Thread: Gun City Japanese Arisaka type 38s

Originally Posted by stuart

@SEdan do you know any info on the history of these and how they got to nz?

That’s what I want to know! Seems a shame to get lost. You think guncity would know


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Yea I fell on one the other day so I wanna know too

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, I haven't been on in a while!

I dont know a huge amount, but I do know we bought them from a movie company/armoury in Australia, who provides firearms for films. Its why a handful of them are chambered to take blanks.

I can find out a little more, but the guys are overseas at the moment, so comms are limited

Originally Posted by SEdan

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, I haven't been on in a while!

I dont know a huge amount, but I do know we bought them from a movie company/armoury in Australia, who provides firearms for films. Its why a handful of them are chambered to take blanks.

I can find out a little more, but the guys are overseas at the moment, so comms are limited

@SEdan

Any interesting details emerged from your talk with the guys?

Originally Posted by Cordite

@SEdan

Any interesting details emerged from your talk with the guys?

Hey mate - sorry, I haven't been on this forum in ages, so I apologise for any late responses to anything.

I did have the chat, but the information was basically as I'd already mentioned. They were movie props that we acquired ex-Australia, from a film armorer. This is why some have been re-chambered (for blanks).

There really isn't any more information I was able to glean i'm sorry!

Yeah man, any info on them would be cool, cheers

Hey there. We brought 1 and it's quite heavily pitted on the barrel exterior. Inside looks fine but did say at time of purchase we did want to shoot it and got told it would be fine..... reading a lot into it and starting to wonder a bit more now and the stock fell apart as soon as I released the first barrel band . Not sure what's best from here. Action looks good so try find replacement stock? Is exterior pitting a major? Rather new to this so think it's better to ask questions before charging in. Cheers

@40mm

No not likely. Just visited GC and there's at least a dozen waiting there to get TLC, in very similar light rusty condition to each other, probably not a single one with it's own armorer-fitted matching bolt.

Here's someone who has taken a special liking to the Arisaka, interesting info on the listed design priorities of Colonel Nambu, who was really the designer of the "Type 38" rifle as the Japanese called it.

Originally Posted by Cordite

@40mm

No not likely. Just visited GC and there's at least a dozen waiting there to get TLC, in very similar light rusty condition to each other, probably not a single one with it's own armorer-fitted matching bolt.

Here's someone who has taken a special liking to the Arisaka, interesting info on the listed design priorities of Colonel Nambu, who was really the designer of the "Type 38" rifle as the Japanese called it.

very interesting, il lhave to finish watching it tomorrow though. I have a type 38 bayonet in mint condition.... just need to get a rifle to go with it!

Originally Posted by 40mm

very interesting, il lhave to finish watching it tomorrow though. I have a type 38 bayonet in mint condition.... just need to get a rifle to go with it!

Good idea. I bought a motorbike to match my helmet and boots.

Originally Posted by gadgetman

Good idea. I bought a motorbike to match my helmet and boots.

@gadgetman @40mm

The particular bayonet / rifle combination is quite iconic though, just think of King Rat.

First paperback edition:


Later edition, bayonet attachment apparently corrected by someone who just irked:


The Japanese got themselves a bad image, bayonetting a lot of people, possibly to save on ammo... But they did forever wipe out the racist myth of Japanese being backwards little people all with bad eyes and bucked teeth.

The video above contains some interesting facts, one is of the dust cover edge pushing dirt forwards in the side grooves, to the little cutout where the dirt would fall out. Also the extra bolt lug on the left, to save the actual locking lug from getting hammered on the bolt stop. Love the palm safety, no fiddling when the excitement/panic is on.

The calibre is as near an intermediate calibre as any WW1 era bolt action ever was chambered in. Big mistake made however in introducing a rimless .303 just before WW2. Big logistic problems in supplying both kinds of ammo to troops.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles...0m/0dm/083000c

Originally Posted by Tommy

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles...0m/0dm/083000c

soo cool!

Just been reading up on these and interesting apparently the action was almost indestructible.
I'll post the story on here tomorrow.

Quoted from Bolt Action Rifles 4th edition

By Frank de Haas and Dr. Wayne van Zwoll

"This report is from the May 1952 issue of The American Rifleman.

It describes a Type 38 Arisaka 6.5mm which was rechambered to accept the 30-06 cartridge. The 6.5mm barrel was NOT rebored, only the chamber was enlarged. The fellow who did the rechambering accomplished it by grinding down the pilot of a 30-06 reamer so it would enter the bore. After rechambering he test fired it. Nothing much happened so he used the rifle on a hunting trip and killed a deer with it. Because the rifle kicked so hard he took it to a reputable gunsmith who discovered what the owner had done with it and what he was shooting in it. Because the rifle was still intact after firing a number of 30-06 cartridges, the gunsmith sent the rifle to the NRA. The NRA staff then fired some more 30-06 rounds through it, and it seems incredible that neither the barrel nor the action burst, for just imagine firing .308" bullets through a .2642 groove diameter barrel! If one were to deliberately plan a touture test or blow-up test on the 6.5mm Japanese rifle one could hardly think of a better scheme, even though it is a little crazy.

That this particular rifle did not burst, certainly proves that the bolt, receiver and barrel were made of the best heat-treated steels. It also shows that the breech locking system is excellent."

He then goes on to say.

"I wonder what would have happened with the 6.5mm Arisaka rifle chambered for the 30-06 cartridge if the head of one of the cartridges had cracked our split open when fired, rather than expanded evenly. I think the results would have been different."

That that I'm suggesting you go out and test fire the rifle that you have brought from GC, but I thought you might find this of interest.

Cheers