Arasaka
I have a old arasaka that was rechamberd for .308. I would say it is in 90 to 95 percent condition. It also has a custum stock. Its serial number is 4142. also next to the number it has what looks like a upside down 8 in a circle. also just forward of the bolt it has what looks like a 16 pedel flower with a X through it. can you please tell me what this gun is, how much it is worth, and if it is rare.
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Japanese long guns are a bit outside of my field of expertise but I'd say chances are excellent that you have a sporterized Type 99 Arisaka. After the war many of these rifles were imported and rechambered in .30-06, but there were difficulties adapting the Arisaka action to this cartridge. The .308 used in your rifle or .300 Savage are much better suited due to the correct cartridge length. The flower you see is the Imperial Chrysanthemum- the Imperial Seal of the Empire of Japan. The X through this "mum" was meant to deface it, much as a Nazi swastika would have been removed from a Mauser rifle after WWII. In many cases the "mum" was simply ground off. Your rifle is not even close to being rare and has zero collector value. The Arisaka action is surprisingly strong and these can be the basis of a decent sporting rifle. While it is not economical to consider such a gun smithing adventure today, 40 years ago it was an entirely different situation as these surplus rifles were plentiful and 7.7 mm military ammunition nearly non existant. These sporterized rifles are hard to price since the fit and finish as well as the quality of the barrel play a major part in whatever value these may bring on the retail market. Keep in mind that even original military Type 99 Arisaka rifles in the condition you describe seldom sell for over $250 and sporterized rifles are of no interest to collectors.
Mark T. Christian0 -
Jman,
Lets hope that your Arasaka was rebarrled to 308 rather than a model 99 that just had a chambering reamer run into the chamber. If the rifle has the original barrel, be sure that it was set back two or three threads so that the 308 reamer will clean up the old chamber or the rifle is not safe to shoot. The serial number on these rifles is meaningless as they were numbered in batchs of 10,000 then they started over again at number 1. The 16 petal flower is the Imperial Chrysanthemum. The X across it means that the rifle was surrendered. The inside diameter of the original barrel from groove to groove is .311 rather then the .308 of the Winchester cartridge, so to get the best accuracy it would be a handloading proposition.
Since your rifle has been extensively "sportized" there is no collector value left in it, added to the fact these rifles are relatively common and it is worth whatever someone is willing to pay
for it.0 -
i also have one more question that i forgot, the rifle has a peep sight at this time and my eyes dont work to well with the peep. i would like to scope it, however i have been told that this is very expinsive since the bolt handle would have to be cut off and reweilded in a differnt place. is there a cheaper way to scope it. since it is based on the mauser action, would it be possable to buy a new mauser bolt or action and replace the old bolt or action? 0 -
you cann't swap any parts with a mauser. mounting a scope isn't that hard you have to either forge the existing bolt handle lower or weld on a new one plus drill and tap for the scope mount. the hole thing shouldn't cost more than $75/100 (or just about what the rifle is worth now). 0 -
Jman,
As Mike pointed out you can not swap parts between the Arasaka and other Mauser rifles. It is true that the Arasaka was based on the Mauser model 1895,however, that is as far as it went, General Arasaka heavily modified the Mauser action and in fact made it stronger then the original. The down side of this is that there are no parts that will interchange with the Mauser.
To mount a scope you have two options, the bolt handle will either have to be cut off and rewelded so that it points down and also given a slight curve so that it misses the scope tube or the bolt handle will have to be forged to the same shape. The second option is to try to find an old Weaver side mount that sets the scope off to the left and thus lets the straight bolt handle miss the scope. I know that they made these mounts at one time,but, if they are still in production or not I don't know. You never have said if this rifle still has the original barrel or not. If the original barrel is on the rifle, call B-Square and ask if they make their "scout" scope mount, that fits into the existing rear sight base, for the Arasaka rifle. Useing this scope base, you mount a long eye relief scope out on the barrel and then don't have to bend the bolt handle.
What ever you do is your call,but, as Mike also pointed out, you are going to have more money in the scope and mount then the rifle is worth and no possibility of ever getting your money out of it if you ever wanted to sell the rifle.0 -
It's not worth the expense to scope an Arisaka. Be sure you actually have a .308. You should make a chamber cast of it and be sure. And slug the bore.(hammer a cast bullet through then measure it with a micrometer) If it's been just rechambered and the slugged bullet doesn't measure .308, it was done wrong and is definitely not worth doing anything to. 0 -
I DIDN'T THINK OF THE WEAVER SIDE MOUNTS, THEY STILL MAKE THESE (#1 BASE, SIDE MT. RING) BUT YOU'LL STILL HAVE $50 IN JUST THE SCOPE MOUNT AND BASE. AS FOR THE BORE DIA.; DON'T LISTEN TO THE ARM CHAIR EXPERTS .311/.312" BARRELS WILL SHOOT A .308 BULLET JUST FINE FOR MOST HUNTING (2 TO 4" @100 YRDS.) 0 -
is there anyone in the Tucson, AZ area you can recomend i take the rifle to, in order to get it scoped. I took it to a place here called GG&G and they said it would cost abot $350 to have it drilled and the bolt work done. also for that scope mount that just fits in the sight recever, do you know what its called and where i should be able to get one? 0 -
You might be able to find a mount that attaches to the mountings for the flip up original military sight. I don't know if anyone makes them for the jap, but I have seen them for other makes. Then you use a long eye relief scope, and avoid the bolt handle. Don't know if this is possible for sure, but if not, someone out there will correct me. 0 -
We are assuming that the gun has a .311-2" bore. I slugged my Jap and found a .315". No wonder it didn't hit squat! I got better accuracy with .313" pulled from Arg. Mauser ammo. Sold the gun after awhile.
"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf0
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