Another question re .300 Savage

Yanna · December 4, 2020, 02:57 PM

... and the rifle that takes this caliber. It's a WWII Japanese bolt-action rifle, probably re-chambered. Wondering what the original caliber was, and where I could find a magazine or two for it. There's a plate covering the port, making it just a single-shot right now.

**Unclenick** · December 4, 2020, 03:49 PM

Welcome to the forum. Please pop over to the general forum an introduce yourself in the new member sticky thread there.

At first blush, it looks like you would have to start with a 6.5×51 (or 50, depending on whose dimensions you look at) Arisaka and rebore and rifle the barrel for 30 cal and then chamber it in 300 Savage. The rim diameter will be 0.007" too narrow on the 300 brass, but a lot of extractors can handle that.

big al hunter · December 5, 2020, 01:53 PM

If I am reading the OP correctly....you have an Arisaka that was rechambered to 300 Savage. It could have started as a few different rifles and chamberings. If you can post a few pictures, someone on here will be able to identify it. For parts, try Numrich Gun Parts Corp. After you know which model you have.

ligonierbill · December 5, 2020, 02:37 PM

When you say you're looking for a "couple" mags, it sounds like you are thinking removable. While I'm sure you could modify the rifle to take these, you would need completely new bottom metal. Your best bet is to check Numrich for a follower and mag spring, or get that plate off and see if the original is still there. Those old military rifles all had fixed magazines.

An internet search indicates that the conversion of the 7.7 Japanese to .300 Savage was fairly common back in the day. Apparently, the mag was too short for 30-06, and these were the days before .308 Win came out. So, set the barrel back for the shorter round, ream the chamber for .300 Savage, and you have a hunting rifle. Of course, the Savage normally takes a 0.308 bullet vs. 0.311 for the Arisaka. Using the original barrel, it's either an undersize bullet or get a bigger expander for your 300 Sav die. I hear that the undersize 0.308 bullets often did OK. Good luck!

**44 AMP** · December 6, 2020, 02:51 PM

It was a fairly common conversion of the 7.7mm Jap rifles. Take the barrel off, cut the shank shorter rethread, and reinstall cutting a .300 Savage chamber.

This also continued after the .308 came out, due to the common popular belief that the "jap rifle" wouldn't handle the .308 Win. Not true, but commonly believed.

This was done with the Type 99s (7.7mm) as a way of getting a rifle you could get ammo for and take deer. .308 bullets are undersized for the larger bore, but frequently will shoot "minute of deer" and that was good enough.

Remember at the time the Arisakas were "jap junk" cheap surplus rifles for which there was no commercial ammo supply. They were not the "historical collectables" they are considered to be, today.

The conversion to .300 Savage was rarely done with Type 38s (6.5mm) due to the extra cost of reboring or completely replacing the barrel. Some were converted to other calibers, so, I've heard but never saw any. Have seen .300s and I have a beautifully reworked and restocked sporter in .308 Win.

As to the plate covering the magwell on your rifle, most likely explanation is that the magazine parts were missing when the barrel was converted and the plate installed so its a workable single shot.

Feeding the shorter Savage round through the longer 7.7 magazine can be problematical, but usually works or can be made to work.

**Mike Irwin** · December 7, 2020, 12:07 PM

A fairly common conversion for the Type 38 rifle was to rechamber it for .257 Roberts.

You could use .264-caliber bullets with .257 Roberts loading data without a problem.

RCBS, for a time, made a die set to accomodate that. IIRC called it the .264 Arisaka Roberts.

T. O'Heir · December 7, 2020, 02:25 PM

"...probably re-chambered..." It was likely re-barreled, but Bubba might have just re-chambered. Arisakas came in 6.5x50 and 7.7x58. Neither of which is a .308" cartridge. The 6.5 x 50 used a .264" bullet. The 7.7 x 58 was a .311" bullet (same as the .303 British). The .300 Savage(case length is 1.871". That's about 47.5mm.) uses a .308" bullet.
Suggest you slug the barrel. That's hammering a cast .30 calibre bullet through the barrel from the chamber end and measuring it with a micrometer. Old rifles are as bad as old cars for the odd stuff they need.
Lots of 'em were re-barreled after W.W. II because there was no surplus ammo available.
As mentioned, which rifle you have matters. None of 'em are single shots either. Rummage around here to try and ID it.
http://www.nambuworld.com/arisakas.htm
I'm not seeing any Japanese battle rifle that had a detachable magazine. It's entirely possible it was made into a single shot intentionally too.
Kind of moot anyway because due to the Covid Panic there's no factory .300 Savage ammo available right now. Graf's has Quality Cartridge brass with a 3 week wait.
https://www.grafs.com

Radny97 · December 8, 2020, 12:44 AM

My local pawn shop has an Arisaka rechambered in .300 savage. It’s in terrible shape and they only want $150 for it. I reload for .300 savage, but i still passed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Mike Irwin** · December 8, 2020, 12:04 PM

"The 7.7 x 58 was a .311" bullet (same as the .303 British). The .300 Savage(case length is 1.871". That's about 47.5mm.) uses a .308" bullet."

.003, in the grand scheme of things, isn't that big a difference.

Friend of mine used to reload .303 British with .308 bullets because he had such a rough time finding .311 bullets for some reason.

They shot fine.

December 4, 2020, 02:57 PM	#1
Yanna Junior Member Join Date: December 3, 2020 Posts: 1	Another question re .300 Savage ... and the rifle that takes this caliber. It's a WWII Japanese bolt-action rifle, probably re-chambered. Wondering what the original caliber was, and where I could find a magazine or two for it. There's a plate covering the port, making it just a single-shot right now.

December 4, 2020, 03:49 PM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Welcome to the forum. Please pop over to the general forum an introduce yourself in the new member sticky thread there. At first blush, it looks like you would have to start with a 6.5×51 (or 50, depending on whose dimensions you look at) Arisaka and rebore and rifle the barrel for 30 cal and then chamber it in 300 Savage. The rim diameter will be 0.007" too narrow on the 300 brass, but a lot of extractors can handle that. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

December 5, 2020, 01:53 PM	#3
big al hunter Senior Member Join Date: March 12, 2011 Location: Washington state Posts: 1,558	If I am reading the OP correctly....you have an Arisaka that was rechambered to 300 Savage. It could have started as a few different rifles and chamberings. If you can post a few pictures, someone on here will be able to identify it. For parts, try Numrich Gun Parts Corp. After you know which model you have. __________________ You can't fix stupid....however ignorance can be cured through education!

December 6, 2020, 02:51 PM	#5
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,867	It was a fairly common conversion of the 7.7mm Jap rifles. Take the barrel off, cut the shank shorter rethread, and reinstall cutting a .300 Savage chamber. This also continued after the .308 came out, due to the common popular belief that the "jap rifle" wouldn't handle the .308 Win. Not true, but commonly believed. This was done with the Type 99s (7.7mm) as a way of getting a rifle you could get ammo for and take deer. .308 bullets are undersized for the larger bore, but frequently will shoot "minute of deer" and that was good enough. Remember at the time the Arisakas were "jap junk" cheap surplus rifles for which there was no commercial ammo supply. They were not the "historical collectables" they are considered to be, today. The conversion to .300 Savage was rarely done with Type 38s (6.5mm) due to the extra cost of reboring or completely replacing the barrel. Some were converted to other calibers, so, I've heard but never saw any. Have seen .300s and I have a beautifully reworked and restocked sporter in .308 Win. As to the plate covering the magwell on your rifle, most likely explanation is that the magazine parts were missing when the barrel was converted and the plate installed so its a workable single shot. Feeding the shorter Savage round through the longer 7.7 magazine can be problematical, but usually works or can be made to work. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

December 7, 2020, 12:07 PM	#6
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	A fairly common conversion for the Type 38 rifle was to rechamber it for .257 Roberts. You could use .264-caliber bullets with .257 Roberts loading data without a problem. RCBS, for a time, made a die set to accomodate that. IIRC called it the .264 Arisaka Roberts. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

December 5, 2020, 02:37 PM	#4
ligonierbill Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Posts: 2,459	When you say you're looking for a "couple" mags, it sounds like you are thinking removable. While I'm sure you could modify the rifle to take these, you would need completely new bottom metal. Your best bet is to check Numrich for a follower and mag spring, or get that plate off and see if the original is still there. Those old military rifles all had fixed magazines. An internet search indicates that the conversion of the 7.7 Japanese to .300 Savage was fairly common back in the day. Apparently, the mag was too short for 30-06, and these were the days before .308 Win came out. So, set the barrel back for the shorter round, ream the chamber for .300 Savage, and you have a hunting rifle. Of course, the Savage normally takes a 0.308 bullet vs. 0.311 for the Arisaka. Using the original barrel, it's either an undersize bullet or get a bigger expander for your 300 Sav die. I hear that the undersize 0.308 bullets often did OK. Good luck!

December 7, 2020, 02:25 PM	#7
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...probably re-chambered..." It was likely re-barreled, but Bubba might have just re-chambered. Arisakas came in 6.5x50 and 7.7x58. Neither of which is a .308" cartridge. The 6.5 x 50 used a .264" bullet. The 7.7 x 58 was a .311" bullet (same as the .303 British). The .300 Savage(case length is 1.871". That's about 47.5mm.) uses a .308" bullet. Suggest you slug the barrel. That's hammering a cast .30 calibre bullet through the barrel from the chamber end and measuring it with a micrometer. Old rifles are as bad as old cars for the odd stuff they need. Lots of 'em were re-barreled after W.W. II because there was no surplus ammo available. As mentioned, which rifle you have matters. None of 'em are single shots either. Rummage around here to try and ID it. http://www.nambuworld.com/arisakas.htm I'm not seeing any Japanese battle rifle that had a detachable magazine. It's entirely possible it was made into a single shot intentionally too. Kind of moot anyway because due to the Covid Panic there's no factory .300 Savage ammo available right now. Graf's has Quality Cartridge brass with a 3 week wait. https://www.grafs.com __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

December 8, 2020, 12:44 AM	#8
Radny97 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2015 Posts: 1,021	My local pawn shop has an Arisaka rechambered in .300 savage. It’s in terrible shape and they only want $150 for it. I reload for .300 savage, but i still passed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

December 8, 2020, 12:04 PM	#9
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	"The 7.7 x 58 was a .311" bullet (same as the .303 British). The .300 Savage(case length is 1.871". That's about 47.5mm.) uses a .308" bullet." .003, in the grand scheme of things, isn't that big a difference. Friend of mine used to reload .303 British with .308 bullets because he had such a rough time finding .311 bullets for some reason. They shot fine. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.