Longhorns Choked...but Longhorn Scored Another Arisaka!!!

[Longhorn789]

Since basketball for the Longhorns is over...I decided to look over on Guns America since they redesigned their website..

Big mistake..

Found this last ditch Toyo Kogyo Corp Arisaka for south of $200 so I said "Heck yeah!!"

Weird thing...The bore is a freakin mirror....I guess even a cook needs a rifle..

I have one more Type 38 in the mail, then I think I'm going to cool it for awhile..

Enjoy!

[k98k792]

Unusual,it still has an egg shaped bolt handle. Nice find!

[Smokehouse69]

It oughta clean up really nice, nice find at a nice price!

[nevada]

Looking foward to pics of the next six.:icon_lol:

[k98k792]

We need range reports on some of your Arisakas!

[Longhorn789]

We need range reports on some of your Arisakas!


I might have to type it with my toes after I blow my fingers off. I've never collected rifles that make me nervous like Arisakas.

You're right though. I need to take some of the Norma ammo I found to the range and try one of these 99's out...probably not one of the last ditches though.....

[Longhorn789]

Looking foward to pics of the next six.:icon_lol:

Is that a challenge??!! :wohow:

Don't tempt me....:nonono:

My name is longhorn...and I have a problem.....I am a gun nut.....:coolgun:

[k98k792]

No bro not the last ditch ones! LOL! I have shot my two and they are a pleasure. I like the peep sights. Even though it is a pretty good distance from the eye,they seem to work well. The first time I shot my intermediate I hit a can at 100 yrds! The recoil is very much like an enfield. The ammo is so damned expensive,I need to start reloading for it. Even the brass is costly.I also have a M41 Carcano I like to shoot when I am flush and can afford it. Thank goodness Privi Partisan is making ammo for both.

[Longhorn789]

No bro not the last ditch ones! LOL! I have shot my two and they are a pleasure. I like the peep sights. Even though it is a pretty good distance from the eye,they seem to work well. The first time I shot my intermediate I hit a can at 100 yrds! The recoil is very much like an enfield. The ammo is so damned expensive,I need to start reloading for it. Even the brass is costly.I also have a M41 Carcano I like to shoot when I am flush and can afford it. Thank goodness Privi Partisan is making ammo for both.

No kiddin'. I bought some Norma at a dollar a round just so I had 20 rounds. I saw reloads at the last Fort Worth gun show, but I don't trust my life with other peoples reloads. So, unless I go out and buy a bunch of relaoding equipment.....I guess I'm relegated to spending a buck everytime my finger twitches...

[rustypirate]

Longhorn, where do you find these rifles with intact markings?

Every Arisaka I have laid hands on has the mum ground off.

[weasel_master]

What's the story behind the mums being ground off?

[okie shooter]

What's the story behind the mums being ground off?

The "Mum"-Chrysanthemum is the Imperial Seal of Japan, thus after the war, many rifles had them removed(after surendered, they took them to a grinder and just flattened the face, its kinda of ugly). This would be like grinding off the nazi markings off of rifles or other "offensive" markings. I imagine it depended on when the rifle was obtained, and who the solder knew when he either when he obtained or brought back the rifle from Japan as a war trophy.

I guess we De-nazified germany and with this we tried to lessen the imperial hold on Japan in much the same way.

Correction, I had always been told it was done by after the war, but in a article it states it was done by the Imperial Japanese Army to prevent them from dishonor by being captured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arisaka


One of the final standing orders of the Imperial Army was to file off the Emperor's family chrysanthemum insignia, or mum, from each of the rifles, thereby preventing dishonor from having the symbol fall into surrender. Therefore, the value of one of the rifles to a collector is slightly higher if the insignia is intact

Thus if the rifle has it ground off, the rifle most likely was surendered formally, if intact the rifle proably was a battle capture.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_5_50/ai_114283920/pg_1


The Kiku Mon

One of the marks that is very visible on the top of the front receiver rings of the Arisakas is the Imperial seal or chrysanthemum. The "mum," as it is commonly referred to, is either intact or defaced. If it is intact, the Arisaka was probably captured. If is defaced or ground off, the Arisaka was formally surrendered. In collector circles, more value is given to an Arisaka with the mum intact. For a shooter, it just doesn't matter.

Weasel Master, Proably more information than you wanted to ever know on this subject, but I learned something new looking for the proper anwser and not just the one always told to me.

[nevada]

The sporterised Arisaka I was given (rechambered to 30-06, unfortunately ) has the mum intact. The captured rifle I was given has it ground off. I have 100 rounds of 7.7 from Graf and Sons, but haven't shot it yet. I want to be with others when I try it.

[Longhorn789]

Longhorn, where do you find these rifles with intact markings?

Every Arisaka I have laid hands on has the mum ground off.

They're hard to find. This one was on GunsAmerica. Sometimes I score off of AR.15.com and sometimes off gunboards. Rarely off of GunBroker. I check the boards for new posts under C&R sections (if they have them) two or three times a day. Takes only a moment. That way I jump on deals within hours of their being posted.

[tomoshenko]

They're hard to find. This one was on GunsAmerica. Sometimes I score off of AR.15.com and sometimes off gunboards. Rarely off of GunBroker. I check the boards for new posts under C&R sections (if they have them) two or three times a day. Takes only a moment. That way I jump on deals within hours of their being posted.
I read this thread yesterday morning...
Stopped by Stateline gun shop after work and left with a 6.5 arisaka with MUM intact and 16 rounds of Norma ammo (marked $9.25 on the box) for $225.
Missing cleaning rod and bolt dust cover, otherwise bore looks really good
and metal looks really good. This was a "bring back" from a very elderly local who fought in the pacific.
I'll update this thread later with more details.

You Arisaka guys will weep when you hear this story...

My Dad served in WW2 and brought back, among other things, a 6.5 Arisaka rifle. Complete with dust cover, cleaning rod and in excellent shape.
Well, Dad wasn't really interested in guns so he turned it over to my brothers and I to play with. Remember this was in the 1950's. We would stuff ladyfinger firecrackers in the bore and light them and pretend we were shooting, leave it lying around, take it a apart and lose parts, leave it outside in the rain and eventually it became a boltless, buttplateless,
corroded lump of rust. Sad, but remember this was in the days of the Klein mailorder adds where Lugers were cheap
and the only interest in the Japanese weapons seemed to be 7.7 sporter conversions for deer hunting.

Anyway...after reading about Longhorns fine acquisition before work I started feeling nostalgic and really wishing I had my Dad's old war souvenier rifle back. Dad passed away two years ago and I really miss him....

As fate would have it, I was able to get out of work a little early and was able to swing by Stateline guns and archery in
Plaistow before it closed. As I parused the rack of Mosin-Nagants I saw the Arisaka. Gene had just taken it in trade and had it on the rack for $299. As I was checking it out the gentleman who had traded it in told me that he had got it from his 90 year old neighboor who had brought it back from the Pacific and had taken it from a dead soldier.
That was enough for me. I told Gene I'd take it and he immediately said he could "let it go" for $225 with the partial box Norma ammo (16 rounds) .

The rifle is in very good shape with the bluing 90% intact with a good, shiny bore. (after cleaning it three times!)
The front part of the stock has what appears to be some charred dings and a minor crack .from what I can only imagine.

I'll try and borrow a camera so I can show you guys some pictures.

I think Dad would like it that I made this purchase and was thinking of him and his service to our country that he was so proud of.

[nevada]

Great find for you. My dad gave us kids some of his patches from his WWII paratrooping. Worth $500 or so now, but who knows where they are now.

[Longhorn789]

Yeah get some pictures up!!!

Congrats on the find!!!

[cetme]

crusty looking but it has a mumm