kirby375

I have one in 7mm Mauser, sporterized, shoots like a champ. YES it was built that way, check your history, Mexican Arisaka, that's all I'm sayin'

WestVirginiaBrent

Yep, that looks like a 7.7 Jap to me, but the bolt is hacked up. Cross reference it to this sportered one (but don't buy it, as I am buying it next week, lol.)

http://www.williamlarkinmoore.com/product_details.asp?id=1680

The prewar ones were reknowned for their receiver strength, the late war ones were reknowned for their weak receivers. I would do a few pull string/vice shots before putting it to your shoulder. My grandfather hunted exclusively with a 7.7 Jap and made my uncle and father use them as well. I am planning on making two sporters out of two 7.7 Japs as we speak to give to them as gifts this year(and getting flamed bad at AR15.com for doing it too, funny reading http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=14&t=233345&page=1)

Apparently Hornady makes a good hunting round for it, and the ballistics for the round are good.

www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0037464215974a.shtml

8mm/06

Definitely an Arisaka. But what I like about the package is the vintage old Weaver KV scope. It wasn't a true variable in that it didn't go from the advertised 2.5 or 2.75 or 3 power on up to the 5 lower at the top ... it was one or the other. The smaller adjustment on the bolt side that is rearward and a bit smaller is the switch for the selecting the lower or the higher power .. but you couldn't go halfway and have say 3.75X... it was either or. I have a couple of them and they are really pretty nice scopes. The 2 I have are clear and distortion free although not as bright as some higher end scopes of today. But they are way brighter and better than my naked eye! Older Weavers like that one (in good shape) are a pretty good purchase for your a gun. Reliable, strong and pretty worry free. Both mine sport the post and crosshair reticle which I love for woods hunting.

Pawildman

I guess I don't understand.....Why would anyone buy a gun for someone else to hunt with when you don't even know what to feed it???....Let alone some obviously hacked military piece??

ir655

Earl, I say do your own thing and screw the fools over at AR15. They seem like a bunch of ignorant idiots anyway. Props to you for making customized guns.

8mm/06 - That is an old Weaver scope, well spotted! It is a fixed power one, might put it on a different gun to see if it holds "zero".

Pawildman - I had been waiting for you, there is always some idiot that makes some dumb comment on someone elses thread. Got nothing good to say? Then STFU.

8mm/06

Take off the rear side cover, it will unscrew. You'll find that you can change the power from a low of 2.5, 2.75 or 3 up to the high power of 5.
It's a DUAL power scope, not a real variable but I think it was Weaver's first entry into the field of scopes with more than one fixed power.
I'm sure you'll find some notation on it somewhere that says KV .
And some of the very early ones may not have even had the writing on it, so even if you can't find the writing, take off that rear side cover(smaller one) and turn it either direction while looking through the scope. The adjustment (under the cover cap) usually has an arrow on it with the power # indicated. Look through it, then try turning it. I think you'll be surprised and happy with the utility that you never knew it had!
Enjoy!

8mm/06

BTW, any gunsmith will be able to tell you it's caliber by trying to chamber a 7.7 or a 6.5 Japanese round. It might be necessary to have a chamber-cast done to fully determine it's chamber and condition.
If it was a 6.5 x 50 Japanese round when originally produced that doesn't mean that it is still spec-ed for that round. It could be shot out with a throat that is eroded, or it could have been re-cut to 6.5 X 257, a popular wildcat for the 6.5 japanese rifles- as it solved the problem of obtaining Japanese brass or having to size from ones own brass.
I can't remember if there were any common conversions for the 7.7 chamber.
I have an old chopped up Model 44 carbine whose bore is pretty rough and the throat is so eroded that it will chamber and fire 6.5 X 54 Mannlicher Schoenner cartridges. The rounds keyhole from 50 to 100 yards and accuracy sucks.
I have actually acquired another barrel in very good condition in the original 6.5 x 50 (not completely military original though,... it was originally a full length 6.5 Japanese barrel that was cut down to 20 inches, turned down a bit and then target crowned) I'm seriously thinking of having it's chamber recut to a different 6.5 chamber, probably 6.5 X 55, and use it as a cabin/truck gun.
If you have one of the older ones with quality workmanship and strength, it has an enormously strong action.
Ackley's tests of action strengths found the Arisaka to be remarkably bullet-proof (no pun intended).
During repeated test firing of a 6.5 arisaka whose chamber had been cut to fit a 30-06 round (yes that's right, the chamber accepted the round even though the bore size was still only .264") after repeated firing the .308 diameter powerful round through the 6.5 barrel until finally the barrel was sent downrange!!! The action was not damaged !!!!
In fact it is reported that on tests llike this they would often just re-barrel the action and continue testing. I'm reporting what I've read in more than a few written accounts.

Pawildman

Well...............A little touchy today, are we not? And guess what.....you're opinion of my opinion bothers me not at all.

jtb1967

If I could see the top of the receiver clearly, I could tell you if it was origonally a Type 77 (7.7 Jap) or Type 38 (6.5 Jap). As someone else said, it could have easily been rechambered though. At one time it was fairly popular to rechamber the 7.77's to 30-06. Although the weren't very accurate since you had a .308 bullet and a .311 barrel. The only safe way to tell the caliber is by a chamber cast.

eldeguello

Your rifle is a Japanese WWII army rifle. If it appears to be of around .30-caliber, it would have originally been chambered to fire the Japanese 7.7X58mm cartridge. If it is a smaller caliber, like around .26 it was originally a 6.5X50mm Japanese. This is provided no-one has rechamberedthe gun tousesome other cartridge. To find out for sure, take it to a reputable gunsmith and have it checked, both for chambering and headspace. It may be necessary to have a chamber cast made to guarantee that it is still chambered for one of theJapanese service rifle cartridge.

The 7.7X58mm Japanese is a pretty powerful cartridge, in the same class as the .303 British. If it is a 6.5X50mm, it is in the same class as the .260 Remington. Not quite as powerful. But either round is plenty for deer hunting!

Someone has done you the courtesy of mounting a scope on it for you. Both those old Weaver fixed-power scopes andd the Weaver mounts are excellent! I still use several rifles myself that have those old Weaver scopes on them. They still work well.

You can get ammo from GRAF'S. http://www.grafs.com/ammo/239