On Sun, 11 Jun 2017 11:43:12 -0600, rbowman <
bow...@montana.com>
wrote:
>On 06/11/2017 12:25 AM, Gunner Asch wrote:
>> Butchered Arisakas.....
>
>They look better than some I've seen. I remember racks of Carcanos and
>Arisakas in the '50s and '60s. iirc, they were selling for $10 or so.
>The Arisakas were last-ditch efforts and crude. They didn't always
>improve when Joe Sixpack 'sporterized' them. One of the controversies
>about Oswald's Carcano was the half assed scope mount that couldn't be
>zeroed.
Most....most Arisakas are exceptionally quality arms. Very well made,
accurate, the strongest small arm military action ever made. Late war
rifles....not so good for fit and finish. That being said...even that
stock, late war last ditch rifle still shoots very well indeed. Good
bore, surprisingly decent trigger and able to hit the gong at 200
meters with the stock sights with no effort. I shoot a lot of cast
bullets out of it..rifling is deep and crisp and right at .311 bore,
so there is no surprises. I shoot the same series of bullets out of
the Finns, the M44 MN, the Brits and this Jap.
I should mention..that the 6.5 Jap...while lethal...is more along the
lines of a small game-medium deer cartridge. Low velocity, low
energy, not a hell of a lot of range. 200 yrd cartridge for most work
at best. The 7.7 is much beefier and while still a powderpuff compared
to the 06 as an example..its a reasonably decent war cartridge.
I have 8 boxes of 6.5 Jap and 10 boxes of 7.7 Jap BRAS..NOS from Lapua
if you ever need a box to keep grandads Arisaka running. A buck a
round, plus shipping for anyone here..well..except for the fagboi.
>
>I wouldn't mind a time machine to go back to those days and do a little
>shopping but I'd pay a little more and go for the SMLEs and Mausers.
The SMLEs...ALL..ALL...with very very few exceptions have a slightly
oversized chamber. This was to allow them to shoot just about any .303
Brit ammo that one could get their hands on. Muddy, dirty, bent,
dented, shit on and shit out..it will chamber in those SMLEs.
However...its hard on the thin brass and head seperations are very
common with reloads. NECK SIZE ONLY!! Separate your cases and keep
them with the rifle it was shot from. Load moderately. You simply
cannot jack up a 45,000 cartridge to 06 velocities. Period. End
program. Ful stop.
>
>I'll admit my MN isn't very recognizable if you're not familiar with the
>breed. It is my experimental scout rifle. I would cut and crown the
>barrel but I don't think that would improve the great balls of fire
>syndrome.
MNs are great rifles..particularly if you handload for them. They are
crude, clunky, clumsy and not particularily accurate (accurate enough
though). 3-5" groups with surplus ammo is about average. Shrug. Which
is why I have several of the Finn versions. The Finns took captured
rifles..and totally rebuilt them into a firearm that is to be reckoned
with. I prefer a M39 Finn way and above a 03A3 Springfield..for a
combat weapon. You can beat a tent stake into frozen ground with the
buttstock, then shoot an enemy dead, at 500 meters, with no issues.
I have "several" MN...one of my favorite Russian rifles is the
M44..the short barreled carbine. But it gets fed handloads with
powder that wont set the backstop on fire due to the fireball and they
have been tweaked a bit. Most of them still carry the bayonet though,
(Grin)..as they tend to shoot almost 6"-10" higher with the bayonet
folded in, as opposed to shooting with it folded out...at 100 yrds.
Shooting military surplus ammo is always good fun at a range with
other people...the fireball with the 150gr bullet gets oohs and ahhs!
from the newbies. Btw..the 180gr yellow tipped bullet..is deadly
accurate in the Finns..the D166 190gr bullet is a trophy taker (but
they cost a buck apiece for just the slug from Lapua)
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/721823/lapua-bullets-762x54mm-rimmed-russian-762x53mm-rimmed-310-diameter-200-grain-full-metal-jacket-boat-tail-box-of-100
Because bullets have been just as expensive as fuck for the past 3-4
yrs..I tend to shoot a lot of lead bullets..cast from wheelweights and
kept down below 2000 FPS. Costs about 7 cents a shot at most for all
components..and will still take just about any game animal in north
America.
The various 8mm Mausers are ok rifles..some are very accurate..most
are reasonably accurate. The Argentine Mauser..is a VERY accurate
cartridge with the thump of a .308. Very accurage.
Then there are the Swedes...tack drivers if set up right... 6.5x55
Mauser
The SMLEs..are never going to be tack drivers. Good reliable
combat/hunting arms..but they are never going to be target guns,
without putting a new non stock barrel and a fair amount of work into
them. I have a decent set of documents in Ebook format on accurizing
the SMLE if you want to review.
Gunner