Thread: Gun City Japanese Arisaka type 38s

Originally Posted by gadgetman

Good idea. I bought a motorbike to match my helmet and boots.

@gadgetman @40mm

The particular bayonet / rifle combination is quite iconic though, just think of King Rat.

First paperback edition:


Later edition, bayonet attachment apparently corrected by someone who just irked:


The Japanese got themselves a bad image, bayonetting a lot of people, possibly to save on ammo... But they did forever wipe out the racist myth of Japanese being backwards little people all with bad eyes and bucked teeth.

The video above contains some interesting facts, one is of the dust cover edge pushing dirt forwards in the side grooves, to the little cutout where the dirt would fall out. Also the extra bolt lug on the left, to save the actual locking lug from getting hammered on the bolt stop. Love the palm safety, no fiddling when the excitement/panic is on.

The calibre is as near an intermediate calibre as any WW1 era bolt action ever was chambered in. Big mistake made however in introducing a rimless .303 just before WW2. Big logistic problems in supplying both kinds of ammo to troops.