Japanese Militaria at Castle-Thunder.com

[lcliffn48]

This early type 38 has a star and letters stamped where the mum has been ground off. Has anyone here seen this image before? if so, please share what you know, it's a real mystery!
S/F Cliff

[gwsiii]

pretty neat, I haven't seen it before, are the letters S.A.T.B.Y.? Would the star make it Indonesian? Hopefully Frank will stop by shortly. Trey
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I didn't pay to much for that old Arisaka, I just bought it a little bit too soon!

[Francis C. Allan]

I have been looking at this photo and a couple of others of this rifle and I must admit I'm stumpted.

My WAG is that it was modified by a gunsmith and that is his notation on the breech top. However, if it was re-chambered why not stamp the new caliber on the breech top? I guess that I have more questions on this one than answers.

I once owned a T-38 carbine (a 6ht Series Nagoya!!!) with the crudely marked initials "S I A M" on top of the removed mum. After I took the carbine down and removed the handguard, I discovered "6.5x.257" stamped on the barrel. An old time gunsmith told me that the SIAM was probably the initials of the gunsmith or shop where the work was done as that is what he used to do with rifles he rechambered.

Then why the star? Questions, questions, questions.....

Sorry I could not give an answer on this one.

Frank
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Francis C. Allan
20Courtney Place
Palm Coast, FL 32137

(386) 445-4225

[gwsiii]

Is it import marked?
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I didn't pay to much for that old Arisaka, I just bought it a little bit too soon!

[lcliffn48]

The owner of the T38 told me that he fired a 6.5 round in it today & the caseing came out looking perfectly fine. He has checked under the hand guard & no stamps there & there are no import marks on the rifle.
Cliff

[oopy38]

Didn't the Russians put a star (RED STAR emblem for the party) on some of their weapons? Could it have been captured in the few days Russia entered WWII against the Japanese right before the war ended?

[gwsiii]

there are a few notations in the Frank's Type 38 book about Star markings over/above mum, but most of those were import marked. I wondered if the any of the letters were cyrillic, I looked through TonyEs book on the British Arisakas and saw the Russian 6.5 ammunition box label, which is why I asked what the letters were. Neat stuff. The wear and condition of the rifle suggests hard use indicative of the 80's chinese imports, but with no import mark it sort of throws that out. It seems like some of my 'Mousers' (chinese mauser copies) might have a star mark, I try and look them over this weekend.
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I didn't pay to much for that old Arisaka, I just bought it a little bit too soon!