This One Should Be Reprinted Every 10 Yrs.
Every once in awhile, when I run across mention of the Japanese Arisaka, or modifications thereof, I am reminded of the below story.
Back in the late 1950's, a gunsmith sent a Japanese Arisaka to the Technicians at NRA HQ, telling them that the owner no longer wanted it, and that he personally did not care what they did with it, but that it was a perfect example of what trouble an overzealous amateur gunsmith could get into.
He told them that a customer had brought the rifle in to him to have a recoil pad mounted, as it kicked so hard.
The gunsmith took one look, informed the customer that there was no way that a 6.5 Arisaka should kick hard at all.
Whereupon the customer informed the gunsmith that it was a 7.7, and that he had converted it to .30-06 in his home workshop. (In the years following WW II, when 7.7 ammo was hard to come by, this was quite common.)
The gunsmith was appalled at this bit of information, and told the customer that the pilot on the reamer would have been too large to enter the 6.5 throat.
Customer admitted that this had been a problem, but that he ground down the pilot until it fit.
Upon having completed this job of rechambering, he took the rifle to his range, tied it across an old tractor tire, and test-fired it four times.
Once it had been tested, he sat down at the bench, and fired it from his shoulder. And immediately noted the overwhelming kick.
Once the gunsmith had explained the situation, and measured the bore for the customer, the customer decided that he wanted nothing further to do with his project, and left.
The NRA Technical Staff fired two rounds of .30-06 FMJ from a static rest into cotten batting, and then photograhed the results on quarter-inch grid paper, and included this picture in the article.
An unfired .30-06 bullet measured just about an inch long.
After having been squeezed through the 6.5 bore, a similar bullet
was almost exactly one and one-quarter inches long, and noticeably smaller in caliber!!
Fortunatly, the rifle was one of the early-production ones, noted for their strength, if not their beauty.
Back in the late 1950's, a gunsmith sent a Japanese Arisaka to the Technicians at NRA HQ, telling them that the owner no longer wanted it, and that he personally did not care what they did with it, but that it was a perfect example of what trouble an overzealous amateur gunsmith could get into.
He told them that a customer had brought the rifle in to him to have a recoil pad mounted, as it kicked so hard.
The gunsmith took one look, informed the customer that there was no way that a 6.5 Arisaka should kick hard at all.
Whereupon the customer informed the gunsmith that it was a 7.7, and that he had converted it to .30-06 in his home workshop. (In the years following WW II, when 7.7 ammo was hard to come by, this was quite common.)
The gunsmith was appalled at this bit of information, and told the customer that the pilot on the reamer would have been too large to enter the 6.5 throat.
Customer admitted that this had been a problem, but that he ground down the pilot until it fit.
Upon having completed this job of rechambering, he took the rifle to his range, tied it across an old tractor tire, and test-fired it four times.
Once it had been tested, he sat down at the bench, and fired it from his shoulder. And immediately noted the overwhelming kick.
Once the gunsmith had explained the situation, and measured the bore for the customer, the customer decided that he wanted nothing further to do with his project, and left.
The NRA Technical Staff fired two rounds of .30-06 FMJ from a static rest into cotten batting, and then photograhed the results on quarter-inch grid paper, and included this picture in the article.
An unfired .30-06 bullet measured just about an inch long.
After having been squeezed through the 6.5 bore, a similar bullet
was almost exactly one and one-quarter inches long, and noticeably smaller in caliber!!
Fortunatly, the rifle was one of the early-production ones, noted for their strength, if not their beauty.
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During the famous NRA endurance testing, Arisaka, Springfield, and Mauser were used to see just how hard you could push the pressure envelope before the rifle wrecked. The Arisaka
won.
...honor is important only when dealng with honorable men.
You asked if I have reverence? I have reverence for truth, but I do not know what truth is. I suspect there are many truths, and therefore, I suspect all who claim to have THE truth. L'Amour0
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