Bullet and Bench

Last updated: 10/30/2024

Lately I have been playing with the idea of picking up a “project gun”. In my thoughts, this “project gun” would be an older firearm that was largely in tact but still had some areas that could use some TLC or was missing parts. I did not want to get myself into anything I would not be able to finish, so I wanted to avoid any major issues.

My primary criteria when browsing various types of firearms on Gunbroker were: (1) It to be affordable (as this would be my first serious restoration project) (2) It had to be at least 50 years old so that I could use my C&R license to have it shipped straight to my door and (3) I wanted the bore to be in decent condition.

While browsing GunBroker one night, I cam across several Japanese Arisaka rifles that were ending soon and whose bids were still relatively low. I spent a few minutes comparing the pictures on each Arisaka listing and decided to place a bid on one of the Type 38 Sporters. The Japenese Type 38 is chambered in 6.5x50mm Japanese (aka 6.5 Arisaka). To my surprise, there were no last minute bidders and I ended up winning the auction with ease. I received my rifle in the mail about a week later now here we are.

As you can see, the rifle is very clean, but there are some obvious things that need attention. Most notable is the Japanese flag on the stock and the crusty buttpad. I was not sure what the deal was with the Japanese flag on the stock; but after an in-hand inspection, it appears that someone just printed it out on a piece of paper and “glued” it to the stock using some kind of shellac or lacquer.

After the initial inspection, I was excited to have a project gun and I think this rifle is the perfect candidate. This post will detail the journey of my “restoration” of this rifle (if you want to call it that, this rifle is already in really good condition).

This journey will begin with my initial inspection of the rifle and the identification of the major parts and things that need work and will ultimately end with developing an optimized load for this rifle and seeing what kind of groups I am able to achieve with it. All of the steps of this journey will be laid out chronologically in this post, as I will be updating this post as I go.

Background

Before getting into my project, I figured this would be a good opportunity for me to do some more research into the Japanese Type 38 Arisaka and it’s rich history.

The Initial Inspection

After my initial inspection of the rifle, I was pleased to see that the metal was in exceptionally nice condition. The main thing I was afraid of when picking my project gun was excessive rust and pitting, not only can pitting be hard to repair, it can also pose serious safety risks.

I knew based on the photos in the GunBroker listing, the rifle did not come with a bolt. As a result of my initial hands on inspection, I was able to get an idea of the other parts that my rifle was missing. I put all of these items on my shopping list:

• Complete bolt
• Internal box magazine assembly (magazine box, spring, and follower)
• Tang screws

As you can see in the pictures above, the rifle came with the rear tang, but it was clear that the screws had seen better days.

It was clear that parts of the rifle were in desperate need of a cleaning as well, particularly the inside of the floorplate. A quick cleaning had it looking great.

With the inspection and shopping list complete, it was time to really get the project underway. The first place I thought to look was eBay. I found a wide variety of parts for the Type 38 and most of them seemed to be reasonably priced.

Sourcing Parts for the Type 38 Arisaka

Surprisingly, the internal box magazine (IBM) was gave me the most trouble of all of the parts on the list. I originally ordered what I thought was the proper IBM, only to have it be slightly too large for the rifle. This leads me to believe that this IBM was actually for the Type 99 Arisaka which is chambered for the larger, 7.7x58mm Arisaka cartridge. After my realization that there was no chance the larger IBM was going to work, I went back onto eBay and bought another Type 38 IBM hoping this new one was properly advertised. Low and behold, the new IBM fit like a charm.

*Insert images of the 2 IBMs side by side and insert image of the new one in the bottom metal*

To go with the IBM and complete the entire IBM assembly, I made two purchases; the magazine spring and the magazine follower. The magazine spring was in great condition while the follower was in desperate need of a cleaning. Also to my surprise, the magazine follower was not cheap compared to the other parts I was needing to purchase.

*insert picture of spring and follower. Insert image of entire assembly completed*

My next purchase was the set of 3 tang screws that are used to screw the action into the stock. This purchase was fairly straight forward and all they needed was a quick cleaning before being good to go.

Last, but certainly not least, was purchasing the complete bolt. Complete bolt assemblies for the Type 38 can be hard to find. Luckily, about the time I was looking for one, I came across an eBay auction that was ending soon for a complete bolt that appeared to be in good condition. Thankfully, I was able to win the auction and received my bolt in the mail about a week later. This bolt could probably use a little cleaning and maybe a little bit of refinishing, but I gave it a good cleaning and decided that was good enough. I was lucky I found a bolt with no rust or damage, this one is in excellent condition.

After installing the bolt, I worked it several times and gave it a quick function test. The bolt moves surprisingly smoothly, the safety works great, and it dry fired perfectly.