Local pawn shop has a type 99 7.7 rifle, all matching, bore is excellent and shiny, mum and all other markings on metal are intact, stock is rough, no import marks, has folding leaf sight. They are asking $350 for it. Good deal or not? I'm not sure what these go for.

Maybe a tad high, but if the mum is intact and not defaced, it will bring a premium. The Japanese guns are the last of the "affordable" collectibles. If they would take $275 I would certainly take it.

Ed

If it also has the monopod, yes.  Otherwise, about $75-100 too high right now.

In a year.....hard to say.  The rifle you are describing is getting harder to find.

Oh yeah, does the bolt match the receiver.  If no, then it is about $100-150 too high.

What are the odds of it being a bring back rifle since it still has the mum?

I would probably go as high as $300 if it is as described ( Mum intact, no import mark).

Does it have the AA sights, dust cover, cleaning rod, monopod?  Is it a last ditch model?  There are quite a few things that affect its value.

Quoted: What are the odds of it being a bring back rifle since it still has the mum?

no expert here, but

the japanese were suppose to file off the mum if they were captured. ( though they were suppose to fight to the death )   it was a disgrace to the Emporer to not scratch off his symbol.

well, that doesnt mean Yang didnt take a bullet BEFORE he got to file it down.  could have been picked up in the field.

I have a Kokura Arisaka Type 99 Series 20 that has the AA sight and a relatively intact mum. No monopod, cleaning rod, or dust cover. It does not have matching numbers and it is not import stamped. It does have an "X" over it. Paid $200 for it last summer. Bought a repro cleaning rod and sling.

Looks as if the stock has been refinished.  Greatly lowers value.

Quoted: I have a Kokura Arisaka Type 99 Series 20 that has the AA sight and a relatively intact mum. No monopod, cleaning rod, or dust cover. It does not have matching numbers and it is not import stamped. It does have an "X" over it. Paid $200 for it last summer. Bought a repro cleaning rod and sling.

Arisakas are not real high on my list of firearms I'm deeply into but there are some true experts in the field and what they've come to understand through diligent research is fascinating.

Some rifles can be identified by the way the mum was defaced. Some island campaigns used particular methods of defacement. Using a bayonet blade hit with a hammer in an X pattern was one of those methods, as I recall from Dick Hobbs many years ago.

Most Arisakas will not have import stamps so that shouldn't even be a factor in assessing an Arisaka. Most will have mis-match bolts, though not all. I have a late war Type 99 that has the matching bolt. Bolts were removed onboard ship and tossed in piles to be re-installed after arriving stateside.

Like any other war time firearm including K98k, rifles came into possession by GI's in several ways. Actual "capture" or pickup on the battlefied is certainly one way but don't assume this to be the case. A huge number were bartered for by sailors with booze from Marines who were thirsty. Another was to pick one up from a huge pile that were tossed on the ground. This is probably the most common way a rifle was "captured". But there are some Arisaka rifles that were taken in combat and are rightfully war booty deserving of respect for the men who took them. As a gun collector I've learned more about history through firearms collecting than I ever learned in school. The Imperial Japanese Marines weren't pussies. They made the Marines pay a high price for some worthless real estate.

Many Type 99 Arisaka will have oversize chambers. Mine is one of them. I bought a box of  Norma factory ammo. The cases were so swelled I could barely resize them. So when I did get them resized I loaded them with 200 gr cast bullets .312" and 12 grains of Unique. Its a fairly accurate rifle with this load. You can reform .30-06 to this caliber but I'd restrict them to low & moderate pressure cast bullet loads for safety's sake. Very late war Arisaka are of questionable construction and strength though the early and mid war are very strong and safe rifles.





Red Beach No.1 - February 1945 Iwo Jima



Dutch

How do you tell if you have an early or late model?