Japan's intriguing Arisakas

Guns Magazine, May, 2004 by Holt Bodinson

The most common Arisaka models one comes across today at shows are the long rifles, short rifles, and carbines.

The M38 and M99 long rifles are really long, particularly if mounted with a bayonet. The M38 long rifle was the standard infantry rifle until the adoption of the M99 in 1939. It sported a 31 1/4 inch barrel with an overall length of 50 1/4 inches. Add the length of the standard Type 30 bayonet (15 5/8 inches) and the long rifle raps out at a whopping 5 1/2 feet in length. It also weighs approximately 9.5 pounds without a bayonet.

The M99 long rifle introduced in 1939 had a relatively short life span. being phased out in 1940 or 1941 in favor of the lighter and more compact M99 short rifle. The M99 short rifle in 7.7x58 became the standard infantry rifle of WW II. It is by far the most common model seen on the surplus market. The barrel of the M99 measures only 25 3/4 inches and the rifle has an overall length of 40 1/4 inches. Weight without a bayonet is approximately 8.5 pounds.

Advanced Accessories

Three of the more intriguing design features of the early M99 rifles are a light, integral wire monopod that is attached to the rear stock band and folds clown to make a forearm rest, an anti-aircraft rear sight, and a chrome plated bore.

The monopod rest is self explanatory.

The AA rear sight has two wings that fold down on either side of the elevated elevation slide. Each wing features one or more aiming notches and numbers like 2 and 3 that are calibrated to correspond to the speed of an enemy aircraft in hundreds of knots. In use, the soldier estimates the speed of the plane and uses the appropriate numbered point on the wing as the rear sight to apply the correct lead for the shot.

Unfortunately, few M99s survive with the bipods and AA sights in place. I have a hunch many a Japanese infantryman simply discarded them as well as the noisy Arisaka action dust covers as impractical. As the war progressed, these accessories were dropped from production.

Considering the humid, tropical, salt water environment in which Arisakas were used coupled with corrosively primed ammunition, chrome plating the bores and sometimes the bolt faces combined with a radiused groove type rifling of the early M99s was a significant design coup of the Japanese. Many a GI wondered why those Arisakas always had perfectly clean, unpitted bores while his M1 didn't. In any case, you will find most M99s and even some late date M38s with excellent bores.

As the war progressed, the quality of the M99 short rifle significantly deteriorated, finally ending in what are described in collectors' circles as "last ditch" rifles.

To me, the M38 and M99 carbines are the most attractive Arisakas. They are short, light, handy little guns, almost spotters. The M38 carbine is very common--the M99, fairly rare. The M38 carbine sports a 19-inch barrel, a compact overall length of 38 inches and weighs approximately 7 3/4 pounds. Another carbine that occasionally appears on show tables is the M44 cavalry carbine. Manufactured from 1911 through the 1930s, the M44 differs from the M38 by having a permanentely attached, underfolding bayonet attached to a heavy metal bracket at the muzzle.