Series 10 (I Think) Nagoya Type 99 Straight Out of Storage

[Combloc]

This old jobber came my way today. I'm generally not a bolt action guy and I'll probably move it along but I couldn't pass this up for fear of what someone might do to it. It's hard to read the kanji in front of the serial number but it looks to be a series 10 rifle. Whatever the case, it's a Nagoya manufactured late war Type 99 rifle and it's dry as a bone from sitting in storage somewhere for unknown decades. I'd like to leave it 100% untouched but there are a few places where it's starting to rust and the steel really needs to be protected before it starts to pit. I'll leave the stock alone as it seems stable. So, lets take a look at it before I break out the Eezox and give the steel a rub down.

It's a typical late war Type 99, nothing special but non-import marked and, save for the defaced mum, unmolested. It deserves to be preserved.


By the time this example was built, things were looking pretty rough for the Empire and they needed rifles ASAP so pretty bluing, finely finished parts, and superfluous features were long out the window. A perfect example of this is the front sight:

The protective ears have been omitted and the bluing is so thin as to be almost nonexistent.

Note the attachment pin and the rough finish of the base:


Here's an example of why we need to break out the Eezox:

It's minor and should clean right up but, left untreated, it's going to end up badly.


The permanently fixed in place front band shows the handiwork of a master! :




The rear band is the intersection of all three parts of the stock:

To the front of it (right side of picture) is the forearm. Behind is the main body of the stock and the handguard.

Left side of rear band showing sling swivel and end of band affixing screw:

Earlier models of the Type 99 had a monopod attached to this band.

Botton of rear band showing the ever so fine weld which gives this away as a stamped part:



The earlier elaborate rear sight with its funky fold out anti-aircraft wings is long gone. Now you just get a non-adjustable aperture:

Note all the old dust and funk in the nooks and crannies. Ewwwww......


Left side of rear sight:

Also seen in this picture is the barrel to receiver timing mark.

Top of rear sight showing what I am assuming is its mounting screw:

I'm by no means an Arisaka rifle expert! So, if this screw has another purpose, please enlighten me please.


Magazine floor plate showing the beginnings of rust that will need to go away:

To the left of frame is one of three screws used to hold the action in the stock. If you look carefully, you'll see two peen marks to lock the crew in place. All three screws are like this so the only way you're getting this thing apart is to muck up the peening and/or the screws. Obviously, that's not going to happen so I can't show you the action disassembled from the stock. Whatever bits of interesting detail are hiding in there will have to remain a mystery; sorry about that. The bottom of the trigger guard looks like it's pitted but it's not. It was stamped from rough steel band that was never polished. You see this kind of thing on lots of WWII era Soviet firearms too.

You see that rough steel on the rear tang too:

What looks like pitting is actually just roughness in the unpolished steel. When you run your finger over it, it's quite bumpy! Also note the poorly ground weld on the back of the safety knob. On early examples, this area sported a nicely machined chrysanthemum to both dress the weld and provide grip for your thumb when applying the safety. Now, its just rough ground.


The bolt handle has been given only the minimum finishing too:

Once again, the roughness is not pitting but just a lack of finishing.

Fortunately, the "mum" on this rifle was not ground off so it is still useful as reference for future research. However, it was defaced by several chisel or scratch marks:

This tells us the rifle was not captured in battle but instead brought back to the United States as war booty.


This rifle exhibits the late pattern, single screw rear swivel:

By this point, they were trying anything and everything to save a little steel and manufacturing time. Eventually, the swivel would be eliminated entirely and replaced by a simple hole drilled through the stock for the attachment of what collectors call a "rope sling".


The steel butt plate was also omitted and replaced with a wooden butt plate simple nailed in place:

The remains of the sticker are not original. I don't know why this now destroyed sticker was applied or when but I can tell you that a guy named Thomas had something to do with it! I'll leave it as is.


The front of the forend is a simple tongue that plugs into the front band. No provision was made for a cleaning rod:

 

[Combloc]

The stock is as minimally finished as the rest of the rifle as evidenced by the chatter and angularity of corners shown in these pictures:






Just because it looks rough, that is not to say that it is poorly fitted to the action. In fact, there is ample of evidence that the opposite is true as the following pictures illustrate:





I was unsure about the condition of the bore at first. It was hard to see down because there were remains of an old spider's nest just inside the muzzle. Some of these late rifles didn't have chrome bores and this appears to be one of them so I didn't know what I was getting exactly. After using the firing pin to fish out the muzzle funk, it looked like this:

There was a lot of dust and just plain funk down there but I could see some shine so it looked promising. I decided to run a dry bore snake through it to see if it would clean up any.

After one swipe with the dry bore snake, it looks just fine and dandy:









Some pictures of the receiver with the bolt removed:





Clean all that decades old dried cosmoline/grease/dirt/dust/unknown funk out of there and it'll look pretty nice. Even as dirty as it is, you can see that the machining inside the receiver is actually VERY well executed. As rough as these old rifles look and despite ancient myths told by old men, they were well made where it counted; they were not poorly made junk.


We're just about done. The last thing we need to cover is the markings. As far as I can tell, the rifle is all matching BUT, as I've said, I'm no expert on old Arisaka rifles. What I do know is that the later they were made, the fewer the marks and this one is no exception. There are a couple marks on the stock that could be some sort of proof stamp.......or they could just be dents in the stock. I didn't take pictures of them because, if they are proofs, they are illegible.

Receiver markings:


Last three digits of the serial number on the safety knob:


The base of the bolt handle:


The extractor:


And, finally, the firing pin.

Earlier rifles had the serial number in a lot more places.

 

[Combloc]

Bolt disassembled:

I hadn't disassembled one in probably 25-30 years but it's so simple, I did it without thinking. It really is an exemplary bolt design.

Unfortunately, the tip of the firing pin either broke off or was removed to render the rifle inoperative:

I'm sure a skilled gunsmith could repair that but why? In my opinion, this rifle is now a Historical artifact that should be spared the rigors of shooting. With so many sporterized and mismatched examples out in the world, better to shoot one of them and keep this as a reference example.

This last picture is of the bolt face:

I like how the file marks exhibited on the extractor contrast with the well finished face. It's clear they were still aiming for functional Quality but totally eschewing aesthetics to achieve it. Even though I probably won't keep it, I thought this old rifle should be documented for posterity. I hope it long outlives me and ends up with a collector who will give it the care and respect it deserves for many years to come. After all, it IS Living History.

 

[IronEye]

I read that you don't plan to shoot it but it appears that Numrich has reproduction firing pins available.

Cool rifle. I love the story told by these "last ditch" rifles as nothing better illustrates the pressures the Japanese were facing as the war ground on.

 

[tallen702]

That's as an exemplary example of a "last ditch" rifle I've ever seen. You never see them this clean in my experience. Ver cool pick-up.

 

[mawkie]

Excellent thread! Like German last ditch rifles and pistols there are variants of Japanese rifles and pistols that can also command impressive market value. Took me forever but I did manage to find a Type 99 Substitute even later than yours but without a sling loop on the buttstock. They just have a hole drilled in the stock for a rope sling. Hence the nickname collectors here have given of "rope hole Arisaka".
Then you go deep into the weeds with the Navy Special Type 99. Bid on one of these recently and quickly found out I wasn't the only collector who knew what it was and it's worth. Went to someone else's collection for a hefty price. Probably to the shock of the auctioneer who had zero clue what he was selling.
There are still nice T99 Substitutes out there in excellent condition that are great launching points for a budding Japanese collector and which won't break the bank.

 

[Doco Overboard]

Often the firing pin tip was intentionally broken to prevent operation.
Whether in the pacific theater to prevent use or when brought home
and handed over to Junior is unclear to me.
Firing pin replacement has gotten more expensive these days and even the repops are costly.
Arisaka's are the original three rings of steel.
And accurate to boot if you ever shot them.
I would certainly fix the firing pin if it were mine and have a bona-fide SHTF rifle.
Nice segmented rifling too and what looks like a bolt face with near zero exposure in that one.