A Caution Concerning Arisaka Type 99 Rifles

[Dutchman]

Fellow I knew says he had a box of 7.7x58 Arisaka empties I could have so I says send 'em on over.

Noticed right away something was amiss.

Sure enough somebody put a .30-06 chamber reamer in a Type 99 Arisaka. The short neck case is a 7.7x58 Arisaka fired in a .30-06 chamber. Cartridge on right is my correct 7.7x58mm Norma cased.

There are two military rifles you need to pay attention to concerning this issue. Both can have the chambers reamed with a .30-06 chambering reamer. Fortunately neither will result in damage when fired with standard caliber ammo.

1909 Argentine Mauser
Type 99 Arisaka

[Eddie2002]

It was a common re-chamber and some 30-06 model 99's were issued and used used in Korea. If it's not a collector piece suggest that he gets the rifle marked as a 30-06 either at a gun smith or a DIY with some punches.

[Winger Ed.]

Maybe somebody wanted to make their own version of a 7.7 Improved.

[elk hunter]

IIRC that was a common conversion back in the late forty's and early fifty's because there was no commercial ammunition available and sporting rifles were hard to come by after the war. The type 38's were also re-chambered to take a 257 Roberts case and dies were available making them a 6.5/257. Many 98/09 Argentine rifles were re-chambered to 30-06 for the same reason, no or high priced ammunition.

[Multigunner]

A gunsmith on another forum posted about an ammunition mix up at his shop.
A 7.7X58 jap rifle blew up in his testing booth and he found that the test cartridge had been a 7.92X57 Mauser.
The bullet diameter wasn't the main factor, it was the neck of the chamber being too tight for the bullet to leave the case neck before pressure went through the roof.
besides the resemblance of the two cartridges some Arisaka rifles were re-bored and chambered in 7.92 by the Red Chinese and a few other countries.

[Eddie2002]

I've just started reloading for a 7mm mauser and have 7.7 Jap ammo on the shelf also. All my converted 7mm brass is getting a small notch filed in the rim as a reminder as to it's caliber. Side by side they look almost the same and I'm using a mix of range brass for both conversions. Decided that a notch in the rim is the quickest and simplest way to permanently mark the 7mm. Would probably notch any store bought 7mm brass also just to be safe.

[Drm50]

A friend of mine inherited a sporter built on 6.5 Jap. Was the nicest Jap sporter I ever saw. His GPa had brought it home from WW2 and must have spared no expense. Barrel had even been turned. It had been punched to 257 Roberts. Rifle was shooting terrible and key holing. Nobody told him that 257s have to be loaded with 6.5 bullets and he's not a loader. We loaded up some 257s with pulled bullets from 6.5 Greek I had laying around and it shot decent but nothing to write home about. He bought some Hornady 6.5 bullets and we loaded them up and fooled with powder charge. Ended up it would come close to a 1" average. It's the only Jap I have ever seen that I wouldn't mind owning. I've had several sporterized Japs both 6.5 & 7.7 that had barrel and stock cut, punched chambers and scoped. Never impressed they were 100yd deer guns at best. These might have been upgraded by after market trigger, which buddies gun had. Back when these rifles were commonly seen a box of Norma ammo, which was all you could get, was more than the rifles were worth.

[perotter]

A friend of mine inherited a sporter built on 6.5 Jap. Was the nicest Jap sporter I ever saw. His GPa had brought it home from WW2 and must have spared no expense. Barrel had even been turned. It had been punched to 257 Roberts. Rifle was shooting terrible and key holing. Nobody told him that 257s have to be loaded with 6.5 bullets and he's not a loader. We loaded up some 257s with pulled bullets from 6.5 Greek I had laying around and it shot decent but nothing to write home about. He bought some Hornady 6.5 bullets and we loaded them up and fooled with powder charge. Ended up it would come close to a 1" average. It's the only Jap I have ever seen that I wouldn't mind owning. I've had several sporterized Japs both 6.5 & 7.7 that had barrel and stock cut, punched chambers and scoped. Never impressed they were 100yd deer guns at best. These might have been upgraded by after market trigger, which buddies gun had. Back when these rifles were commonly seen a box of Norma ammo, which was all you could get, was more than the rifles were worth.

I wonder if it was having the barrels cut. Of the 7.7 I've had all shot well.