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zzzippper
07-20-2013, 19:56
I bought a type 99 several years ago to fill a hole in my collection. When I came back to the States I took it to a gunsmith to make sure it was safe to shoot. He is also the president of the Colorado Gun Collectors club. He said it was not only shootable but the nicest one he's ever seen. It still has the mum, probably never had the monopod (no marks on the stock) and the AA wing holes are still filled with cosmoline. Most importantly the bolt serial number matches the receiver.

I have ID'd it as a series 4 from Nagoya with a serial number of 56,255. It has all of the features of an early configuration such as deep butt pad, barrel band screw numbers, etc. I am thinking this may be a pre-war rifle because of the low serial number and the fact that Nagoya made over 1,000,000 type 99's beginning in 1923. Can anyone tie this down to a specific year? Thanks in advance.

zteknik
07-21-2013, 01:51
Sounds like you got yourself a nice piece.
I'm not up on all the serial number ranges and stuff but found a few good books for reference that I'd like to get so I can figure out the few I have.
http://www.japanesecollector.com/publications.htm

zzzippper
07-21-2013, 16:16
Thanks, looks like a great site.