Just picked up an Arisaka Type 38 Carbine... Few questions

rci2950

rci2950

BANNED
CGN frequent flyer
EE REVOKED
EE Expired
Rating - 98.1%
52   1   0
34887790275_c1dc54a04e_k.jpg


34887789845_f55c17fdce_k.jpg


34501121690_4076f3c103_b.jpg


I have fired this using Norma factory ammunition that has a 156 grain Alaska. Not sure of the factory MV but it was hitting point of aim at 60 yards. Not a difficult task but this tells me the rifle is functioning properly and capable of doing what I want it to do.

Now for my questions,

1. I plan on carrying this a few times hunting white tail. I was hoping to duplicate the military round as close as possible but using softpoints... I have a new set of Lee dies in 6.5 Jap and I am experienced in reloading. Now I understand the original WW2 era load was a 139 grain pointed bullet with a flat base that had a MV of 1500fps. I have determined the 140 grain Nosler partition bullet will probably be closest weight and shape to the original and I appreciate the partition as I may be tempted to use this black bear hunting as well as white tail. I have purchased a new bag of Prvi 6.5 Jap brass but have not decided on powder. My question is, Has anyone else played with loads for the Type 38 carbine? I am leaning towards IMR 4064. I will be able to determine on my own what charge would produce 2500FPS from a 31 inch barrel (original rifle length MV) This should put me in the ball park. But if someone else has already done this guess work then I would appreciate the data. *yes I am staying between the min/max listed in the Hodgedon book*

2. Does anyone make a new replacement stock? I want to keep it military configuration but would like to put new wood on it. The original stock is in terrible shape... TERRIBLE... It is badly dented and heavily oil soaked. The metal on this rifle is just dandy. So some new wood could turn this into a gem. Edit: The rifle is 100% functional as is. I am also missing the cleaning rod and I would like to have a new repro sling. I have seen a few on Ebay that are pretty nice reproductions. As for the cleaning rod, the originals are probably pretty scarce. So I am wondering if it is similar to a more common mauser cleaning rod that I could just cut to length and cut new threads on the end. Does someone have a pic of theirs with the correct length?

4. Stripper clips? Will Swede mauser clips work? I have a box of those already so that would be cool if they are suitable.

3. Can anyone tell me any info on this rifle? Possible age? Factory? I have done some research and determined it was used as a sideline firearm for truck drivers, onboard ships and subs etc.. Anything other interesting facts?



Thanks for your help

Adam
 
Last edited:
1500 fps? That seems awfully slow for a 6.5, but I am not familliar with this cartridge..
Edit: I was just looking at noma's website, they say the military round was 2500 fps, maybe you made a typo,
Norma says 3000 is possible with 120's and 2650 with a 140.
 
Last edited:
kawicrash said:
1500 fps? That seems awfully slow for a 6.5, but I am not familliar with this cartridge..
Edit: I was just looking at noma's website, they say the military round was 2500 fps, maybe you made a typo,
Norma says 3000 is possible with 120's and 2650 with a 140.
Click to expand...

yea it was a typo. I was thinking if I kept it close to the military specs then the iron sights would be in the ballpark for the different range settings.
 
I'll answer your last three questions because I've never loaded hunting rounds for Type 38s.

2. No one makes replacement stocks that I am aware of. I wouldn't worry about the wood, I've seen relatively few Type 38s that had "nice" wood. Most of them look like crap because the Japanese used a relatively soft wood for the stocks. I'd leave it as it is.

3. Yes, you can use those Mauser stripper clips. I use them myself. No issues there.

4. It looks like it was manufactured at the Kokura Arsenal which made them between 1933 and 1940. I don't see a kana to the left of the serial number which would tell me if it was a series one (a T in a circle) or two (a square in a circle) rifle. That said, a lot of records were lost so precise dating of Arisakas of most kinds are difficult. Incidentally, Kokura was the backup target for the first atom bomb if Hiroshima was clouded over, and the primary target for the Fat Man bomb but was covered by clouds and smoke so Nagasaki had the bad luck that day.

You are obviously missing the dust cover and the cleaning rod. You can buy reproduction cleaning rods fairly easily -- a while ago in another thread I noted you could buy dust covers easily but I must have been drinking that day. Those are harder to find. Generally used by mounted troops and Type 38s were generally in service in China and SE Asia while the Type 99s tended to be used in the Pacific.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help everyone! I really appreciate it. I learned a lot today from this and found a source for parts from Eaglelord17. Thank you GunsNotPuns for the Arsenal information and for explaining where the rifle was probably used and pvtjohnson for the reload information. mbogo3 positive remarks like that make me have the warm fuzzies. This rifle should turn out to be just dandy. Kawicrash, I will be trying to make this rifle shoot similar to the mil spec ammunition using those partition bullets. 2500fps seems to be where its at.

http://4.bp.########.com/-cdLZEIvBQh8/Tueg44zpWbI/AAAAAAAAA_o/qS1l0pG0bMk/s1600/borat-thumbs-up.jpg
 
rci2950 said:
Thank you GunsNotPuns for the Arsenal information and for explaining where the rifle was probably used
Click to expand...

Not a problem mate, I love the Type 38 so its a pleasure. I would recommend doing some deep diving on the web including milsurps.com where there are some hardcore people who can look at a style of sling swivel and tell you stuff. But as I said before a lot of the records were destroyed and we'll never know some things.
 
cam1936 said:
I've heard this before. Can someone tell me why they are stronger than a large ring M98?
Click to expand...

The receiver has gas ports drilled on them which allows for a lot of excess pressure to be released. On top of that the bolt is designed to take gas backwards and then redirect it forward again and out of the gas ports. There was a lot of thought put into redesigning the rifle from the underwhelming Type 30 to the improved Type 35 prototype and the eventual Type 38. Interestingly enough, Nambu is actually the one who did most of the redesigning, but in the west his legacy seems to only be for making some bad handguns.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom