Someone posted here not too long ago about shooting a T99 that had been converted during the Korean war to 30-06. I would like to see the results of the test again as some doubt you could hit the side of a barn with it. Seems like I remember it was accurate enought to kill a man or a deer. riceone.
Shooting a T99 - 30 Cal Rifle
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Riceone,
I interviewed a vet several years ago who showed me the Type 99 he picked up during WWII.
He said it is deer rifle.
I asked where he got his ammo.
He said, "I just use .30-06 single shot. I don't need a second shot."
I do not know, of course, whether or not he was just having fun with me.
Q
I interviewed a vet several years ago who showed me the Type 99 he picked up during WWII.
He said it is deer rifle.
I asked where he got his ammo.
He said, "I just use .30-06 single shot. I don't need a second shot."
I do not know, of course, whether or not he was just having fun with me.
Q
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Hello Quigley :
I saw at the Oct. 2003 Tulsa show a 99 all matching sniper rig for 8400.00, the rifle was ground, match, matching scope with case-strap-brush, green muzzle cover, canvas sling with wire ends. The seller's story was a bringback from Burma in '44 that had been rechambered to 30.06 so as to use US ammo !.
Talk about buying the rifle and not the story !. Anyway on top of the chamber it was stamped in small numbers 30.06, nothing else was done to the receiver interior to accomodate the longer cartridge, therefore a single shot rifle.
Talk about ruining a rare piece, but typical post war as all you had to do was run an 06 reamer till the bolt closed.
It took 3 years before it finally sold, but it required it being rebarreled back to 7.7, it still was ruined as the barrel and receiver no longer matched by the interior assembly number.
I have a 99 Nagoya 10th series last ditch, "U S Cal 30" conversion, that was sporterized by removing the forend, both barrel bands and handguard for 165.00. For the price of another Nagoya last ditch parts rifle I was able to restore it back to military condition. I have not had the time to take it out and see how well it shoots.
Vicasoto
I saw at the Oct. 2003 Tulsa show a 99 all matching sniper rig for 8400.00, the rifle was ground, match, matching scope with case-strap-brush, green muzzle cover, canvas sling with wire ends. The seller's story was a bringback from Burma in '44 that had been rechambered to 30.06 so as to use US ammo !.
Talk about buying the rifle and not the story !. Anyway on top of the chamber it was stamped in small numbers 30.06, nothing else was done to the receiver interior to accomodate the longer cartridge, therefore a single shot rifle.
Talk about ruining a rare piece, but typical post war as all you had to do was run an 06 reamer till the bolt closed.
It took 3 years before it finally sold, but it required it being rebarreled back to 7.7, it still was ruined as the barrel and receiver no longer matched by the interior assembly number.
I have a 99 Nagoya 10th series last ditch, "U S Cal 30" conversion, that was sporterized by removing the forend, both barrel bands and handguard for 165.00. For the price of another Nagoya last ditch parts rifle I was able to restore it back to military condition. I have not had the time to take it out and see how well it shoots.
Vicasoto
Accuracy will depend on what ammo you are using, if the rifle has a chrome bore and how tight the bore is. With US M-2 ball ammo , a large bore and a chrome bore, the accuracy will be at it's worst. Around a 6 inch 5-shot group [ with a flyer now and then ] at 100 yards, but still good enough for most battle use. The non-chrome bore will tent to grip the bullet better and shoot better. A rifle with a tight bore [ land ] will also shoot better. If you handload, a long bering surface bullet, thin jacket, soft core, a fast powder and a lower velocity are all things that will help with a .308 dia bullet. In general, a .308 bullet in the average T-99 will double the group size. If you are shooting a 30/06 T-99 and would like it to shoot better you can always load 31/06 ammo for it . mag
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It has occurred to me in the past that it would have been a very successful marketing gig back in the 1950's and 1960's to advertise converting your Type 99 and include a batch of 7.7-06 ammo. A lot of people handloaded back then, loading 7.7 in .30-06 cases shouldn't have been too hard.
Not sure if a standard .30-06 reamer would do it... the neck would have to be a bit larger.
Not sure if a standard .30-06 reamer would do it... the neck would have to be a bit larger.
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I have shot mine. Mine was built on a 9th series Howa. It does pretty much as mag says, about 6-8 inch groups at 100 yds. I suspect using a 0.311 or 0.312 diameter bullet would give better results.
The " marketing gig " was that the converted rifles could now shoot the very cheap surplus M-2 ball ammo that was everywhere then. The rechambering of these rifles by civilians was anywhere from a good job to a drill bit ream . The chambers will be found from very tight / short to oversize. I have one that will ONLY chamber the short bullet, small case M-2 ball ammo, it looks like they just reamed untill their "test" round [ a M-2 ball ] just chambered. Most of the rifles done with a regular 30/06 reamer will have enough neck clearance for a .312 dia bullet. The easiest way to check a 30/06 T-99 is to fire a regular 30/06 round in it then measure the id of the case neck, if it is .312 + your rifle has enough clearance for 7.7 bullets. mag
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That sniper Vic saw at Tulsa was at the MVAC show in Kansas City about that time with the same story.
Jim
Jim
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I have my fathers rifle. It's a series 2. He had it rechambered post war. A local locksmith was doing it post war. He did an OK job with a reamer I guess. I have fired it with different 30.06 ammo. It shoots high and right about 6" but the groups are pretty decent. Once you figure out POA its easy to hit the target. It also has a mismatched bolt and is ground. But it has sentimental value to me.
I picked up a very nice looking Sporterized T99 Series 1 many years ago (yes it was Mum-ed and matching), that had been reamed out to fire 30-06, but with out any magazine conversion work. The original owner hand loaded, seating the bullet deep enough to fit into the magazine.
It worked well enough for the original owner to hunt with it for 30 plus years.
When I bought it, I installed one of those conversion sleeves that convertes the chamber from 30-06 to 308. It now fires factory ammo quite well and feeds well to boot. It will keep a 2 inch group off the bench at 100 yards, using a fixed 4 power scope. Not exactly target grade, but more than enough to hunt with.
Yes, I did take a deer and a couple hogs with it while I was still hunting. Today the rifle is just a gun rack queen.
Gregg
It worked well enough for the original owner to hunt with it for 30 plus years.
When I bought it, I installed one of those conversion sleeves that convertes the chamber from 30-06 to 308. It now fires factory ammo quite well and feeds well to boot. It will keep a 2 inch group off the bench at 100 yards, using a fixed 4 power scope. Not exactly target grade, but more than enough to hunt with.
Yes, I did take a deer and a couple hogs with it while I was still hunting. Today the rifle is just a gun rack queen.
Gregg
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