[Huntdaddy1]

Recently picked up a "REALLY NICE" 6.5 jap sporter rifle. It must be an early rifle, it is really tight, still has the mum on the receiver and really nice bore. The barrel has been shortened to 19" and recrowned. I'm really not into Jap rifles, but am curiousl to see what I can do to this rifle to make it useful to me. I've been doing some brainstorming and wondered about a rechamber to .260 Rem ? I have no doubt the action is stout enough and am pretty sure the the chamber will clean up with the .260 reamer. If anyone has any thoughts on this project, feel free to type a few lines . Thanks, HD1

 

[RaySendero]

Hd1,

Comparing the two cartridge drawings, it looks like the 260 Rem case is a little bit longer and fatter all the way down its length than the 6.5 Jap, so reamer should clean it up.

 

[kdub]

Probably have to open up the bolt face a tad. The Jap has a case head diameter of .466", while the .260 has .473".

 

[broom_jm]

If you want to go with the most common conversion, there is a wildcat that uses a 250 Savage case, necked up to 6.5mm. This is mostly done to clean up the chamber and use commonly available brass, but heck if the thing is in good condition, why not just shoot it, as is? Hornady makes a seasonal run of 6.5 Arisaka every year so you could buy a few boxes of those for brood stock and then load as you see fit. Those actions are very strong and even though the case isn't very big, it is quite capable as a 250 yard deer gun. Going to a longer case, like the 260, might require magazine modifications and result in feed problems. The 250 Savage case is actually a bit shorter, but fatter, so it was found to work quite well.

 

[huffmanite]

In the years following WWII, a lot of 6.5X50 Japanese rifle bringbacks were rechambered using a 257Roberts reamer. I have one and it is a 6.5x257R....and this makes it a 6.5x57mm. 257R is just a necked down 7X57 mauser cartridge. Recently found in a pawn shop, a sporterized Italian Carcano rifle, sold to Japan early in the war, that was also originally chambered in the 6.5x50 Jap cartridge. Pawn shop had rifle misslabeled as a Arisaka type 38. It too was now a 6.5x257R. Tempted to buy it, but pawn shop wanted more than I was willing to pay.....it was a bubba sporter job, not well done. Told the pawnshop guy good luck selling it.... you could buy ammo for it, but on expensive side....that you need to be a reloader to shoot it.

Another chamber conversion easy to do is to rechamber the 6.5x50Jap to the 6.5x55 Swede.

While conversion is suppose to be pretty easy to do......don't expect any good accuracy with rifle. Leastways, that has been my experience with two type 38 Arisaka sporters that still have the original 6.5 barrels and rechambered to the 6.5x257R and 6.5x55 Swede. Bores look pretty decent, once you realize rifleing in bore is Medford type. Both rifles shoot 1 1/2 to 2" groups at 100 yard targets on a good day with them.

 

[CaptainCrossman]

Recently picked up a "REALLY NICE" 6.5 jap sporter rifle. It must be an early rifle, it is really tight, still has the mum on the receiver and really nice bore. The barrel has been shortened to 19" and recrowned. I'm really not into Jap rifles, but am curiousl to see what I can do to this rifle to make it useful to me. I've been doing some brainstorming and wondered about a rechamber to .260 Rem ? I have no doubt the action is stout enough and am pretty sure the the chamber will clean up with the .260 reamer. If anyone has any thoughts on this project, feel free to type a few lines . Thanks, HD1

old thread but worth reviving- I saw a rechambered type 38 at the last gun show, D/T for scope w/mounts, and could have got it for $250- it was reblued with a Bishop stock, nice gun. Bolt handle turned down and it was rechambered to 260 Remington. It's been at the last 3 shows and no one is buying it.

it's a common fix for Jap rifles type 38, to go to 260 Rem.

but....having said that, there is nothing wrong with the original 6.5 x 50 Jap cartridge, it basically has 250 Savage ballistic capabilities

I'd handload for it and use it as 6.5 Jap original configuration, that cartridge is actually quite good ! You could load it up to the moon with the strength of the type 38 action, it surely can take it.

I also bought a type 38 in 6.5 x 257, for only $100, and it shoots really well.

look around, there are quite a few type 38 and type 99 customs on the market now, for $100-$200, that are already done and ready to go. The last one I bought also had sling swivels and a high end receiver peep sight on it, and Winchester model 70 stock adapted to it. Being in Pa. there's more guns here than most other places, some parts of the country they may be more scarce.

 

[cavebehr]

So if someone (me) wanted to rechamber a type 38 into .260 or 6.5 swede or 6.5 mauser, how would they go about doing that?

 

[cowpoke1955]

I have a 6.5 Jap type 38 Arisaka carbine my dad brought back from the war. He said the previous owner had no further use for it. My dad ground off the front sight ears and cut down the stock., before he threw it in a gun cabinet and left it there. The bore is dark, but has good riflings. That carbine will shoot straight as an arrow. I have heard the the Arisaka action is stronged than the Mauser. I have taken that 6.5 Jap deer, wild boar and black bear hunting. I agree with broom_jim and CaptainCrossman. Give the 6.5 Jap a chance. You just might like it the way it is.

 

[broom_jm]

So if someone (me) wanted to rechamber a type 38 into .260 or 6.5 swede or 6.5 mauser, how would they go about doing that?

Welcome to the forum, Cavebehr. Rules are to join in and play nice with the rest of us kids.

In this case, you wouldn't so much "rechamber" as you would open up the existing chamber and adapt the magazine to the longer 260 case. Honestly, before you do that, you really should give the standard cartridge a chance. From a performance standpoint, it is every bit as good as the 260 all the way out to 250 yards, or more. In other words, for 95% of the hunting you'd do with it, they are the same. Going to the slightly more powerful 260Rem might give you 30 or 40 yards more, in terms of maximum point-blank range.

Truth be told, it isn't all that hard to get the 6.5 Arisaka loads or brass these days, so there isn't any compelling reason to make the conversion, unless more performance matters a lot for the hunting you plan to do.

 

[cavebehr]

Hm.. this is true, also i haven't been able to shoot my gun yet, so I would want to know how well the bore is before I try this. The main reason I want the 6.5x57 is that ammo is $10 a box from prvi partisan! But rechambering or rebarreling the gun is my last step in resporterizing this gun. thanks!

 

[Dunner]

I have owned a Arisaka 38 sniper rifle that my grandfather brought back from the war, He had already turned the bolt and made it a sport gun to include cutting about eight inches off the long barrel. it is very accurate. I always had problems finding ammo, and when I did find it it was about 40-50 bucks a box.
About three years ago I went ahead and had it rechambered to 6.5 swiss. the round was an almost perfect fit without any refacing just the chamber was changed, it is still very accurate and the ammo is easy to find much cheaper, and actually more powerful round.
I hope this help anyone