mhb
09-14-2014, 09:05
At the local flea market yesterday, I acquired a very nice Type 38 cavalry carbine (didn't need it, wasn't looking for one, and don't generally care for Japanese stuff), which was just too good to pass-up.
It is in near-perfect mechanical shape and the bore is perfect (really!) - the 'mum has been ground, but the leather sling and cleaning rod are still present.
However... the groove diameter is .268". I know that such bullets are available, intended for the Carcano, but am unsure whether they can be used in the Japanese round, due to the neck diameter of rounds loaded with bullets I am fairly sure are larger than the original Japanese standard and might not chamber freely.
I don't have a single round of the 6.5 Japanese to measure, so...
For those of you who do reload for this caliber:
What was the average diameter of the Japanese military bullet in 6.5mm, and...
Will bullets of .268" diameter, when loaded into the Japanese round, chamber and fire properly?
What has your experience been in loading this round?
FWIW, I have measured a number of other Japanese rifle barrels and am satisfied that a good many (if not all) of them are very much larger across the grooves than their standard bullets - not long ago, a friend gave me a near-new condition Type 99 of early production (chromed bore and bolt face, nicely machined and finished) which measured .317" across the grooves - rather than try to load for that one, I simply made it a present (?) to another friend
Thanks;
mhb - Mike
It is in near-perfect mechanical shape and the bore is perfect (really!) - the 'mum has been ground, but the leather sling and cleaning rod are still present.
However... the groove diameter is .268". I know that such bullets are available, intended for the Carcano, but am unsure whether they can be used in the Japanese round, due to the neck diameter of rounds loaded with bullets I am fairly sure are larger than the original Japanese standard and might not chamber freely.
I don't have a single round of the 6.5 Japanese to measure, so...
For those of you who do reload for this caliber:
What was the average diameter of the Japanese military bullet in 6.5mm, and...
Will bullets of .268" diameter, when loaded into the Japanese round, chamber and fire properly?
What has your experience been in loading this round?
FWIW, I have measured a number of other Japanese rifle barrels and am satisfied that a good many (if not all) of them are very much larger across the grooves than their standard bullets - not long ago, a friend gave me a near-new condition Type 99 of early production (chromed bore and bolt face, nicely machined and finished) which measured .317" across the grooves - rather than try to load for that one, I simply made it a present (?) to another friend
Thanks;
mhb - Mike