99 was a very solid weapon, but as with all manually operated rifles used during, they were in most close combat situations outclassed by and. The Type 99 is one of the strongest military bolt rifles ever made, but many late-war ('last ditch') rifles used lower quality parts, and a complete lack of finish, as well as shortcuts taken to ease production. The 'last ditch' rifles are usually distinguished by their crudeness: poorly finished stock, wood buttplate, very obvious tooling marks in the metal, rudimentary sights and an unfinished bolt knob and handle. Unlike its predecessors, however, a disadvantage of the Type 99 was its increased recoil due to the lighter weight combined with a heavier cartridge. In some cases, these rifles may actually be training rifles intended for firing blank cartridges only. The training rifles were made of mild steel and were never intended for ball ammunition.
It is possible that reports of Type 99 rifles blowing up were simply the results of soldiers testing captured weapons. Unaware that they were using drill rifles, they fired ball ammunition in them with poor results and possible injuries. It is possible that this may have unjustly led to the Arisaka having a reputation (at least for the last ditch rifles) for being of poor construction. The Type 99 can be fitted with a.
The Type 30 bayonet had a very long, slender blade, and was grooved to reduce weight. The early models featured a hooked quillion. These bayonets attached to a lug under the barrel and were further stabilized by a loop that fit around the muzzle.
Unmounted, it handled like a. Variants Type 99 long rifle The initial production rifle of the Type 99. Made only by and under supervision. Only about 38,000 were produced, 8,000 at Nagoya and 30,000 at Toyo Kogyo between summer of 1940 and spring of 1941 when production was switched to the much more common new Type 99 short rifle of which millions were made. Like the early Type 99 short rifles, these rifles were made with a monopod, anti-aircraft lead arms on the rear sight and a dust cover.
Gallery. Type 99 with chrysanthemum Availability Though the Arisaka rifle has never been exported to the United States in great numbers, there are thousands available—most having been brought home by Marines and soldiers returning from the Pacific theater. In many cases, the imperial chrysanthemum atop the receiver has been defaced by the surrendering Japanese in order to preserve the Emperor's honor: the mark indicated that the rifle was the Emperor's personal property.
Rifles with an intact chrysanthemum often bring a premium on the collector market, sometimes almost double the price for a like model defaced rifle. Many have been rechambered to more common calibers due to the relative scarcity of factory 7.7×58mm Arisaka; it is particularly suitable for this due to its robust action. Users.: re-chambered for the cartridge after 1946.: used during the.: captured during World War II and used by of during the.: used during the Korean War.: Standard issue rifle of the. Limited numbers were also captured during World War II and used by Filipino and American guerrillas.: few were actually issued.
Type 99 Arisaka Serial Number Location
Manufactured at the Incheon armory during Japanese occupation, some were converted to fire US ammunition and used during the Korean war. As no official report of disposal was issued, some are believed to be still in the military reserve armories.: used after 1945, some were converted to the.30-06 cartridge in the early 1950s.: used by during and later by during. References. Hatcher, General Julian S. Hatcher's Notebook. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Company. Honeycutt Jr., Fred L.
And Anthony, F. Military Rifles of Japan. Fifth edition, 2006. Julin Books, U.S.A.
Voigt, Don The Japanese Type 99 Arisaka Rifle 2010 Edition, 2012 revision, 2012. Lodestone Publications, U.S.A.
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You need to describe the characters in preceeding the 'serial number' and give me the first digits of the serial number and I can look it up in my son's book. The characters or pictographs will tell you what arsenal made it, there is one that is supposed to be what a pile of cannon balls stacked in a pyramid would look like viewed from the top (concentric circles kinda looking like a compressed olympic logo) another looks like two fish kissing in a circle, and there are a few others. The other will be the 'series.' Then dating them is pretty easy, because they really do NOT have a 'unique' serial number, but only a number within a 'series,' each series having 99,999 rifles in it. (In other words you will hear guys talking about 'low number' Arisakas, because the 'serial number' is only 3 or 4 digits, but in actuality that could be a 'series 26,' which means it would have been the 26th rifle with that serial number made at that arsenal!) But the series number is the most important way of dating it, the records are pretty good.like my son's T38 series places it made in 1939-1940, so you get a pretty closes date range.
I haven't looked at his rifle in a while (I'll go grab it from behind the door in the corner! ) OR his book, let me go grab it and in the meantime, describe the pictographs as best you can, and any numbers on it, not the whole serial number, but something like '17xxx' and that will help. And I'll tell you with the monopod and the aircraft sights it already is worth a lot more than most, most of them were removed in service. Does it have the dust cover?
That would make it 'complete,' but MOST don't have it, that must have been the FIRST thing they ditched in the field. And the intact mum brings a premium to collectors, but it is NOT as uncommon as people think, NOR does it 'automatically' mean it was a 'battlefield pick-up,' which a lot of guys claim. In fact, the only ones that DO have it ground or defaced in some way (which is MOST of the ones brought back to AFTER the war) were ones 1.) captured in the Home Islands, and 2.) Brought back MORE than a couple of months AFTER the war ended.if it was brought back from ANYWHERE else, China, Korea, the Philippines, or ANYWHERE else, or brought back from Japan IMMEDIATELY after the war ended, it probably HAS the mum, whether it saw service or not. By the way, I LOVE dating Arisakas even though my son is actually the resident 'expert' on them here. Years ago when he was about 15 before I had my CR, and he liked to shoot with me, and play wargames with me, so he is 'well grounded, at least 'historically,' I bought a Steyr M95 for $100 at the flea market oin Friendship from a guy with a TON of old rifles (I could have had a Swedish Mauser for the same price and passed!
) my son was also interested in the mauser. When we got home, my son asked me if we could go back tomorrow and buy the Swede for him, becausee he had 'saved up enough money.' (He's always been good about that.' It has the 'stacked cannon ball' symbol on the left side of the receiver. There is also a circle with a symbol inside of it that looks like a fancy 7 to the left of the ser.#. This rifle also has the relief holes on the right side and under the receiver area, steel buttplate, floral checkering on safety handle, and release button for cleaning rod. I do not have the bolt cover.
I do have a bayonet for it without the frog. I was told it is a #1 variation mfg. By Toyada Automatic Loom Works under Nagoya Super. Proving once again that EVERYBODY needs a refresher, I got that a little wrong above. The FIRST Character to the LEFT of the serial number is the 'Kana,' or Series indicator.which is actually one of the 47 characters in the Japanese alphabet, inside a circle.THEN the serial number, which will be from 1 to 99,999, THEN you will see the arsenal mark. And since you have the AA sights, and the monopod, that means we are talking about a Type 99 7.7mm, right? SO the arsenal markings and production for each as best that I can describe are as follows, for a T99.
Nagoya Arsenal (the two 'Kissing Fish in a circle'. OK, you answered when I was posting the last long one. The three cannonballs definitely make it a Kokura Arseanl, the 2nd most common.the series number I need a little more one, only because about 8 of the 45 series 'kana' look like some sort of a '7' in the circle! There is ONE, a series 32, that is JUST a '7', and that would make it Toyo Kogyo subcontacted rifle IF it actually has the second sybol, the circle with an incomplete line through it, right after the cannonballs.does it? Could it be a '7' with two little 'legs' on the bottom right side of it, one not attached? Could it be a '7' with a shorter line ABOVE the 7 in the circle? Could it be a 'roundish' '7' with a little dot or tiny line in the middle of the 'flag' going up?
(Describing Japanese characters is FUN!!! ) The safety knob being knurled is a good indicator of an early production, and is the most common, they then went to straight lines, then smooth, then 'last ditch' where they didn't even grind off the weld blob in the middle. If you could describe the bolt handle, plum shaped or cylindrical, and the through bolt through the stock behind the finger groove, it would help too. Basicall, is it SMALL Round, LARGE Round, or SQUARE. And is the rear sling swivel held on with one screw or two? And does the AA sight have a 'sheet metal' attachment on the front of the ladder that lookls like it was added later? And how long are each wing of the AA sights folded out?
How many screws hold the front band? And finally, does it have a full length 23 3/4' cleaning rod, or a 'shorty' like only 5' or so? OR is the cleaning rod closer to 30'? (THAT would be cool, a LONG Type 99 rifle instead of the more common 'Short' one.) There is no listing for the 'Loom works' you listed, UNLESS it was another name for one of the subcontractors I listed, which is possible. The only thing is if they WERE subcontracted to Nagoya, it would have the 'Kissing fish' cicles within a circle, and not the stacked cannonballs of Kokura.but there were more subcontractors for the bayonets than rifles, so if you were referring to IT and not the rifle then it could be, I don't have a complete list of them.
Crap, I'm having so much fun looking it up, it's a shame to have to go to bed! I'm out of town tomorrow, so won't be back on until late Tuesdy, or the latest Wednesday, so it'll have to wait until then.
The Book my son has is 'Japanese Rifles of World War II' by Duncan 0. McCollum, it's a gray large but thin paperback, but with LOT'S of good pictures of all the variations. My son paid like $19.95 for it years ago,I still see it available at shows, so it must still be in print, so you might find it listed in SGN or something. It has everything you need, and you NEED a book even more than with any other rifle, they made modifications almost for every SERIES, and sometimes WITHIN series.and it's neat to find things that are 'strange' about your rifle, like my son's has the rarer semi-cupped buttplate on his series 23, that they ONLY supposedly used 'on a limited basis' in 'late series 23 and early series 24.' But his is 48xxx, so it is 'middle' not late 23.
Could it be a '7' with a shorter line ABOVE the 7 in the circle? If you could describe the bolt handle, plum shaped or cylindrical, and the through bolt through the stock behind the finger groove, it would help too. Basicall, is it SMALL Round, LARGE Round, or SQUARE. And is the rear sling swivel held on with one screw or two? And does the AA sight have a 'sheet metal' attachment on the front of the ladder that lookls like it was added later? And how long are each wing of the AA sights folded out?
How many screws hold the front band? And finally, does it have a full length 23 3/4' cleaning rod, or a 'shorty' like only 5' or so? OR is the cleaning rod closer to 30'? (THAT would be cool, a LONG Type 99 rifle instead of the more common 'Short' one.). If anyone encounters an ARISAKA with the 'sheet metal' attatchment to the rear sight, please let me know.
These guns / this modification is rather special historicaly. They were part of a modification done to rifles that were to be used in the Alutian Island campaign, and a proposed invasion of Alaska. The sheet metal band was applied / clipped to the sight in a manner that allowed a gloved hand to more easily grasp and adjust the sight under winter / cold conditions. Such a gun would be a great additiuon to any collection.
Best regards, mike. Yeah, Mike, I thought I'd ask though. OK, NOW we are getting somewhere.EVERYTHING about the rifle makes sense now, I was getting a little confused, some of it didn't before if it was the series and subcontractor we first thought. You have what appears to be a 'correct' and 'complete' 'except for dustcover' Series 22 Kokura Arsenal. DOM is never exact. BUT They started with series 20 at Kokura, so it would have been the 20284xth of the almost 600000 Kokura Type 99s made during the war! In other words the 284xth rifle in the third series (batch) of 99,999 rifles each made there.
They started making Type 99 rifles in the 'Long' and 'Short' version in 1939. They only made the two types for about a year or so, then adopted the 'short' rifle as standard in 1940, which became the 99 we most see. (a 'Long Rifle' would be ALMOST as rare as the Aleutian 'glove' sight! ) SO assuming production started in 1939 or 40 (The book is kinda unclear whether the 'Long' and 'short' rifle production is included,Kokura never made any 'long' ones, so I guess they would be) then series 20 would have been 1939-40, 21 would have PROBABLY been 1940-41, and your series 22 would PROBABLY be 1941-42 production. And since they started discontinuing the AA sights and monopods by about late 42, and went to the shorty rods just for 'stacking' about the same time, and yours has them, I'd have had to assume it's a LOW number series 22 anyway, which would probably be a good bet to have been made in 1941-when Japan was at its HIGH point in the war, maybe even BEFORE it's zenith, so there was no reason to scrimp on anything since the war would be over and Japan would win soon, anyway, right? Yours probably also has the chrome plated bore and bolt face too, right?
That particular rifle represents the high point of Arisaka development, it was not for a year or so they started to scrimp on manufacturing until they ended up with the ratty 'last ditch' ones of 44 and 45. It's probably worth more than a contemporary Nagoya arsenal one, simply because of the lesser numbers made by Kokura, BUT it's not so rare that you can't shoot it and enjoy it for what it can do.and it SHOULD be a HECKUVA shooter. The Monopod and AA sight add a nice extra to the rifle's value too.MOST 99s don't have the monopod, even if it WAS one that had one originally, and they quit making them shortly after yours was built anyway. And shortly after they made yours, they also quit putting the extensions on the AA sight, then simplified them until they were just a short ladder, or even a fixed peep on the very late ones. Depending on it's condition, the rifle is worth a MINIMUM of $200, and that would ONLY be if it's rusty and ratty! With the monopod, sights, chrome bore, rod, in DECENT condition, it's probably worth around $300 to $350, but that'sjust a WAG, from the shows I've been at recently, Jap rifles are appreciating RAPIDLY, it could go at auction for a lot more with the right collectors there.
Thanks a million polish. I assume that there is no problems shooting this rifle based on the info. A local gunshop has just gotten a fair amount of 7.7x58mm ammo by Hornady for $25.99 a box. I wanted to get at least a couple boxes to shoot some and just have the rest on hand.
It bugs me to own a firearm without ammo to go with it. Last year I wound up with an old French Berthier that was chambered in 8mm Lebel, try finding some of that. It had the longest freaking barrel of any rifle that I've had. Sadly, though, it had gone through some major 'bubbaizing' and had lost any potential value. It was probably more useful as a boat oar than a rifle and was ugly as home made soap.
Back to the Arisaka. The one I have, like I said earlier, was sent home by Grandpa in 1945 and was given to me a couple months ago by my Dad. There were 2 of these rifles hanging on the wall in Grandpas house.
He passed away in 1975 and my Grandma passed away in 2001. My Dad and his older brother got the rifles. The one my uncle has is obviously one of the 'last ditch ' models. There is no upper hand guard, no bipod, wooden buttplate, no cleaning rod, and fixed rear sight. It has the mum but other than that it looks pretty junky. He had me clean it for him a while back and I didn't know anything about it, but I have read that you shouldn't shoot the model 99's like his. Not all 'last Ditch' rifles werre unsafe, in fact most MAY be safe to shoot too, but I've heard the stories too.
GRAF`s has 6.5 JAP and 7.7 JAP brass. HORNADY 7.7 JAP is OK, but on the mild side load wise. Surplus ARISAKA ammo is not an option. Can be made from.30-06 brass. Most of the stuff thats still floating around was pulled off of machine gun strips or belts.
And at best its 61 years old. I shoot all of my TYPE 99`s, and have used NORMA in all of them. As far as the LEBEL (1886 / 93) goes. GRAFS has 8MM LEBEL BRASS (i have 500 pcs set aside).
REMINGTON made tons of LEBEL ammo right through into the 1950`s. I have fired several military loadings, KYNOCH bronze solids, and some mixed commercial.
Even pulled some off of HOTCHKISS MG feed strips and fired them. Can be made from.348 win brass.
NUMRICH sells nice ARISAKA repro AA wings, monopods, cleaning rods, and dust covers. I have even purchased 3 repro slings. Best regards, mike.
If anyone encounters an ARISAKA with the 'sheet metal' attatchment to the rear sight, please let me know. These guns / this modification is rather special historicaly. They were part of a modification done to rifles that were to be used in the Alutian Island campaign, and a proposed invasion of Alaska. The sheet metal band was applied / clipped to the sight in a manner that allowed a gloved hand to more easily grasp and adjust the sight under winter / cold conditions.
Such a gun would be a great additiuon to any collection. Best regards, mike. The Firearms Forum is on online community for all gun enthusiasts. Join us to discuss firearms of all kinds, gun accessories, legal issues and more. Membership is free and we welcome all types of shooters, whether you're a novice or a pro. Come for the info, stay and make some friends. Site Functions.
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Contents. History The Arisaka rifle was designed by Colonel (有坂 成章; 1852–1915), who was later promoted to and also received the title of from, in 1907. Over the course of various wars several productions runs and variants were made, including the transition from the 6.5mm Type 38 cartridge to the larger 7.7mm Type 99, and the introduction of a paratrooper rifle that could be disassembled into two major parts for airborne operations. Tests on samples of Arisaka rifles conducted after the war showed that their bolts and receivers were constructed of 'similar to SAE steel grade No. 1085 with a carbon content of 0.80% to 0.90%, and a manganese content of 0.60% to 0.90%.' During destructive tests, the Arisakas were shown to be stronger than the, and rifles.
The Arisaka's were also one of the only guns of the era to use in its barrels, rather than the more traditional lands and grooves. Some of the early issue Type 99 rifles were fitted with a folding wire monopod intended to improve accuracy in the prone position. The rear sights also featured folding horizontal extensions to give a degree of lead suitable for firing against aircraft. Near the end of World War II, last-ditch models were being made in various cost-cutting feature variations with the goal of cheaply bolstering the imperial armed forces; for example, the ovoid bulb-shaped bolt of earlier runs were replaced by a smaller and utilitarian cylindrical shape, the handguard on the barrel was omitted, and crude fixed sights were fitted.
A Type 38 with its imperial seal intact The Arisaka bolt-action service rifle was used everywhere in the and the. Prior to World War II, Arisakas were used by the and, in and. The that fought in the were almost entirely armed with Type 30s and 38s. Many captured Arisaka rifles were employed by neighboring countries both during and after World War II, in places such as China, Thailand and Cambodia. However, after the Japanese surrender in the summer of 1945, manufacture of rifles and ammunition stopped abruptly, and the Arisaka quickly became obsolete.
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Since most Imperial Japanese Armory contents were thrown into Tokyo Harbor after the signing of the surrender, spare ammunition also became rare. Additional ammunition was, however, produced in China for use in their captured rifles. A Type 99 with its imperial seal ground The imperial ownership seal, a 16-petal known as the stamped upon the top of the receiver in all official imperial-issue rifles, has often been defaced by filing, grinding, or stamping on surviving examples. There are conflicting claims that this was done on the orders of the Imperial Japanese Military prior to surrender, however it is generally accepted by most historians that the imperial chrysanthemums were ground off the rifles on the orders from General, the commander of occupation forces at that time. To date, no documentation from either Japanese or U.S. Forces has been found that required the defacing.
Most of the Arisakas with surviving insignia are in Japan, though there are a few remaining on samples taken as war trophies before the surrender, and those captured by Chinese forces. Some of the captured Sino Arisakas were later exported to the United States, examples including a number of rebarrelled and rechambered for the round. Some captured by the forces were also converted to fire the round. Many of the Chrysanthemum Seals were completely ground off, but some were merely defaced with a chisel, scratch or had the number '0' stamped repeatedly along the edges. The latter was usually done with rifles removed from Japanese military service (and thus no longer the emperor's property), including rifles given to schools or sold to other nations, such as the 's purchase of many Type 38s in World War I to free up rifles for their land forces.
A very small run of Type 38 rifles was also manufactured for export to Mexico in 1910, with the Mexican coat of arms instead of the imperial chrysanthemum, though few arrived before the and the bulk remained in Japan until World War I, when they were sold to. Models Type 30. Main article: Officially designated as Type 35 navy rifle. Design improvement based on the Type 30 for the by Major. Changes include tangent type rear sight, separate sliding bolt cover (as opposed to simultaneously moving ones on all other types after) of the same type later used on the, hook safety replaced with a large knob cocking piece to protect from gases in case of a blown primer, larger bolt handle knob, improved bolt head, gas port in bolt body, and improved chamber configuration for better cartridge feeding. Main article: Successor to the Type 38 rifle.
Chambered in, later rimless variants of the Type 92 and 97 cartridges also usable. Designed in 1939, then produced and fielded from 1941 to 1945, the Type 99 was the most common Imperial Japanese service rifle of World War II and second most produced imperial rifle with 2,500,000 built. Significant changes are the improvement of the rear sight form transitioning from a V-notch type like those on a Type 38, to an aperture, the front sight blade was renewed to a triangular shape, chrome-lined barrels were used, and on earlier productions, the rear sight was equipped with anti-aircraft calipers. Sub-variations included a long rifle (approximately only 38,000 made), and short rifle; former being 1258 mm in total and latter being 1118 mm. The short rifle also varied in quality from initial, intermediate, to last-ditch.
Type 99 sniper rifle. Main article: The other sniper rifle of the Imperial Japanese Military.
Built on both the long and short models with the latter being higher in number. Chambered in, later rimless variants of the Type 92 and 97 cartridges also usable. The larger, more powerful caliber allowed the ballistics to be less affected by windage at the cost of stronger recoil. Two different types of scopes were issued to the rifles: the Type 97 2.5X telescopic scope, or the Type 99 4X telescopic scope. Later productions of the Type 99 scope allowed for distance adjustment. Each scopes were issued with their respective holsters, and were often detached from the rifle and placed within them while advancing. By doctrine, snipers of the imperial military were selected by his skill in marksmanship and the caliber of the rifle he was assigned to corresponded with the ammunition of the company he was under.
Production began in May 1942. Total number made is approximately 10,000. Main article: Created simultaneously with the Type 30 rifle, this sword-type bayonet is compatible with all variants of the Arisaka rifle except for the Type 44 carbine. Twenty different variations exist, and is further categorized by early, mid, and late-war production phases. Also fixable on Type 96 and light machine guns. Type 35 bayonet The Type 35 bayonet was a slightly modified Type 30 bayonet made specifically for the Type 35 rifle.
The dimensions of the bayonet is almost exactly the same as the Type 30 bayonet. The only real difference between the two is the added addition of a sprung catch that hooks into the scabbard when not in use. About 8,400,000 were made. Type 44 Fixed permanently on the Type 44 carbine, this spike-type bayonet is foldable under the handguard and does not interfere with the barrel when deployed. Type 2 With the long length of the Type 30 bayonet unfit for concealing within a paratrooper's personal equipment set, this knife-type bayonet was created to address this issue.
Twenty centimeters shorter than a Type 30, its total length is 32.3 cm. Used primarily with the Type 2 TERA rifle or the by the Imperial Military Airborne Divisions. About 25,000 were made. Users.: Some captured at the during World War I.
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