uses 6.5mm and Type 99 uses 7.7mm Japanese cartridges)
Type ..........................Turnbolt repeater.
Receiver ...................OOne-piece machined steel forging. Clip-charger guide milled in non-slotted bridge. Upper tang is a separate part of receiver.
Bolt ...........................One-piece, with dual-opposed forward locking lugs. Bolt handle base acts as safety lug.
Ignition .....................CComposed of one-piece hollow striker, coil mainspring and safety. Striker cocks on closing the bolt.
Magazine..................Staggered-column non-detachable five-shot box magazine. Quick-detachable floorplate on the Type 38, hinged floorplate on the Type 99.
Trigger ......................NNon-adjustable, double-stage military pull.
Safety........................Locks both striker and bolt when engaged. (See text)
Extractor ..................One-piece, non-rotating Mauser-type attached to the bolt with a collar.
Magazine cut-off .....None provided.
Bolt-stop ..................Mauser-type bolt-stop attached to left rear of receiver bridge. Stops rearward movement of bolt by contacting auxiliary lug on the bolt.
Ejector ......................LLever type housed within the bolt-stop.
The second takedown paratroop rifle is the Type 2, developed in 1942 to replace the Type 0. Type 2 rifles also used the 7.7mm cartridge, weigh 9 pounds, and their 25.90 ” barrel make overall length 44.25”. It has a cleaning rod under the barrel and it will accept the regular Japanese bayonet.
The action of the Type 2 is also a modification of the basic 99 action, having the same bolt and magazine parts.
The Type 2 takedown system uses a wedge, through the massive front part of the receiver, to hold the slip-fit barrel in place. The barrel shank is round and smooth except for the solid lug underneath it. The front of the receiver is bored and milled to accept the lugged barrel shank. Under the front part of the receiver, and made integral with it, is a heavy mass of steel through which is milled a rectangular hole for the takedown wedge. It is so positioned that the wedge engages forward of the barrel lug. A ringed screw on the wedge threads into the side of the receiver and, with the barrel and wedge in place, this screw is turned to draw the wedge and barrel tightly into the receiver. When turned in the opposite direction, it allows the wedge and barrel to be removed. It is a simple and effective takedown system for a military bolt-action rifle.
There is also a matching shaped block of metal attached to the breech end of the barrel to butt against the receiver when the rifle is assembled. The front tang of the trigger guard is fitted into a milled recess in the bottom of the receiver and held in place with a screw. The extra metal in the receiver and on the barrel adds over a half-pound to the weight of this rifle compared to the regular Type 99 Short Rifle.
Type 99 Arisaka
The takedown system of the Type 2 appears rugged enough and, with the wedge drawn tight it is probably anchored as securely in the receiver as is the bolt in the receiver.
Because Type 2 rifles are not very common they would be worth much more as a collector’s arm if left “as issued.”
Type I Japanese Rifles
One of the unusual Japanese military shoulder arms is the Type I rifle. Very little is known about its history except that it is a hybrid, made in Italy for Japan. It has features of the Italian M91 Carcano rifle and the Type 38 Arisaka. Chambered for the 6.5mm Japanese cartridge, they were made by the Pietro Beretta firm in Gardone, Italy, perhaps even by other Italian firms. I don’t know when or how many were made.
The Type I rifle has a 30.5” barrel, weighs about 9 pounds and is 49.75” overall. The barrel and sights are similar to those on the regular 38 Arisaka rifle. A half-length wooden handguard covers part of the barrel. It has a cleaning rod in the forend under the barrel and the rifle accepts the regular Arisaka bayonet. The barrel bands, and the method by which they are held in place with spring clips, the grasping grooves in the forend and the sling swivels, are patterned after the Type 38 rifle stock. No tangs are employed.
Top view of the Japanese Hook Safety action. (Bolt handle is not original). Note the two gas vent holes in the receiver ring and the one in the bolt.
The receiver, bolt and trigger mechanism are near copies of the Italian M91 Carcano action, and the Mauser-type staggered-column magazine is a close copy of that of the Type 38 action. The trigger guard bow is large like that on the Carcano action. The bolt, firing mechanism, trigger mechanism, safety, extractor, bolt-stop and ejector are practically identical to the same parts in the M91 Carcano action, though they are not interchangeable. The receiver differs from the Carcano in that its magazine well is wider, with cartridge guide lips milled in to handle cartridges from the staggered-column magazine. The front of the slotted bridge is grooved to accept a stripper clip. The trigger guard, magazine box, floorplate, floorplate latch, follower and follower spring are nearly identical to these parts in the Type 38 action.
Type I action specs follow:
Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 oz.
Magazine well opening: Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.125 ” Width, front . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..550” Width, rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..540”
Receiver length, receiver ring diameter, bolt diameter, bolt travel and striker travel are about the same as in the M91 Carcano action. See the chapter on the M91 Carcano for more details.
Of the thousands of military rifles I’ve seen, only two were Type I rifles, so I doubt if many are around. At any rate, if anyone wants to remodel or convert this rifle that’s his business, but I think it would be better to sell or trade it to a military arms collector and use an M98 Mauser, which is plentiful.
Japanese Training Rifles
The Type 38 Training Rifle is one of several variations of training or drill rifles the Japanese made. Outwardly, none of them appear to be much different from the regular Type 38, but outward appearances are deceiving. No discussion of Japanese military rifles would be complete without mention of them. The reader should be warned, however, that these rifles are positively dangerous if fired with live ammunition.
Although I’ve only been able to examine four of these rifles in the past, all were essentially alike in appearance except for bolt and receiver details. There probably are others that are different from the ones I have seen, but I believe they can all be classed in the same category. Outwardly, these training rifles are identical, or nearly so, to the regular Type 38 infantry rifle. They are approximately the same weight, length and size, and are stocked in the same manner and usually have sights similar to the Type 38. A bayonet can
