Feeding problem

[Seronac]

I have an old sporterized Japanese Arisaka (Mauser bolt action) rifle in .250 Savage that was my grandfather's, and it has a feeding problem that I would like some help with or input on.

I can load five rounds into the magazine, press the bolt forward and it loads just fine. I pull the bolt back and it ejects the first round and loads the second just fine when I push it back forward. I pull it back again and it extracts and ejects the second round just fine, but the third round doesn't come out of the magazine properly: the case seems to get hung up on the inside rim of the magazine (the underside of the bottom of the action) and the rear of the case doesn't come out of the magazine, the nose of the bullet gets crammed up in the chamber at the wrong angle. If I'm not careful, it gets seriously jammed. (I don't know how my grandfather lived with it, I got the rifle after he passed away, several years ago.)

With my very limited gunsmithing experience, I see two possible problems/solutions:
1) The magazine spring is pushing too hard or too soft. However, I just replaced the spring, and the previous one was doing the same thing,
2) The inside edge of the magazine is too sharp for the soft edge of the brass. Perhaps a little polishing with Dremel would do the trick?

Other questions:
Is this a serious safety problem? Is it something that I can take care of, or should I take it to my friendly neighborhood licensed gunsmith? Any other thoughts/opinions/ideas?

Many thanks!

[cntryboy1289]

You did not say, but what caliber was the gun originally? If the third round is the first to hang, I would think maybe the feed rail needs to be opened slightly. You might help it by polishing the feed rails on the underside. Sounds for sure like it may have a burr, but it may just need to be opened up slightly with a mill. Good luck.

[Seronac]

I don't know what caliber it was originally, although perhaps I could find out with a little investigation. I think it was an Arisaka Type 38 or 99, which would have made it 6.5mm or 7.65mm (?). Perhaps the WWII Japanese firearms historians out there could help me with this. I can remove the scope mount this weekend and take a look at it; the original markings are still there (FYI: Partial chrysanthemum, it's not entirely removed, but it looks as though its been worn off.).

[Clemson]

I doubt that you have a safety problem. It is sometimes very difficult to get military actions to feed cartridges that are very different from the originals. Both the 6.5 mm and 7.7 mm Japanese rounds were semi-rimmed. The 250 Savage is rimless. Before you mess with the action rails, do the things that you can do that are reversable. You can order a different follower and a new spring from Numrich. (How did you know what spring to get if you did not know the series of the rifle?) To distinguish a Type 38 from a Type 99, The type 38 will have two holes side by side in the front ring, whereas the Type 99 has one hole in the top center of the front ring. The photo below shows a Type 38 action (6.5x50 mm Japanese).

Clemson

[cntryboy1289]

I agree with Clemson about you not having a safety problem. I would polish the bottm of the feed rail first and then reorder a spring if that doesn't correct the problem. This isn't all that uncommon of a problem when folks sporterize a military rifle to a different caliber. Good luck.

[Harry Bonar]

Dear Sir:
Are you CERTAIN it is a 250 Savage? I would take it to a smith that could cerrosafe cast the chamber of that rifle; from the picture it doesn't look like the barrel has been changed - you may in fact have a jap rifle in its original caliber. All sorts of things were done to Jap Arisakas, supposed gunsmiths have screwy ideas about what they can be convered to. I found one converted to 30-06 that a man had fired 7.7 Jap in - the case was separated and primers smashed all over the head! What do your cases look like - are you sure this is chambered to 250 Savage?
This very well could be extremely dangerous - get this checked out!
Godd shooting Harry B.

[Seronac]

I'm 99.9% sure that it's .250 Savage. Keep in mind, though, that the picture on Clemson's post is a picture of an original; it is NOT a picture of mine--mine has some differences: different barrel, re-carved stock, angled bolt handle, etc.

I knew at one time what it was because I had done the research, and that's how I was able to order the correct spring. I just forgot. I see now, from Clemson's picture, that mine's a Type 38: it has the two holes; they are just under the scope mount, so I would have had to remove my scope, mount, check the markings, and then reassemble it, and then sight it in again. However, I do distinctly remember that it had two holes behind the mum, so I'm pretty sure it a Type 38.

I can post pics of mine later on, if you'd like.