WTK: DOES anyone buy JAP rifles with the Mums grounded?

[Guamsst]

My experience, mumed ones are much more desirable by the collecting community then rifles with ground mums and are far easier to sell and the average collector will pay a premium for a rifle with an unground mum. When I have a rifle with a ground mum on the table for sale, 90% of the folks interested in it, turn it over to see the mum and when they see it's ground the put it down and walk away. I do the same. Serious japanese rifle collectors are the exception of course. Ray

Can't argue with that much. I also look at the mum right away. Difference is, as a serious collector I then look at part #s, original accessories, overall condition and price. Some people are more or less Mum collectors and don't care about anything else. They also generally don't know anything else. Can't recall how many times, but its been more than a couple that I've been told "Oh, that's a good one, it's got the mum see." The rifle generally has a struck mum not a full mum and some have been mismatched, rusty, sporterized(F@#$ed UP), and drilled and tapped. I will take a nice ground mum over a junked out full mum all day long.

Actually, I just remembered the worst case I've seen of this. The T-99 was fully Bubbafied and had an Enfield No1Mk3 rear sight. The guy argued with me and told me "it come that way, they all did?" I told him that was some very interesting information and just walked away....LOL

[Michaelp]

There are a lot of newer enthusiasts thanks to the internet who do not have much background in actuall collecting.
They missed the days of hounding vets or gushows with piles of Nambus and Lugers.

I think they don't realise the relative scarcity of unground pieces.
Wasn't that long ago that the typical Arisake was 25 bucks or so.

I got most of the basic pieces and now in my old age only buy better quality umolested pieces.
Wasn't always like that, though.

[Guamsst]

There are a lot of newer enthusiasts thanks to the internet who do not have much background in actuall collecting.
They missed the days of hounding vets or gushows with piles of Nambus and Lugers.

I think they don't realise the relative scarcity of unground pieces.
Wasn't that long ago that the typical Arisake was 25 bucks or so.

I got most of the basic pieces and now in my old age only buy better quality umolested pieces.
Wasn't always like that, though.

I am getting to the point i look for better and better pieces and will turn down low quality examples. The new people are not so picky and there will always be a market with them for just about anything at the right price. As for me. I took a big hit on a trade for a bent bolt 99 barreled receiver. It was a concentric circle receiver though. At the same time, I turned down a Jinsen 38 recently because it wasn't really worth salvaging as it was worth more to the kid as a shooter than it was to me as a collector.

[Art]

Not sure how you figure they are a Mauser variation but some people take the term more specifically than others. Maybe a topic for a new thread.

From the 11th edition of "Small Arms of the World" by Smith and Ezell:

".....the first Arisaka rifle, the 6.5mm Type 30, appeared and became the standard Japanese rifle in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. The Type 30 introduced to Japan the Mauser action in a modified form and the 6.5mm semi-rimmed cartridge."

Mauser patented features in the Arisaka: The front locking bolt with the non rotating claw extractor, the staggered row box magazine, "controlled feed" from the magazine, the bolt release, the stripper clip, the safety which looks completely different but is in the same spot and operates in almost exactly the same fashion. Within all the Arisaka rifles from the Type 30 to the Type 99 beats the heart of a Mauser 95.

[dave]

Speaking of repro parts, the best by-pod made (I have one) is by a guy who posts on parallaxbills jap site. My inexperianced eye can not tell the differance. He does put a punch mark on the block, easily seen, tho.

[Clark Howard]

In less affluent areas of the country, the Type 99 without the mum is sought after as the basis for the working man's deer rifle. I have seen several that were obtained for less than the price of a box of Norma 7.7 ammo. The chromed barrel and chamber has resulted in a high survival rate for these rifles as hunting guns. Regards, Clark

[John Sukey]

And you can thank MacArthur for all those rifles with ground mums.. Incidentaly a 6.5 Arisaka is stronger than a 98 mouser in blowup tests performed years ago

[pirateclem]

Too many guys put way too much emphasis on that mum being intact. It is what it is, it's part of it's history. If I have equal examples of both of course I would choose the un-defaced weapon. However; any nice condition, matching numbers rifle has a good chance of being added to my collection.

Example: Litterally yesterday I picked up an Izawa 9th at a local shop. Mum with 2 bayonet strikes. Otherwise all matching numbers on a heck of a hard rifle to find. I am tickled.

[greendevil41]

It may depend on the collector and the rifle itself. I only own four Japanese rifles, three of which are mummed. But I just bought a Tokyo Juki Kogyo Series 27 with no mum since it was a uncommon rope hole variant with matching bolt for $175.00.

[Doug Rammel]

Well I bought one about 6 months ago without the mum. I just wanted one to shoot. Just didn't want a last ditch. It was my favorite type of transaction. "That's my brother-in -laws and he wants 125 bucks for it." It was missing the dust cover and monopod. It's one of my favorite guns now.