[captk]

I am new to Japanese rifles and recently picked up 2 Type 99's and a Type 38. The type 38 is in excellent condition with great bluing and a really nice stock. The bolt is a mismatch but it still has the mum and cleaning rod. I picked up 2 boxes of Hornady 6.5 ammo and 2 boxes of 7.7 from Grafs. I really didn't know what to expect since this rifle probably hasn't been fired for many years. First shot was at the ground and with my head turned away. I was pleasantly surprised at the mild recoil. I then proceeded to see how well she would shoot. Again, very pleasantly surprised by the grouping that was 2 inches low at 100 yds. I ended up using all of the ammo and I was getting better groups with the T38 then I was with 2 P14's that are both very good shooters. I was also happy with the sights although I thought I would have a hard time with them. I'll order some brass from grafs and see if I can get some reloading help with bullet weight and manufacturers that work well for others. I will be looking for another nice T38 to go along with this one. The rifle is very well made and impressed me with the quality of the workmanship. Next will be the Type 99's to see how well they shoot.
Ken

 

[BIG ED]

You'll never blow up a t38 using 6.5mm ammo. That action can handle way more pressure than a 6.5 is ever going to generate.

 

[CW]

Are you sure your T38 is a mis-match? The bolts are usauly numbered to an assembly number instead of the serial.

 

[captk]

How do I check? The parts I looked at had different numbers but the stock is in VG+ condition and the bore is excellent. Bluing is 90% - 95%. I just assumed is was put together from different rifles. What parts should match?
Thanks, Ken

 

[davef]

Part of it will match by the last 3 digits of the serial, and part (depending on the arsenal) will match by an assembly number ,easiest palce to find it is usually ,pull out on the bolt release (like to take the bolt out) and its right there in plain sight,inside.Like one of the guys said the T38 action is tough,in fact it even defeats attempts to blow it up intentionally during research ( a t-99 action finally did fail ,but I belive it took 44 grains of bullseye to do it)..thats the strongest action of WWII the only way its gonna ever give trouble is if its intentionally abused,in a serious way.

 

[captk]

Some research I did tells me that the rifle was made at Koishikawa Arsenal (Tokyo) and the serial # is 1,749,7XX dating this somewhere in the late 1920's or early 1930's. I checked the bolt release and the number does match the bayonet lug and rear sight but not the receiver number. The number on the bolt handle where it meets the bolt body is different from all other numbers and the number on the extractor also doesn't match anything else. I don't know how to disassemble the bolt yet if there maybe numbers on the firing pin.
Thanks, Ken