Arisaka Type 99, my first C&R purchase :)

[6pack]

Where can we find ammo for these suckers? Been looking and only finding 'out of stock'. :/

 

[Chaunsey]

you can probably catch some on the auction sites, probably not cheap though.


you could try calling this guy too, his prices are pretty fair.

http://gadcustomcartridges.com/

 

[yellowsled]

Ammo is one of the reasons I have not touches Arisakas.

 

[boss66tcode]

Some shorten and re-load 30-06 brass. Normandy does make the ammo and the casings still, but you may have to have your supplier order it.

 

[mawkie]

Lucky dog, you found a Type 30 Hoten (Mukden) bayonet! I'm guessing that the seller was thinking about the Type 99 (T99) rifle when he marked it "M99" for sale.
Sucks about the bayonet lug being removed. Can't imagine why someone would do that.

 

[6pack]

you can probably catch some on the auction sites, probably not cheap though.

you could try calling this guy too, his prices are pretty fair.

http://gadcustomcartridges.com/

Thanks, I'll get in touch with them.

Mawkey, what makes the Mukden a good thing?

 

[bbrown]

Where can we find ammo for these suckers? Been looking and only finding 'out of stock'. :/

I've had good luck with Mr. Nambu:

http://macsguns.com/Brass.htm

but I don't know what his supply is now.

 

[6pack]

Sent emails to Gad and Mac's. I didn't see a price on Mac but Gad listed it at $28 a 20 round box. Should I be learning how to do my own reloads?

 

[bbrown]

Should I be learning how to do my own reloads?

Well, yes, but only with good brass.

 

[6pack]

A whole new thing to spend money on. My wife will be pleased...

 

[mawkie]

Thanks, I'll get in touch with them.

Mawkey, what makes the Mukden a good thing?

While I'm not big into bayonets Mukden bayonets are uncommon in my experience. I don't run across them that much.

 

[6pack]

Mukden bayonets are uncommon in my experience. I don't run across them that much.

Very cool then. Waiting on my new front piece now; I'm sure I'll be asking how to replace it.

One thing I have noticed is while the received is bare metal, the front strap and barrel are painted black, rather crudely looking at that. Is the paint normal or is that something someone added along the way?

 

[geeded]

Very cool then. Waiting on my new front piece now; I'm sure I'll be asking how to replace it.

One thing I have noticed is while the receiver is bare metal, the front strap and barrel are painted black, rather crudely looking at that. Is the paint normal or is that something someone added along the way?

Howdy,

First post, so please be gentle. FYI, Mukden is in Manchuria and their rifles/bayonets are scarce compared to Japan based arsenals. Congrats!

As far as the black paint goes, it is not unknown. It is believed that it has to do with Naval/Marine use. The paint used was glossy, sometimes thick, sometimes well done. However, usually all the metal is painted, including the receiver. So should it be removed? Since it is not known for sure, I'd leave it. It's part of the history of this particular rifle (personal preference). If it turns out to be Bubba'd, then remove it, but be very, very sure...

Under the front of the stock just back from the bayonet lug (if it still had one) will be either a round piece of inletted metal or a square inletted push button. If round, your rifle uses the short "cleaning" rod and the metal has a screw thread for the rod to screw into. If a push button, yours uses the long rod and the button acts as a fastener.

The front, flat part (with the hole for the rod) of your mutilated front band should knock out as it's on spring metal or very tight. It should then be possible to remove the band over the front sight (hopefully). If not, the front sight will have to be removed. It's a very tight,press fit pin and I'd have a gunsmith remove it.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Enjoy and welcome to the rather addictive Japanese WWII hobby. Oh, do not believe that all the parts are interchangeable, especially the stocks. The Japanese weren't exactly adverse to fitting and cajoling parts together. Like I said, they're "interesting".

Cheers

 

[Easytarget18]

Under the front of the stock just back from the bayonet lug (if it still had one) will be either a round piece of inletted metal or a square inletted push button. If round, your rifle uses the short "cleaning" rod and the metal has a screw thread for the rod to screw into. If a push button, yours uses the long rod and the button acts as a fastener.

Wow, great first post, I was wondering how to tell short or long cleaning rods since I am need of one as well. Nice work Geeded!

 

[6pack]

Great first post geeded!

Here are a few close-ups of the front band.

The flash from the camera on the last one framed the cut lug well. I don't want to clean the paint off, especially if it's original and not bubba'd, but I'm assuming the replacement band will be plain metal. So the two pieces won't match. The receiver is a different finish. Although the trigger guard and mag bottom have this same black paint.

On the last pic, just below the front strap, there's what looks like a round, wooden plug in the stock. Is that what you're talking about in determining the type of cleaning rod? And if so, that would mean I use the short cleaning rod. So the piece that protrudes 1-2 mm out from the band, just below the barrel, is that the cleaning rod? It has a cut straight across the face, making it look like a flat head screw. You can see it on the second pic. Was it meant to use a screwdriver to unscrew it?

Thanks!

 

[falconguy]

Nice rifle. A full undamaged mum and complete anti aircraft sights are a major score. I too have ordered ammo from mrnambu. It shot well. Now I load/reload my own. Here's some pictures of the 7.7 brass and rounds as well as my type 38 and 99. Both are all matching with full mums and the 99 has complete anti aircraft sights.

 

[geeded]

Great first post geeded!

Here are a few close-ups of the front band.

The flash from the camera on the last one framed the cut lug well. I don't want to clean the paint off, especially if it's original and not bubba'd, but I'm assuming the replacement band will be plain metal. So the two pieces won't match. The receiver is a different finish. Although the trigger guard and mag bottom have this same black paint.

On the last pic, just below the front strap, there's what looks like a round, wooden plug in the stock. Is that what you're talking about in determining the type of cleaning rod? And if so, that would mean I use the short cleaning rod. So the piece that protrudes 1-2 mm out from the band, just below the barrel, is that the cleaning rod? It has a cut straight across the face, making it look like a flat head screw. You can see it on the second pic. Was it meant to use a screwdriver to unscrew it?

Thanks!

Howdy,

Hmmm. OK, first rule about Japanese rifles is "There are no rules about Japanese rifles". Or something like that.

Here goes. First thing to check is see if the round "wooden" peg is indeed wood and not metal covered with shellac. How to do that w/o destroying anything I'll leave up to you. Perhaps try to drive a thin pin into it and then remove it. I've never seen a wooden plug there. That is where the round metal with the screw threads belongs.

Secondly, the screw in the front is where the short cleaning rod should go. When it is screwed into its proper place, it looks just like a "normal" long cleaning rod until you remove it. Why a screw (I assume) is there, I have no idea. Never seen that either. It's possible (if the plug is metal) that the "screw" is actually just a cut off cleaning rod that someone put a cut into so they could get it out. Of course, I've never seen a cut off bayonet lug before & I've seen well over a thousand.

"Usually" if I see something like that, it is on a later rifle when the Japanese were using (or reusing) bad stocks and stock blanks plus whatever else they had (you can see early parts on last ditch rifles) to put out one more weapon and so anything goes.

So, unscrew the screw (carefully) and see if there is a hole that extends back to where the plug is. If not, it'd be the first time I've seen that. So... that would mean either someone replaced the stock with a later version (unlikely - see the bit about "interchangeability" ) or they used an incompletely finished stock and slammed a wooden plug in the stock and screwed down the front. I'm hoping that it is just shellac over the metal plug. That would make more sense. Let me know.

Also, I see that the black paint covers the removed bayo lug. Probably means that the paint was added by Bubba, but who knows. Maybe they used a band w/the lug removed (although I've never seen one). Remember, never say never. Your rifle dates from 1943 so things were starting to not exactly go their way by then. OTOH, it was a transition rifle on the way to the later Substitute (last ditch) standard, so it seems a little early for these shortcuts. Sometimes you just have to is make your best guess and go from there. In any case, compared to, say an M1 Garand, each Arasaka is a one-of-a-kind rifle.

From your pictures, the receiver is in the blue which is normal. Actually, normally all the metal would be blued. Also, it appears that the entire stock has been covered (heavily) with shellac or (Heaven forbid) poly. In any case, nothing you can do about that. Do NOT try to remove it. You'd also remove the original finish and you CAN'T duplicate that.

Let me know what you find out and we'll proceed from there. You wouldn't believe what I've seen people do to Japanese rifles. Until about 15 years ago, they were considered cheap guns that you couldn't even get ammo for. Mosin Nagants were in the same boat, but you could/can get ammo for them. Both are finally getting some of the spotlight they deserve. In the case of the Japanese, perhaps it is because the Pacific was such a vicious, no-quarter war, that no soldier/Marine that was there wanted to even think about it when they came back.

My Dad brought one back and gave it to me when I was about 9. I immediately lost the bayonet playing in the woods and then I "restored" it when I was a teen. I think that's what happened to a lot of these weapons. I started collecting them for real a few years later.

Anyhow, take care and I'll try to help. I'm no expert but I've been through a few.

Cheers

 

[dad4]

Since you are seeking information regarding your new rifle and bayonet I thought this link would benefit you. There is a wealth of information here on most things pertaining to WW2 Japanese. Enjoy!

http://members.shaw.ca/tju/otherjweapons.htm

 

[6pack]

Okay, good stuff!

The round plug is metal! A magnet clicks right to it. They must have just painted it over. I haven't tried to remove it yet.

What's in place of the cleaning rod unscrewed with some pliers. The cross mark in the head wasn't deep enough for a screwdriver. Here's what came out:

So is the piece in the place of the cleaning road a cut-down cleaning rod?

Thanks for the help geeded!

Thanks for the link dad4!

 

[geeded]

Okay, good stuff!

The round plug is metal! A magnet clicks right to it. They must have just painted it over. I haven't tried to remove it yet.

What's in place of the cleaning rod unscrewed with some pliers. The cross mark in the head wasn't deep enough for a screwdriver. Here's what came out:

So is the piece in the place of the cleaning road a cut-down cleaning rod?

Thanks for the help geeded!

Thanks for the link dad4!

Now we're getting somewhere. First, don't remove the round plug. There is no reason to mess with it. It's doing a fine job just being there. (Magnet was a great idea)

The piece you unscrewed is part of a cleaning rod, thus the screw threads which were obviously nestled happily inside the round plug. Just put a drop of oil on the threads and screw it back for now. That way you won't lose it. At one time, Sarco sold repros of the various cleaning rods, etc. May still do so. Since your rifle does have the short cleaning rod, I doubt very much that it ever had a monopod attached.

The picture of the front with the partial rod out is exactly how it should look. Now you know.

So now the front is sorted out. Get the proper bolt body and swap the internals over and you should be GTG. Make certain that the bolt body you get has the plum shaped cocking knob and not a later circular one. Of course, you can also get the one that came with it straightened. If the safety and the firing pin match the bolt you have, it might be worth it to get the knob straightened since it would then be bolt that at least matched itself. Although I doubt it makes much difference.

If I can help any more, feel free to ask. Just remember my advice is worth what you paid for it :.

If you're going to only have one, a transition is a good choice. A mixture of early features and the start of change. The barrel is first class (chromed) and it should shoot fine (check headspace).

Cheers (Feel like you accomplished something don't ya? You did! and now you know more about Japanese rifles than 99.9 percent of the population.