Hello Jay :

Luck was with you, a very nice find. The cleaning rod you want is a blued finish T-38/97 rod. As far as a dust cover it may have been discarded after issue, there is no discoloration in the receiver from one being there.
Please look at the middle barrel band, this is the one that has the top sling loop. It is retained by a sideways screw. are there two drilled holes on the band ? or none ?.
During the early production ( 1 to +/- 7000 ) the wire monopod was hanged from these two holes, once monopod installation was eliminated they continued using the finished rear bands with holes. Then at around 9300 they run out of finished (drilled) bands and so continued using them without the holes till the end of production ( appx. 14,200 ).
Your rifle falls into the category where the change from drilled to unfinished took place, it would be good to know what kind of band is on yours.
Your rifle is a new number for my files, and the matching scope has not surfaced yet. Just recently the scope for rifle 9391 has surfaced up which is only 5 numbers off from your rifle. I don't know if he would be interested in selling the scope as he just got it, it doesn't hurt to ask.
A correct scope will set you back from 1200 to 1500, more if mint and it has the carrying case. " 03man " on this board has made in the past an adapter mount that slides onto the receiver base, it is grooved on top to accept common commercial rings. That way you can mount a modern scope, this would probably be the cheapest and best way to enjoy your rifle. You can reach him by PM here or else you can e-mail him at :
donvoigt@hotmail.com

Vicasoto

 

My advice would be to forget the dust cover. They were fitted & numbered to the rifles and putting another one on is very risky to the finish on your receiver. All it can take is one on & off stroke and you'll be kicking yourself for that gash in the bluing.
I never thought of this before but the pods were deleted on the Nagoya T-97s - perhaps the dust covers were as well? These did parallel T-99 production for a while, so that might be possible.
BTW, I don't have a T-97 at the present time so please pack this up & send it to me at your earliest convience

 

Victor,
thanks for the plug. I have two adaptors left, both are 4x; I believe this 97 needs a 2.5x size.

I could modify the wedge to fit the smaller base if someone wanted to buy one.

Jay, PM me if interested.

Here is what it looks like. Uses "Tip off" rings that attach to the grooves on top. There is no modification required to the rifle or original scope base; just slide it in and tighten the two screws to draw it tight.

 

Does not require "restoration"

Terms are important. If you describe your T97 as a "restored" sniper, you are selling yourself short and technically incorrect.

Your sniper needs a cleaning rod and scope; both commonly missing loose parts. It does not require any fabrication of parts or gunsmithing skills to return to fully original and authentic configuration; the fundamental rifle has not been altered, so no "restoration" is necessary. Almost ALL Type 97s have a mismatched scope.

THIS sniper requires "restoration". It was sporterized (barrel end cut off, scope block removed and discarded, stock replaced with a Bishop stock, trigger guard altered). To restore it requires a Nagoya 6th series donor rifle for stock and barrel and misc. small parts, a reproduction scope block, and some donor stock modification. If I ever sell it, it will be listed as a restored sniper.

The up side is that I won't have to drop $2k to own one. There are some true artists on the board that will bring this one back to the right look and specs.

 

I agree with Brad. Your rifle does not need restoration. It is fine. You just need a cleaning rod and you should save up for a scope. You have a great find. Don's mount is a good answer for shooting purposes. I have one of each size for my use. Very nice item.

 

BTW, I don't have a T-97 at the present time so please pack this up & send it to me at your earliest convience [/QUOTE]

Send him a Sears catalog also I think they are having a sale on sheds. He can move right in one!! Right Jareth?

 

T-97 Info

Vicasoto,
Yes the band does NOT have any holes in it.

All,
Thanks for your inputs.
Also, when I took the handquard off I unfortunately saw chucks of some sort of hard material on the barrel. Not sure what it was, but it was very hard. I was able to remove it with Break-Free, my steamer, my nails, and a rag. As you can see it didn’t leave that portion of the barrel looking very pretty. The rest of the barrel is in great shape. I plan to take it to our local gun shop and see what they suggest I do. However, before I do anything, I would appreciate any inputs you all have on what I need to do next.

 

Just oil it.

 

You already found the right place to ask questions. The collectors on this board own thousands of Japanese rifles as a group. There are multiple authors of books on Japanese collecting and hundreds of years of experience cleaning and maintaining Japanese rifles specifically. Your local gunshop guys, while personable enough, probably have a broad knowledge on lots of things, mostly modern. I would not rely on their advice over anyone here on what to do with a vintage military rifle. Most, with few exceptions view Japanese rifles as "junk" because they don't know any better. You already know the gun is headspaced, you already know it fires well. Folks here can put you on the parts you need... the guys at the gunshop wouldn't even know where to start and would likely hook you up with the wrong thing or a repro that cost as much as the original. This is a specialty collecting area and the specialists are here.

Don't do anything at this point other than lightly oil and enjoy. Anything else reduces value. Post a WTB ad on the trader for a blued Type 38 rifle rod with Na proofs and keep your eyes open for a scope while u save $$ in case.

 

Post a WTB ad on the trader for a blued Type 38 rifle rod with Na proofs and keep your eyes open for a scope while u save $$ in case.

Brad is right on except that you'll need a blued rod with the "chi" marking for the Chigusa Factory where this was made

 

The majority of the true experts and authors of excellent books on Japanese rifles have already chimed in on your rifle. The "boys down at the stable" (Courtesy of "Lil' Abner") might know about other things, but the experts are right here!

Dean (the other one)

BTW, I'm NOT one of the experts, that's why I come here to learn.

 

Cleaned up Ready to Go

Luckily got the same suggestion locally. Clean it up, oil it and leave it alone. That is exactly what I did. Looking forward in a couple of weeks to take it to the range. Might be September, kind of hot in the Panhandle right now. How about a sling, noticed what is normally available are repros?

 

You might consider a Swedish sling. They are very similar to the Japanese style sling and look nice compared to the repros, IMHO.

Any idea who E.L.D. was?

 

E.L.D. ?

CW,
Not sure what E.L.D. stands for. I am going to try and track down the one I bought the rifle from and find out what are his uncle's initials. Since his uncle sent it back to the states.

 

E.L.D Initials

CW,
I think I know who E.L.D stands for. Ernest Dorman. I found the receipt/papers that I got when I bought the rifle and it stated that his uncle's name was Ernest Dorman and he was in the Army of Occupation in Japan.

 

ARMY SERIAL NUMBER34652558 34652558 NAMEDORMAN#ERNEST#L######### DORMAN#ERNEST#L######### RESIDENCE: STATEM7 SOUTH CAROLINA, LIMITED SERVICE or ESTHONIA RESIDENCE: COUNTY021 CHEROKEE PLACE OF ENLISTMENT4715 FT JACKSON COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY10 10 DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH04 04 DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR43 43 GRADE: ALPHA DESIGNATIONPVT# Private GRADE: CODE8 Private BRANCH: ALPHA DESIGNATIONN6# Undefined Code BRANCH: CODE52 Undefined Code FIELD USE AS DESIRED# # TERM OF ENLISTMENT5 Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law LONGEVITY### ### SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL0 Civil Life NATIVITY47 SOUTH CAROLINA YEAR OF BIRTH08 08 RACE AND CITIZENSHIP1 White, citizen EDUCATION2 2 years of high school CIVILIAN OCCUPATION525 Carpenters MARITAL STATUS2 Married COMPONENT OF THE ARMY7 Selectees (Enlisted Men) CARD NUMBER# # BOX NUMBER0831 0831 FILM REEL NUMBER3.253 3.253