December 20th 2014 Firearms (34)
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/19/2014
Barrel is 31-1/2". The receiver retains 90% of the high polish factory blue finish. Barrel is basically blue-brown patina. Two-piece stock is excellent. Bolt is not numbered. Action is perfect. Excellent bore. The Type I rifle is a strange hybrid with an interesting history. The Imperial Japanese Army controlled the arsenals that made small arms and got priority in deliveries. When the war in China heated up in 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy could not get enough domestically-produced rifles from the Army-controlled arsenals, so they went to Europe and looked at foreign sources. They liked German rifles but found them too expensive so they signed contracts with the Czechs and Italians. The Italian order was for 60,000 rifles, half made by RSFAE, one-quarter by Brescia and one-quarter by Beretta. The rifle has a Carcano action but is otherwise configured to look and handle like a Type 38. The caliber is 6.5mm X 50 Arisaka. They seem to have seen relatively little use and many were found warehoused at the end of the war.