HELP ID RIFLE AND CALIBER

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A buddy has this. Apparently from Korea. Need some help IDing and caliber. Is ammo available for this?

[awp_101]

If I'm seeing it correctly, it looks like a Japanese Type 99 which should be 7.7mm. I'm in a hurry or I'd have more info but that should be a good start.

[rcbusmc24]

Type 99, does not appear to be a late war or last ditch model so should be safe to shoot once you go through it like you would anything else. 7.7 JAP is made by a few manufacturers each year in limited amounts. The past year has made it harder to find though as no one is switching their lines to make the various milsurp rounds.... If you find it buy it is the only advice I can give you, same as I give every other milsurp shooter. Type 99's were issued by us to the S Koreans prior to and early in the Korean war and they were heavily used by both the NK's and the Chinese during the war as well. There was in fact, a Japanese arsenal set up in Korea making arisakas during their occupation, It was called the Jinsen Arsenal. The MUM on the receiver was likely defaced by the Japanese Soldier it was issued to as they would not hand over the symbol of the emperor to foreigners willingly.

https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/...he-korean-war/

[Suvorov]

I find it interesting that the chrysanthemum has just a file taken across it rather than being completely obliterated. Would this be typical for rifles left in Korea?

[awp_101]

I find it interesting that the chrysanthemum has just a file taken across it rather than being completely obliterated. Would this be typical for rifles left in Korea?

From what I've seen and read, mum defacing was done haphazardly. Some look like they were hit with an angle grinder and completely obliterated, others look like someone just struck through it with a chisel and called it good. I would imagine it would depend on the local conditions and equipment available.

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Ok guys thanks that was quick.

[Caballoflaco]

From what I've seen and read, mum defacing was done haphazardly. Some look like they were hit with an angle grinder and completely obliterated, others look like someone just struck through it with a chisel and called it good. I would imagine it would depend on the local conditions and equipment available.

Yeah, the Japanes also had conscript troops from other countries, and I would imagine that defacing the chrysanthemum was less important to a Korean or Taiwanese soldier in the IJA than to a Japanese soldier.

ETA: those rifles are arguable one of the finest Mauser actions to ever be manufactured. The 7.7 jap cartridge is ballistically a rimless .303 Brit that was originally designed for better feeding in machine guns and is a fine cartridge as well, but somewhat limited in availability as mentioned.

[okie john]

ETA: those rifles are arguable one of the finest Mauser actions to ever be manufactured. The 7.7 jap cartridge is ballistically a rimless .303 Brit that was originally designed for better feeding in machine guns and is a fine cartridge as well, but somewhat limited in availability as mentioned.

A buddy of mine used to get Bubba'ed military rifles from another buddy who was a local pawnbroker, then blow them up with successively greater charges of fast pistol powder. He claimed that the SMLEs were the first to let go, and that Arisakas were the last. Apparently it took a LOT of powder to launch one, but he managed.

The cartridge is a modern design, crippled by the fact that the Japanese lost the war and that most of their rifles were used hard in difficult conditions near salt water. It's known by several names, including 7.7 Japanese, 7.7x58 Japanese, 7.7 Arisaka, etc., so look for resources under all of them.

Redfield and Lyman peep sights for the 1903 Springfield and various Mausers will fit. https://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman-...er-peep-sights

Norma loads ammo; Midway has it in stock at https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10...ampaign=192380

Bullet diameter is 0.312"; Midway has projectiles in stock at https://www.midwayusa.com/bullets/br...3881&cid=19785

Graf's has brass at https://www.grafs.com/catalog/product/productId/75152

Any powder that would work for the 308 or 303 British would be fine. There is no SAAMI standard pressure, but Hodgdon has data at https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/rel...c=true&type=54 Their top speeds look about the same as PO Ackley's loads, and if anyone was going to hot-rod anything, it would have been him.


Okie John

[Duelist]

I was interested to see what the characters under the mum said, so I sent a screenshot to my brother (Japanese linguist married to a Japanese citizen). He said “Model 99”.