Hello,

I just returned from a call from a fellow who said he had been given a "Japanese rifle". I was disappointed the moment I removed it from the rifle case. It was a matching type 38 with original finish on all the metal parts BUT the original stock was long gone and it was mounted in an ugly varnished "deer rifle" stock. On the drive home, I did wonder if there was value to the action and metal parts. (The rear sling mount, the buttplate, the trigger assembly, etc were all present and unbuggered.) The original finish was quite nice. I am wondering what the value of the "modified" item might be. I feel sure he would sell it cheaply as he has no money in it at all. Finally, a question, as I don't know a lot about these. This rifle had a turned down bolt with the plum knob instead of the straight bolt. The bolt was serial numbered to the gun. Is the turned down bolt correct? I can't imagine that the bolt was renumbered to match, as it looks bringback all the way right up to the point the original stock, cleaning rod, etc was thrown away...sigh... I look forward to hearing any opinions and suggestions.

Great collecting!

William

Oh, by the way, the mum was present. It was not as sharp as some I'd seen, so it might have been lightly "scrubbed" but it was not ground or defaced with gouges. You could see each petal of the mum. So perhaps that matters a bit in trying to determine the value, if any, this might have for someone.

Thanks again!

Well,

I just looked up Japanese rifles on the web, trying to educate myself better. It appears that the only model with the turned down bolt was the type 97 sniper! Oh my, what a travesty if this is correct! I assumed type 38 due to inexperience. Does someone have a receiver down shot of the mum and markings of a type 97 so I might confirm that this is what I saw? Thanks!

William

I'll bet it just a bubba/sporterized type 38 rifle. Let us know what your receiver marks turn out to be. Hard to restraighten a turned down bolt handle. I'd say forget about it. Not an easy restoration project.