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Old June 10, 2016, 04:36 PM   #26
texagun
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Looks authentic to me, and in nice shape. This is a photo of mine for comparison. It was sent home by a Marine relative from Hiroshima shortly after the bomb was dropped in August of 1945. He was sent to Hiroshima to aid in recovering bodies. It has the full mum just forward of the bolt but is missing a piece of the fore-stock.
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Old June 10, 2016, 04:40 PM   #27
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Thanks everyone for all the help clearing this thing up.
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Old June 10, 2016, 06:56 PM   #28
James K
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There are a number of variations in the Type 99, mainly due to its undergoing modification and slmplification as the war went on and Japanese resources dwindled and the need became more acute. Unnecessary finishing steps, such as knurling of the safety, were skipped; a simple peep sight replaced the elaborate rear sight, a tacked-on wood buttplate replaced the steel one, chrome plating the bore was discontinued and so on. The very late rifles are rough, but for the most part are safe to shoot.

I know of no reproductions of any model of the Arisaka, but some Japanese pistols were copied as non-firing replicas; those should not be capable of firing and should never be modified to do so.

There are also Japanese training rifles, made for their equivalent of high school ROTC. They were made of cast iron to be used in firing blanks. None have the Imperial seal (chrysanthemum) or normal markings, and for the most part will not accept live ammunition. Those are actually dangerous if they will fire live ammunition.

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Old June 11, 2016, 05:36 PM   #29
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Hmm, if it was a Mauser I'd suspect Mitchell got their fingers on it. Do they touch Arisakas?
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Old June 11, 2016, 05:51 PM   #30
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FWIW, I cannot think of anyone who has faked Arisakas. No one makes a similar action, no one makes a stock the same way and with the same finish.
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Old June 11, 2016, 06:17 PM   #31
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And if you were going to fake one, why would you bother faking a scrubbed mum.
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Old June 12, 2016, 07:33 AM   #32
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The question whether it's been messed with, especially if it has been refinished, is easiest to answer where the mum used to be. If there's finish over the ground away mum it has suffered from beautification after the war.
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Old June 12, 2016, 07:59 AM   #33
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No one has manufactured a reproduction Arisaka Type 38.

So your rifle is undoubtedly authentic.
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Old June 12, 2016, 08:02 AM   #34
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Why would anyone fake a complete Arisaka? They sell for almost nothing. I have seen certain rare models that people tried to fake, but it is fairly obvious. Yours looks like an average T-99.
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Old June 12, 2016, 04:59 PM   #35
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The numbers on the bolt don't match the gun. So that's one thing that I know was changed
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Old June 12, 2016, 08:16 PM   #36
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Yeah but that could be for a number of reasons. Maybe the original was lost/swapped in battlefield cleaning. Or when the Mums were grounds. Or maybe it came to the US in a big box and they lost the bolt and replaced it wit the first one they found. Or ebay. Possibly someone was trying to make a bent bolt handle and screwed up.

At least randomly the 7.7 you can find ammo on some store shelves for unlike the 6.5.
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Old June 12, 2016, 08:38 PM   #37
gyvel
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It's a complete 99, and is as original as can be. The only thing I can't determine is if someone "refinished" it as was suggested in one post, but I doubt it.
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Old June 13, 2016, 12:07 PM   #38
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The thin pole under the barrel is the section of cleaning rod that came with the rifle.
Don't believe anybody has ever made repros of Arisakas.
Rummage around here. Terri is a real university professor who takes her Japanese stuff seriously.
http://members.shaw.ca/nambuworld/arisakas.htm
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Old June 14, 2016, 10:12 AM   #39
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Looks like mid-production range, "intermediate" type 99.
$300 might be a bit high in price, but that depends on location, etc.
I think that Grafs has ammo if you want to chase cans with it.
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Old June 14, 2016, 01:14 PM   #40
reinert
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Shot my first deer with a 7.7 Japanese Arisaka back in 1970. The only factory ammo available back then was made by Norma. That rifle with the Norma ammo (I believe they were 150 grainers) was very accurate. It got lost in a family trade a long, long time ago, and I wish I still had it. That big thumb safety on the end of the bolt was about as positive and simple as they come, and I'd use the palm of my hand to operate it as it was very stiff when rotating it from "safe" to "fire."

No doubt Norma still makes ammo for it. Good luck, and have fun shooting it if it's in shootable and sound condition.
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Old November 9, 2016, 01:46 PM   #41
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I had one more question about the series mark on the left of the serial number. i am just now looking at it but i cant be sure what mark it is.
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Old November 9, 2016, 10:56 PM   #42
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Not sure about the mark on the left, but I've been looking for one with the that combination of manufacturer marks on the right, because I'm fond of that company's cars, particularly the RX-7 and the Miata.

(Toyo Kogyo = Mazda. No kidding.)
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Old November 9, 2016, 11:20 PM   #43
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Your rifle looks like a "real" Arisaka.

My dad and an uncle had several Arisaka rifles, both the 38 and 99. Some were sporterized with new barrels chambered for different cartridges, e.g., .22-250, and "modern" sporter stocks. They were very accurate and fun to shoot. I sold all of them at gun shows many years ago. I still have several of my dad's long guns (including a very nice Winchester Model 92 .25-20) which are far more valuable and mean much more to me than the Arisaka rifles.

Edit: The "flower" was partially ground off of the receiver of all of those Arisaka rifles..
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Old November 10, 2016, 11:31 AM   #44
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It's a real Arisaka, and it's been refinished. the nice matt gray finish on the metal is a dead giveaway. ALL the originals were polished and blued. Quality of the work changed over the course of production due to wartime pressure.

The early rifles all had "all the bells & whistles" that were later dropped from production to simplify, speed up, and reduce production costs.

The sliding "dustcover" over the action, that traveled with the bolt, was the first thing dropped I think. It was unpopular with the troops (it rattled) and was often removed in the field, and thrown away.

The rear sight was a ladder/peep, with the AA wings, and there was a wire monopod mounted on the fore end.

The last production guns had none of those features, and also deleted some others as JamesK has mentioned.

The pic of the Hiroshima rifle shows the differences clearly. The rear sight is a simple fixed peep, being the most obvious.

The grinding off or just defacing of the Imperial crest (the chrysanthemum) was a "saving face" gesture. By removing the "mum" the rifles could be surrendered without impugning the Emperor's honor.

Stories vary about when & where this was done, Some say in Japan, by the Japanese, some in Japan by US or Japanese under US direction, some stories say it was done in the US at the ports the rifles entered.

All three might be true, one almost certainly must be, for any specific rifle.

Some surrendered rifles did slip through without getting ground. Generally an unground mum is a good indicator that the rifle was captured (battlefield pick up) rather than being surrendered at the end of the war.

A good indicator, but NOT proof positive, alone.
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Old November 10, 2016, 05:47 PM   #45
Jim Watson
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As far as the refinish, looks like Parkerizing, and the stock varnished, too; we turned over a lot of Arisakas to South Korea. They were routinely rechambered to .30-06, but were ALL of them converted?
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Old November 10, 2016, 10:48 PM   #46
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To me it looks parkerized which would not be original. The rear sight wings were removed on later series to speed up production so having them missing could be correct. Depends on the series.

Looks like a nice rifle to me.

TK
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Old November 11, 2016, 04:42 AM   #47
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It looks like a 33rd series, Toyo Kogyo.
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Old November 13, 2016, 06:09 AM   #48
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I had a South Korean Arisaka. They were parkerized in some weird greenish color.
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Old November 14, 2016, 09:53 AM   #49
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The question in my mind is why would a reproduction even be made?
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Old November 14, 2016, 12:49 PM   #50
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Quote:
The question in my mind is why would a reproduction even be made?
Good question. Why are there art forgers? Because someone thought they could make money from it, I suppose.

Certain rare variations of guns are worth big bucks to collectors. "Faking" a rare variation has been done more than you might think. Often this involves taking one of the common versions and remarking it with the rare version markings. Luger fakes are notorious.

The OP has a nicely refinished mid war (or later) Arisaka. Its not the late war model, or a last ditch version. Just a standard gun, with some of the original parts missing (dust cover, monopod, etc.), refinished later by someone who knew what they were doing.
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