New to Arisaka

[Deano41]

There are a number of books on Japanese firearms. " Military Rifles Of Japan" by Honeycutt is available on Amazon, and is very good. I posted the banzai website/ type 99 rifle/ mainly so you could identify which rifle you had by series and arsenal. The are other interesting stories on that website, such as the post war Navy report on sailors getting a rash after sanding their souvenir rifles.

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[Guamsst]

Number one, the sling looks right, but I sell Swede Mauser slings like hotcakes as Arisaka lookalikes. (That's exactly howI word the ad, "Arisaka lookalikes") Your sling appears to have a steel buckle. Swede mauser slings are brass and have only one leather loop, not two. I would need to see a good closeup of the buckle. While the number of holes is a good indicator, it is easy to add extras. The mark you describe on the sling (hourglass) should be an arsenal in Tokyo, again, I'd like to see a pic since arsenal marks on slings are both rare and faked.

I would like to see a closeup of the dust cover from above and to the rear so I can see the overall quality. I think you have an original.

The monopod was bent during the war. Japanese soldiers bent them to get the right height while shooting. HOWEVER, it was bent badly post war by someone playing with it. A good original will usually be wavy. They were meant to be repeatedly bent and are made of a soft but slightly springy steel. My best piece of advice is to put one hand between the stock and the monopod and use the other hand to bend it back the correct (forward) direction slowly. There are a few reasons for this. 1.) you need something to press against or you won't be able to get the bend out near the mount. 2.) it gives you a nice steady grip and your hand won't mar the stock or the monopod. 3.) you need to be slow and careful, if your hand hurts....you are pushing too hard and too fast. Once you get the main bend out, straighten the rest by hand as best you can. There is no need to seek an arrow straight finish, just get it to lock up and look "good".

The manufacturer is a good (semi rare) maker. The rifle is worth about $250 around here so you did alright there. The great news is that a monopod is worth between $75-$125, dust covers are pretty steady around $40-$50, Anti Aircraft winged rear sights are a solid $50 and if your sling is original and has a good makers mark, you can count on atleast $50 for that too. All together I would estimate that as a package rifle the selling value is around $400-$450..........around here. Markets vary from place to place though.

[Guamsst]

Insurance value, I would say $500 That would be the amount that would pay for a similar rifle and accessories in a reasonable amount of time.