Type I shooters

[madsenshooter]

If you've got a Japanese Type I rifle, aka Japanese Carcano, take a look and see if the bore is chromed. Saw a nice new looking barrel on gunbroker some time ago and the seller claimed it was chrome lined. Collector types are telling me I'm full of it though. Thanks for all responses.

[EDG]

I have 3 and none are chromed.
One - the reason I got started messing with them has about half the middle of the bore ate out due to a mud dauber nest.
Two - Has the first 3/4" of the muzzle badly corroded. The rest of the bore is perfect.
Three - Has a perfect apparently new bore from one end to the other.
None have any chrome.

I have never seen any 6.5 Jap rifle that was chrome lined.
I saw the Gunbroker rifle you reference but I think about 75% of the gun flippers on Gunbroker know little about appraising a barrel or they are just crooks.

[tbierley]

The only rifle that had chrome bore was the Type 99 early models.

[Haggway]

No Chrome on mine.

[gew98]

I have 3 and none are chromed.
One - the reason I got started messing with them has about half the middle of the bore ate out due to a mud dauber nest.
Two - Has the first 3/4" of the muzzle badly corroded. The rest of the bore is perfect.
Three - Has a perfect apparently new bore from one end to the other.
None have any chrome.

I have never seen any 6.5 Jap rifle that was chrome lined.
I saw the Gunbroker rifle you reference but I think about 75% of the gun flippers on Gunbroker know little about appraising a barrel or they are just crooks.

I have owned one and seen a several chromed bore type 38's. They do exist but are rather scarce. As all such rifles are bores can be minty to rough as all hell and each one can be a gem , all things considered... been there done that.

[jonk]

No chrome in mine.

[madsenshooter]

None in mine either, maybe the fellow on gunbroker was mistaken. Wish I'd bought the barrel now.

[KCSO]

No chrome in mine and I have never seen an I type with a chrome bore.

[Fly]

What about 91/30 Nagant Mosins!Not trying to highjack your question but I have
a 91/30 that looks like it maybe chomed, any chance?

Fly

[Dschuttig]

Never seen any italian WWII rifle chromed lined. I have a type I unissued no chrome lining. Dan

[bob v]

never seen one. You must just have a shiney bore.......bob v

[I'll Make Mine]

What about 91/30 Nagant Mosins!Not trying to highjack your question but I have
a 91/30 that looks like it maybe chomed, any chance?

Fly

Extremely unlikely; chrome plating was new technology before WWII, and the last of the 91/30 rifles were made in 1944, according to my reading. Chromed bores were the very last thing the Soviet arsenals were thinking of in terms of production while still pushing Hitler's army back from their cities; they produced tens of millions of Mosins in 91/30, M38, and M44 versions between 1939 and the end of the Great Patriotic War, and anything that took extra time was bad.

It's entirely likely, however, that your 91/30 was rebarreled when it was refurbished before going into long term storage sometime between 1950-ish and 1970; if the old barrel was badly corroded, bent, etc., but the receiver in good condition, the arsenal would have changed out the barrel to ensure the rifle was ready to fire after cleaning off the cosmoline if it had to be taken out of storage in ten or twenty years. Far less likely, but possible, is that you may have one that was never issued -- wartime production 91/30s tended to get to the infantry almost before they were cool from machining, but an inventory error or some apparatchik pulling strings could have kept one aside; if it was never fired, it would never have corroded once the cosmoline was applied.

[runfiverun]

the japanese couldn't get thier act together [or barely feed the people] from before the turn of the century untill after ww-2.
they were nearly bankrupt from thier little scuffle with the russians,and were attempting to do business in china.
they didn't have enough raw materials to build an out house.
so they found it far more effective to buy thier rifles.
they couldn't have chrome plated a bumper at that time.

[3006guns]

the japanese couldn't get thier act together [or barely feed the people] from before the turn of the century untill after ww-2.
they were nearly bankrupt from thier little scuffle with the russians,and were attempting to do business in china.
they didn't have enough raw materials to build an out house.
so they found it far more effective to buy thier rifles.
they couldn't have chrome plated a bumper at that time.

I sure hope I read that incorrectly.......

From the turn of the twentieth century the Japanese concentrated on heavy industry and advancements. If they didn't have the raw materials, they simply took them...hence the invasion of China. This was just "business as usual" to the oriental mind of the time and something we couldn't understand in the west.

As for chrome plating the interior of a rifle barrel, name any other country that went to such extremes to prevent corrosion. I haven't seen many 1903's, 03a3's, Garands or Johnsons that had chrome barrels. None of the Italian stuff had such exotic treatment...their turnbolt designs were still stuck in the 1890's for cryin' out loud. When is the last time you saw an Enfield....of any mark....with a chrome tube? No, that chrome lining was a real advancement no matter WHO made it.

The type 38, 44 and 99 rifles were made in the Japanese arsenal system and NO ONE, including Japanese ordnance experts, knows to this day why they contracted out to the Italians. The best guess is that they were simply trying to support an ally in a business venture, but no documentation exists to either prove or disprove it.

I have just over 30 Arisakas in my collection and none of the type 38's have a chrome bore....but all the type 99's from 1939 to 1944 do (the later ones, mislabled as "last ditch" are crude and chrome free). I keep hearing of type 38's with chrome but none of the records I've seen indicate production of such, unless they were built as a trial rifle while testing the new type 99 design. I do have several type 38 barrels and barreled actions that are absolute junk from corrosive ammo and neglect, but NONE of my type 99's show any sign of wear at all.

Judging how hard it is to find a type 38 with a good bore and virtually ALL of the type 99's I've seen are almost mint, the decision to develop the chrome plating technology was a wise one.

[madsenshooter]

And one that I think they meant to apply to the type I's. They were mostly found in storage, I've read, but can't attest to the truth of that. I don't think it was because the Navy didn't like them, I think they intended to do something with them. Makes no sense for them to have been found in storage when the Japanese were preparing for the defense of their homeland. But, the chroming was one of many plans that got put on hold as the war didn't go as expected. I imagine they stopped chroming the bores of the 99s because of a shortage of chrome, which would be needed for a variety of other things. I can't say why the type I's wouldn't have been distributed near the end. Could be the seller on gunbroker was mistaken and he just had a shiney new one that someone took off a receiver. Wish I'd bought it.