Hi, was doing some research on a family rifle and came across your site. I saw several people posting pictures of their Japanese rifles and thought I would share as well. This one is far from being a highly sought-after museum quality collector's item, seeing as how the flower has been ground off, the barrel stock chopped and modified and a huge NRA seal stamped in the side of the stock . In any case, I've always thought it was a very interesting piece.
From what I can gather via online resources, it seems to be a Type 99 Nagoya. It has the metal butt instead of wood. What is confusing is the lack of any symbols preceding the serial number. I suppose it could have been ground as well, but this seems unlikely to me.
Also, I have read about a screw joint between the receiver and barrel for the paratrooper issued rifles. Does this describe what I have? I have seen pictures off 99s that look a bit different than mine where the barrel and receiver meet. These could just be manufacturing differences from year to year I suppose.
Apologies for the camera phone quality and thanks for any insight!
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