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Type 38 Carbine prices

1K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  WillRuss 
#1 ·
I'm going to go ahead and ask for a basic price run down on Type 38 Carbines. I know this is a hard task because every rifle is different with condition, arsenal, series, etc...etc. BUT, besides here my only other reference for current market price is on-line auction sites. So I'll ask the experts before I run out with my hard earned $$ to the buying waters. I've seen two non-matching, ground mum carbines sell for $250 in the last week on gunbroker. And I passed (because I don't feel educated enough on them) at the last gun show I went to last month, a private seller had a numbers matching, intact mum, excellent condition T38 carbine for $450. Which at the time seemed expensive, but once I looked online, now I've been losing sleep over it!
But as with buying guns online...there's always shipping and FFL fees. I really need to get my C&R as I want to grow my mil surp collection. I'd like to buy more in person, but my part of the country, I honestly don't see that many of the kinds of rifles I'm looking for. I used to live in OH/KY and went to the Show of Shows, that was amazing, but now I only find newly produced hunting and tacticool plastic things.
Thankfully the intar-web exists, and it allows me to per sue my collection even though I live between a red rock and a giant ditch. :thumbsup:
 
#2 ·
When dealing with gun broker, you have to take some prices with a grain of salt. There are two fairly run of the mill nagoya carbines that have been on sale for at least six months at 375.00. I have bought some nice shooter grade (mismatch, ground mum) as low as 175.00. And i have seen some ridiculous offerings as high as 650! Now for the high priced ones We are not talking oddities like a no series or series 6 nagoya carbines. Just fairly common no series koishikawa or series 5 nagoyas. Some have had bayonets and the like which increases the attraction. I would say around 300 for a nice carbine is about right. Maybe 350 to 400 if in very nice shape with either a struck or intact mum. If the mum is visible I have also seen that influence the price. If you can snag a carbine for 200 to 250ish i would buy it. Just my two cents though.

Not an expert by any means, but I troll gun broker like a 2 dollar hooker before christmas. Always out looking for something...
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replies. Those prices sound logical to me. Something's only "worth" what someone is willing to pay for it. And it seems like the interest in Japanese WW2 arms keeps growing. The older generations negative stereotyping of the weapons and men who used them, is fading with time, but demand and prices only goes up.
 
#5 ·
I generally agree with what's been posted. One thing I would add about Gunbroker is watch how something is
advertised. I picked up an M38 last summer for $145. It was listed as a "mosin nagant 39 carbine", where that came from I don't know. I could tell from the picture that it never had a bayonet so I took a chance. It was dated 1943 with a stock that was kind of beat up (which I later replaced), blueing about 50% and a decent bore. I am currently waiting for a Romanian M44 that I was the only bidder for $150. It was listed as a Russian M44 but you could see enough of the receiver to tell the crest was Romanian. It looked like it had seen quite a bit of use but it was described as having a good bore so we'll see when it gets here.
 
#8 ·
...I've seen two non-matching, ground mum carbines sell for $250 in the last week on gunbroker.
Yeah, one of those was this one:



I've wanted a T38 Carbine for years. I couldn't afford a matching / mummed example, though, so this "shooter grade" will work for me as a first for the collection. Perhaps I'll upgrade at some point in the future.

The bore cleaned up quite nicely and Murphy's Oil Soap removed quite a bit of dirt. One thing does puzzle me, though, in that it all matches to the serial or assembly number, except for the bolt body, firing pin and safety (which match each other), but the extractor matches the assembly number. Maybe somebody in the past tried to find matching number parts and could only find the extractor. In any case, the mum is 90% gone so I don't think it's worth investing lots of money to find the right bolt part numbers.

I do have one question, though: With Koishikawa carbine production ending at around 212K in 1935, would it be safe to assume that this one was made around 1934?
 
#9 ·
One thing does puzzle me, though, in that it all matches to the serial or assembly number, except for the bolt body, firing pin and safety (which match each other), but the extractor matches the assembly number. Maybe somebody in the past tried to find matching number parts and could only find the extractor.
More than likely the bolt is from a Kokura rifle or carbine. The extractor on those were matched with the assembly number and the rest of the bolt by the serial number. It's probably just a coincidence that they match. Is the prefix the same? The prefix is a part of the assembly number too.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I hadn't really looked at the prefix until now, but I believe the extractor prefix does match. (The 806 number is stamped under the receiver so it's not just replacement bolt stop and extractor parts.) Perhaps the bolt handle pic will help with identification, too.



 
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