cowboy Posted December 27, 2007 Report Share Posted December 27, 2007 new here but have a lot of Qs--Anyone out there have experience with chambering a type 38 to 6.5x55 swede ??????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiris Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Welcome to the site cowboy. I do not have experience with the Japanese rifles except what i read, but there are several on this site who probably could help you with your question. My curiosity is why would you want to convert? The 6.5x50 Arisaka round that I assume is your chambering, is not that far from the Swede round in performance. Just wondering! Do you reload? Spiris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Welcome to the site cowboy. I do not have experience with the Japanese rifles except what i read, but there are several on this site who probably could help you with your question. My curiosity is why would you want to convert? The 6.5x50 Arisaka round that I assume is your chambering, is not that far from the Swede round in performance. Just wondering! Do you reload? Spiris Howdy Spiris-thanksfor the ans- yes I reload and already do so for a 6.5 norwegian krag- as for the 6.5x50 I suspect the chamber to be a lot more than generous and pitted ( erosion) on one side, I'll fire a couple of rounds and inspect them for bulges and headspace signs as the bolt nos don't match the rec. So my idea is if the jap fired cases look too bad I'll re-chamber to the swede Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiris Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Does your barrel appear to be good? Is the rifle in good enough condition to warrant the change? Is your rifle the long barrel version? As you probably know, the type 38 action is a very stout action in good condition. I believe the 260 Remington would also be a good choice to consider if your chamber is indeed pitted but I do have a soft spot for the 6.5x55 swede. Taking it a little further, perhaps even the 6.5-284 Norma to clean up the chamber even more. Spiris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboy Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 Does your barrel appear to be good? Is the rifle in good enough condition to warrant the change? Is your rifle the long barrel version? As you probably know, the type 38 action is a very stout action in good condition. I believe the 260 Remington would also be a good choice to consider if your chamber is indeed pitted but I do have a soft spot for the 6.5x55 swede. Taking it a little further, perhaps even the 6.5-284 Norma to clean up the chamber even more. Spiris barrel is dark but shootable , and this was the rifle version- 260 rem specs are good but so were 6.5 rem mag and 350 rem mag spec's- as for me I'll stick to rifle pill's that have been around at least as long as I have- only paid twenty bucks for the smokepole some 15 yrs ago and just put it into a piece of light maple I've had for 25 yrs- I'll have to open the bolt face up bye .004 and maybe the feed rails a tad- hoping the magazine will handle 160 gr slugs- guess I'd better load some up and test that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.B Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 If the rifle is in original condition, I would not recommend rechambering it as you will lose alot of money and you will ruin a historical rifle. I have heard of 257 roberts being a good caliber for rechambering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun nutty Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I believe the common conversion for the 6.5 Japanese rifles was to the 6.5 Spence Special, a "wildcat" based-on the .257 Roberts necked-up to 6.5. This really isn't a wildcat, as the Roberts is based-on the 7x57 necked-down to .25 caliber. Either the Roberts necked-up, or the 7x57 necked-down, is nothing more than the standard 6.5x57 Mauser. The 6.5x57 is a fine cartridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riceone Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 All Japanese chambers are over size to some extent. One way to help the bulge is to wrap on layer of 1/4" wide masking tape just above the extractor groove and fire for the first time. That will even the bulge all the way around. Then don't completely full length size any more. The best chambering would probably be the 260 Remington as you would have american made ammo to shoot. 6.5x55 is about as expensive as Norma's Japanese ammo. The 257/6.5 was a way of getting those old rifles to shoot back in the late 50's and 60's. You could send your rifle to T P Shop and they would rechamber it for $6.00. I have a sportered 6.5 carbine that I rechambered to 6.5x57 which is very similar to 257x6.5. The 257 R and 6.5x57 were both derived from the 7x57 cartridge. The 6.5x57 feeds and chambers very well and it cleans up the old chamber and cases come out looking like there were fired in a Remington. You probably already know this but the riflings on Japanese rifles are of the medford type and they are rounded edges and not square like we are use to. Therefore lots of people think their barrels are shot out when they are not. It a very simple thing to rechamber to 6.5x57, you don't have to take the barrel out just ream through the receiver till headspace is correct. When I chambered mine I took 5 reloads and when all five would chamber with ease I quit, works fine. There is one other option. There is a swadge die offered that will resize the base of a 308 Win cartridge so you can run it through a 6.5x50 die and makes a perfect case that fits the over size chamber. riceone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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