Thread: Gun City Japanese Arisaka type 38s

Originally Posted by Burb122

Hi mate, thanks it probably is shootable...but not worth it haha. I would say barrel was 2 out of 10. Pretty well buggered. There is not much putting inside the barrel. But the rifling looks really well smoothed off. And kind of shiny.

Just a nice old piece of history


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@Burb122

The barrels all look like that, they all look worn with no sharp rifling visible. Reason is the barrels are not land and groove. The Japanese adopted a Metford "polygonal" type of rifling like in the Lee-Metford. But there is no record of the Japanese having erosion problems with it like the British - presumably because the Japanese used a decent smokeless propellant.

I want to fire mine, hopefully it will prove of more use than just a bayonet holder! I just picked up some 6.5x50 brass from Gunworks in Christchurch (they're actually 6.7x51) along with some .256 bullets. Want to go careful and fireform brass, then flare and load with paper patched .256's, all to have lower-pressure shooting fun. Avoids sourcing dies etc. Should be pleasant and quiet to shoot with some Trail Boss, especially with that reeeeeeeally long barrel. The barleycorn and V-sight is a nice feature. Took me a while to get the palm safety working, but with a replacement bolt it now works, and the lugs fit tight now.

6.5 swedish bullets should go in them too, given they are also 6.7mm actual diameter.