The 99 tangs were made longer to further strengthen the grip area of the stock. The non-detachable lower tang extends over the end of the pistol grip.
8. Generally, the safety cap of the 99 action had a shallow groove cut into its outside edge instead of having a hump. The outside edge was usually unserrated and sometimes the rear surface was not knurled or checkered.
9. Only a single gas port was made in the 99 receiver ring.
10. The barrel shank threads were changed; see the barrel shank drawings elsewhere in this book.
11. Other minor changes were made in the 99 action to adapt it to the 7.7mm cartridge and to facilitate manufacture. The magazine box and well were made slightly longer and the magazine well made slightly wider. The cut for the extractor inside the receiver ring was generally milled entirely through to the front edge of the receiver and through the threads for the barrel shank. Some milling cuts in the striker were made from the outside and entirely through the striker wall, instead of making the cuts only in the inside. The outside of the extractor was made flat instead of rounded.
No changes were made in the breeching method. The bolt remained unchanged except as noted above and the same trigger and safety systems were used. As can be expected, 99 actions were not finished as well as 38 actions, with the quality of the outside finish getting worse each succeeding year. By 1944, shortly before the 99 Arisaka went into production, no attempt was made to smooth finish such parts as the trigger guard, floorplate, extractor and upper tang.
Type 99 (1939) Japanese 7.7mm Arisaka action, minus breech cover.
The 1945 Action
By 1944 Japan was sorely pressed in her efforts to manufacture enough small arms for the expected homeland defensive operations. Her “last ditch” rifle was the Type 99 (1944 or 1945) version. It was made as quickly and as cheaply as possible and still be usable for serious warfare. Outwardly, this hastily made rifle was the same as the regular 99 (1939) version except for its finish, buttplate and rear sight. Its rear sight was merely a sheet metal aperture affixed to the barrel, the buttplate a thin piece of wood fastened to the stock with a few brads. As for the rifle’s finish, the word “rough” best describes it. On several of these rifles I’ve owned and examined, the receivers were not too bad, but the bolts appeared to be rough undersized forgings with only enough machining done to make them work. Safeties were unfinished, with the stem roughly welded to the cap; this same type of safety was also used on the regular 99 (1939) versions of late manufacture. Although these rifles were fully suitable for service, they were crude. No effort was made to mark the receiver for type, but the Imperial seal was usually stamped on them.
Takedown and Assembly
First make sure the chamber and magazine are empty.
Type 38: Raise the bolt handle, pull it back as far as it will go, then swing the bolt-stop to the left until the bolt can be fully withdrawn. The bolt can be replaced by pushing it forward in the receiver. In replacing a bolt with a sliding breech cover, the cover must be aligned with the grooves in the receiver at the same time the bolt is inserted.
To remove the firing mechanism, grasp the bolt with one hand and, with the palm of the other hand, depress the safety as far as it will go, then turn it clockwise about one-quarter turn or until it is released. Safety and striker can then be removed from the bolt and the mainspring removed from the striker. Reassemble by inserting mainspring in the striker, inserting the triker in the bolt with the cocking cam positioned in the shallow cam notch, then insert the safety by tarting it with the hump positioned slightly clockwise of the bolt handle. Push the safety forward as far as it will go and then turn it counterclockwise as far as it will go. When assembled, the lug on the bottom of the safety must align with the cocking cam, otherwise the bolt cannot be inserted into the receiver.
Type 99 Arisaka action, open.
Remove the extractor by turning it on the bolt so it covers the gas vent and then push it forward. Replace in reverse order. Do not remove extractor collar unless absolutely necessary.
Remove the magazine floorplate, follower and follower spring by depressing the floorplate latch in the trigger guard bow.
Bolt from the Type 38 Arisaka. (Below right) Bolt from the late Type 99 (1945) Arisaka. Note smaller, cylindrical-shaped grasping ball on this bolt, compared to the larger oval-shaped ball on the Type 38 bolt.
Japanese Type 99 action. The action shown with breech cover and bolt open.
Receiver ring markings on the Type 38 Japanese action (right), and on the Type 99 (far right). When the Japanese Imperial seal is entirely intact (not partially or entirely ground away) it means that the rifles were captured. Surrendered Japanese rifles generally have the seal ground off.
To remove barrel and receiver from the stock, first remove the barrel bands and turn out the two guard screws and the tang screw. The barrel, receiver and upper tang can then be lifted from the top of the stock and the lower tang, trigger guard and magazine box can be removed from the bottom of the stock. Remove the magazine latch by driving out its pin, then remove the latch plunger and spring.
Remove the trigger and sear by driving out the sear pin. The trigger pin is riveted in, but can be driven out with a drift punch if necessary.
Remove the bolt-stop by turning it out, and pulling out the rear screw under the bolt-stop housing. Turn out the ejector screw to remove the ejector. Remove the bolt-stop spring by swinging its rear end down one-quarter turn and lifting it out.
Reassemble all above units in reverse order. In reassembling the bolt-stop, first replace the ejector and bolt-stop, then replace the spring by swinging it in place.
Type 99 takedown: Follow same procedures as described for the Type 38 rifle and action except for the following: to remove magazine floorplate, drive the hinge pin out; to remove the floorplate latch, turn the latch screw out; remove the bolt-stop by removing its screw; the ejector can then be pulled forward out of the bolt-stop housing; the bolt-stop spring is removed by driving it forward out of the housing and the ejector spring is removed along with it. To aid in driving the bolt-stop spring forward, a small screwdriver should be inserted under the rear of the spring so it can be held up while driving it forward until freed from the bolt-stop.
In reassembling the bolt-stop spring, first place the ejector spring under it, then drive both forward until caught. Then insert a screwdriver under the rear end of the bolt-stop spring to hold it up so the spring can be driven fully in place.
The barrels of these rifles are threaded tightly into the receiver (right-hand threads). Do not attempt to remove the barrel unless you have the proper tools to do so.
Type
