Re: Is this safe to shoot?
It appears to be a Japanese Arisaka Type 99 in cal. 7.7 Jap. It looks like it still has the anti-aircraft wings on the rear sight (2 arms that fold out with a notch in each) if so, the sight is worth as much as the rifle. Most of them were considered useless and the soldiers use to break them off. They also use to have a dust cover that slid over the action but most off them were scrapped as well.
The model you have is what was called a last ditch rifle. The round cap on the back of the bolt is the safety (push in and turn right) it locks the firing pin back.
On the earlier models the safety was one piece and looked like the Jap. chrisanthimum and the stocks were one piece. On the last ditch models the stock is usually several piece's glued and tacked together and the safety is made up of several piece's welded together.
Most of these rifle's are still shootable today but ammo is high priced and only made by Norma and Hornady.(usually around 30 bux a box) RCBS and LEE make reloading dies for them though.
Rich W.
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