Hope to get info. My father has a Arisika Japanese Pressure Testing Rifle. It has the chrysanthemum (spelling ?) and other symbols still on it. It is complete as far as I can tell and still functions mechanically. Have never fired it thou. Does any one have any printed info or know where I can get it?
Thanks for your time.Is the rifle a type 99 or a type 38 do you have photos of it ?
Thanks,
Gut-
Thats a good one Gutkowski.
Here is another link from our archive. I have an Arisaka rifle as well.
Thank you gentlemen for responding. No I don’t have any pictures. My father told me awhile back he believes it is a 38. He told me my moms brother was with some of the first troops to land in Japan. He supposedly was in a position to get 2 of these rifles out but I know of only ones location.
Currently my father has it but he lives up in N. Calif. I’m in S. Calif.
I have the web site you posted. Thank you. I guess I'm going to have to make a trip up there and see if I can talk him out of it.Alot of US serviceman came home with the type 38’s very common model. So more than likely thats what he has. Would be nice if he had a good condition type 99 which is a bit harder to come by.
Not that I would want to but curious does anyone know if ammo is still available for these rifles? Im assuming that you would have to special order them.
The part that makes this rifle unique is the fact that it was not a service rifle. It’s sole purpose was to test the ammunition that was used. It has a special pressure testing pot just foward of the receiver. A metalic blank or wafer was inserted into the pot and when fired it measured the pressure the cartridge developed. My uncle “found” these two rifles in a factory type warehouse when they went ashore and brought them out. I’m waiting for vacation time to go visit my dad to get more info. I don’t know about ammo for it but from what i can remmember the looks of the rifle is in good shape. By removing the wafer the rifle will function and fire a bullet. Thanks for the response.
Could be something special. Post some pics if you can.
Does you rifle look like this ?? if so its a Rare WWII Japanese Type 99 pressure test rifle.It is estimated that less than 20 of these rare rifles have survived
$3000-$5000
Here is a story from not too long ago
Gun Buy Back: $75 for $5000 Rifle
See update at end…
From the “Why did I do that?” department comes this Daily Sentinel story:
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — He bought it for two packs of Chesterfield cigarettes. He sold it for a $75 Target gift card.
But World War II Navy veteran Bruno Filippelli never knew the Japanese rifle that collected dust in his closet for 60 years was a bona fide wartime treasure.
He turned it over to West Palm Beach police Saturday during the city's gun buy-back program, and the rare and valuable firearm — better suited in a polished museum or with a wealthy weapons collector — now lies alongside 450 other submitted shotguns, handguns and assault rifles in the department's evidence storage room.
"I feel like an idiot," said Filippelli, 79, four days after selling the rifle and just a few hours after discovering its worth.
And police say they're not giving it back. In fact, the gun could soon be melted down and destroyed with the others.
The controversy over the rare gun erupted when a picture of Filippelli turning over the rifle appeared in the Sunday edition of The Palm Beach Post. A Palm Beach police officer recognized the rare rifle, researched the gun and then delivered the bad news to Filippelli Wednesday.
"He told me, 'If I was you, I never would have turned it in,' " Filippelli said.
The gun, an Arisaka Type 99 pressure test rifle, is one of less than 100 ever produced. There are as few as 50 left, including about 20 in the United States, according to gun experts and dealers. The type of rifle was never used in the field. It was designed to test the chamber pressure and bullet velocity for the Type 99 rifle, which Imperial Japanese forces widely used throughout World War II.
Although the gun is not listed in most price guides, a piece in good shape could be valued by as much as $5,000, said Bob Adams, a rare-gun collector and firearms dealer in Albuquerque, N.M.
Oops! But hey, it’s another gun off the street, or rather out of the closet: The cops are refusing to return it because of that… And West Palm Beach is so much safer now.
Update 7/16: The police decided to return the gun to Filippelli. From AP/Yahoo:
A gun collector saw a photo of the Arisaka Type 99 pressure test rifle in The Palm Beach Post and told Filippelli the gun is a rarity worth thousands. He asked for it back, but the police originally said no. They planned to melt it down with the other 450 firearms collected or give it to a museum.
But after the Post ran a story Friday about the Delray Beach resident's mistake, the police returned the gun.
"I think the publicity got too much for them," said Filippelli, 79. "Or maybe because I'm a vet or maybe they felt sorry for me."
He even got to keep the gift card, which he'll use to buy a present for his daughter.
So the story has a happy ending. Filippelli says he’ll donate the gun to a museum.
From: Guns & Ammo: Surplus Firearms, 2005, pp 120-123.
02
From: Bolt Action Rifles, by Frank de Haas, DBI Books, Inc., 1971, pp 87-90
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03
From: Bolt Action Rifles, by Frank de Haas, DBI Books, Inc., 1971, pp 91-94
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04
From: Bolt Action Rifles, by Frank de Haas, DBI Books, Inc., 1971, pp 95-98
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05
From: Bolt Action Rifles, by Frank de Haas, DBI Books, Inc., 1971, pp 99-100
Hi.
Serial numbers:
The serial numbers are taken from production documents, the total production numbers may be lower. Additionally there were also local non-Arsenal productions under supervision which may not be included.
a) type Meiji 38 6,5 mm rifle:
Koishikawa Arsenal/ Tokyo Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 2.029.000
Production periode: 1906-ca.1935
Kokura Arsenal:
Series No.: 20
Serial numbers: 29.000 - 49.000
Series No.: 22
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 23
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 24
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 25
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 26
Serial numbers: 0 - 71.000
Production periode:1933-1940
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 2.021.000 - 2.031.000
Production periode: 1923-ca.1933
Series No.: 26
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 27
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 28
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 29
Serial numbers: 0 - 8.000
Production periode: ca.1933-ca.1940
Jinsen Arsenal (Korea):
Serial numbers: 0 - 1.400
Series No.: 30
Serial numbers: 1.000 - 13.000
Production periode: ca.1939-ca.1940
Mukden Arsenal (Manchuria):
Serial numbers: 0 - 30.000
Serial numbers: 65.000 - 79.000
Serial numbers: 5.000.000 - 5.065.000
Production periode: ca.1934-ca.1940
Special production for military police units:
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 2.600
Kokura Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 1.500
b) type Meiji 38 6,5 mm carabine:
Koishikawa Arsenal/ Tokyo Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 212.000
Production periode: 1906-ca.1935
Kokura Arsenal:
Series No.: 2
Serial numbers: 12.000 - 92.000
Production periode: 1933-1940
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 2.000
Production periode: 1923-ca.1933
Series No.: 4
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 5
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series No.: 6
Serial numbers: 0 - 4.000
Production periode: 1933-1940
Mukden Arsenal (Manchuria):
Serial numbers: 0 - 7.000
Serial numbers: 29.000 - 44.000
Serial numbers: 600.000 - 628.000
Production periode: ca.1934-ca.1940
c) type Meiji 44 6,5 mm carabine:
Koishikawa Arsenal/ Tokyo Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 56.000
Production periode: 1911-ca.1933
Kokura Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 56.000 - 70.000
Series No.: 1
Serial numbers: 0 - 9.000
Production periode: 1933-1940
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 2.000
Production periode: ca.1930-ca.1933
Series No.: 2
Serial numbers: 0 - 12.000
Production periode: ca.1933-ca.1940
d) type 97 6,5 mm sniper rifle:
Kokura Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 8.000
Production periode: 1937 - 1939
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 15.000
Production periode: 1937 - 1939
e) type 99 7,7 mm long rifle:
Toyo Kokyo, Hiroshima prefecture, under supervision of Kokura Arsenal:
Series: 37
Serial numbers: 0 - 31.000
Production periode: 1939 - 1940
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 8.000
Production periode: 1939
f) type 99 7,7 mm rifle:
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 1
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 2
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 3
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 4
Serial numbers: 10.000 - 99.999
Series: 5
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 6
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 7
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 8
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 9
Serial numbers: 10.000 - 99.999
Series: 10
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 11
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 12
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Production periode: 1940 - 1945
Private companies under supervision from Nagoya Asenal:
Series: 4
Serial numbers: 0 - 9.999
Series: 9
Serial numbers: 0 - 9.999
Series: 13
Serial numbers: 0 - 19.999
Kokura Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 1.999
Series: 20
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 21
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 22
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 23
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 24
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 25
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Production periode: 1940 - 1945
Tokyo Juki Kokyo under supervision from Tokyo Arsenal:
Series: 27
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 37
Serial numbers: 0 - 59.999
Toyo Kokyo under supervision from Kokura Arsenal:
Series: 30
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 31
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 32
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 33
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 34
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
Series: 35
Serial numbers: 0 - 49.999
Production periode: 1940 - 1945
Jinsen Arsenal, Korea:
Series: 40
Serial numbers: 0 - 99.999
g) type 99 7,7 mm sniper rifle:
Kokura Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 1.999
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 9.999´
h) type 100 7.7 mm paratroop rifle (TERA rifle):
Nagoya Arsenal:
Series: 1
Serial numbers: 0 - 59.999
Series: 21
Serial numbers: not clear
Series: 22
Serial numbers: not clear
i) type 1 (type 38) 6,5 mm paratroop rifle (TERA rifle):
Nagoya Arsenal:
Series: 4
Serial numbers: not clear
Series: 5
Serial numbers: 0 - 5.999
j) type 2 7,7 mm paratroop rifle (TERA rifle):
Nagoya Arsenal:
Serial numbers: 0 - 29.999
k) type I 6,5 mm rifle:
Regia Sezione Fabbrica D´Armi Escertcito Gardone V.T.; Fabbrica D´Armi Beretta S.P.A. Gardone V.T.; Fabbrica National D´Armi Brescia:
Series: A- L
Serial numbers: 0 - up to 99.999 each
Total production: 60.000 rifles
Production periode: 1938 - 1939
l) type 5 7,7 mm semi-automatic rifle:
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal:
serial numbers: none
Production periode: 1945
Total production: 200, 125 assembled until surrender
Yours
tom! 
If memory serves me correctly I believe the rifle my dad has has a forestock just past the pressure chamber. Yes, I also saw that article in my web surfing. I want to thank you gentlemen for your time and information.
Thanks Tom for the serial numbers and production information. Great work.
Here is some more information on Japanese rifles of WWII
01
From: Small Arms of the World, Eleventh Edition, Edward Clinton Ezell, Stackpole Books, 1977, pp 405-410
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02
From: World War II Small Arms, John Weeks, Galahad Books, 1979, pp 61-64
From: The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II, Ian V. Hogg, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, Inc., 1977, p 47
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03
From: The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II, Ian V. Hogg, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, Inc., 1977, p 49
From: Fighting Techniques of a Japanese Infantryman 1941-1945, Leo J. Daugherty III, MBI Publishing Company, 2002, p 83
From: Japanese Army Handbook 1939-1945, George Forty, Sutton Publishing Limited, 1999, pp 115-118
From: The Military Sniper since 1914, Martin Pegler, Osprey Publishing, 2001, pp 27-29, 35
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