Hi everyone, I’m in need of a little help.
I recently acquired 4 type 99 Arisakas, 2 of which are in good enough condition to shoot. The only problem: getting ammo. Before I learned about PPU selling 7.7 brass, I went out and grabbed a case trimmer, annealing gear, the whole 9 yards to turn 30-06 brass into 7.7, as I have hundreds of casings sitting around. I’ve followed every step imaginable (to me), re-sizing the brass in a FL 7.7 die, annealing the brass, trimming it to 2.27 in. as specified by all my loading manuals, sizing again in the die, and still no luck. I can almost get the round chambered, but not quite. The bolt will go all the way forward and half-way down, where it gets stuck. I’ve tried it in 3 of the 4 rifles (as the fourth is missing a bolt) with the same results. If I really slam down on the bolt handle of the rifle without a firing pin and safety, I can get it to close, but I feel like it should not be as difficult as it is. I’ve always wanted an Arisaka and am dying to shoot mine, and I’ve invested enough time, money, and energy into the project that I don’t want to take the “easy way out” and purchase the PPU brass. I will if I have to, but I wanted to see if any of you with far more experience than I could give me a hand in figuring out my problem here. My best guess is the shoulder of the cartridge isn’t quite far enough back, but that’s a shot in the dark as I’m still learning. Anyways, thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!!
- Avery
