My love affair with my dad's old Arisaka is at least part of the reason for my continued interest in firearms today. When I was of the age counted in single digits, my dad introduced me to the gun and told me that it could be taken apart (field stripped) without tools, but he didn't remember how to do it. We worked at it until we figured it out. I still remember today, as verified recently at the "used" counter of a local gun store. At that early age, it was a matter of great pride for me that I understood the workings of this rifle and could disassemble and reassemble it in seconds. Occasionally I would beg my dad to take me to his room and let me disassemble "the Jap" to reaffirm my understanding of the rifle, my relationship with my dad, and myself. These are some of my fondest memories of childhood and my father.
The rifle was brought back from WWII by my father, who was in the U.S. Navy. He said it was in very rough shape at the beginning, until he sporterized it himself. By the time I came to be, the rifle's stock was heavily sanded and refinished, the top wood removed, and the barrel shortened. Interestingly, the crysanthimum [sp] mark on this rifle is not defaced.
A couple years prior to my coming of legal hunting age, my father took the rifle to a gunsmith named Joe Sisal of Ithaca, MI to have open sights installed and be checked-out before firing. My dad always told me that some of these rifles were booby-trapped by the enemy to blow-up in the shooter's face, and he never fired it, so he didn't know if it was safe. When we picked-up the gun at the gunsmith's, there was a box of Norma ammunition with 156 grain bullets and with two fired casings in the box. The rifle then wore new Williams brand sights - a WGOS rear with square notch, and a ramped bead front. After firing the rifle at home, we determined that it did not shoot accurately enough to hunt with (the bore is very worn and dark). Even so, my love affair with that rifle and it's simple design and function continued.
When I attended small arms repair course AIT at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the knowledge gained in part from "playing" with "the Jap" through the years served me well. I had a spotless record on the P-range, which means I experienced no weapon test-fire malfunctions after my first attempt at diagnosing and repairing multiple weapons with known defects. These included rifles, pistols, and machineguns. We also learned to repair mortars and shotguns but they were not test-fired at the P-range.
Another skill that was taught to me by my father was how to shoot. He had an old Winchester semi-auto 22 (forget the model) that was fed by a tubular magazine, and loaded through an angular hole in the side of the buttstock. Not often, but on several occasions, my father took me out behind the house with the rifle and a box of the cheapest 22 ammo he could find. There we would shoot at bottlecaps from a range of about 10 yards. The small bead front and U-shaped notch rear sights facilitated taking a very fine bead on those caps, and hits came regularly. Years later, I applied what I learned from my father, and some new "knowledge" learned from the drill sergeants, and qualified as Expert on my first attempt in basic training at Ft. Dix, NJ.
Thank you for inspiring the memories. I apologize if the information in this lengthy post was not what you were looking for. I still have "the Jap" and a box of Norma cartridges. One day I will dig it out and shoot it again. Then, with renewed perspective and continued learning from a lifetime of shooting and reloading, maybe I can contribute something of worth to you. As always, have your old warhorse rifle verified safe to fire by a competent gunsmith BEFORE firing it.
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