The Arisaka 6.5x50R

[kombi1976]

This is a cartridge that has intrigued me for sometime.
By all reports it is inherrantly accurate the Arisaka rifles for which it is chambered a super tough action designed closely on the Mauser 98 action and, apart from notable exceptions made in the last throes of WW2, are well made.
I was wondering how much experience people on this forum have had with this cartridge.
I know brass tends to be more expensive for it as Norma are the main source, although apparently Grafs recently had a run of it too.
Does anyone presently use it for service rifle competitions or hunting?
How have people found it to be?

[R.W.Dale]

 I have no expertise with the 6.5x50 but I have been doing a lot of experimation with it's larger brother 7.7x58. In my sporter I find it to be as accurate and effictive as any other cartrige.

 There are no absoultes with the performance of diffrent rifle cartriges but the shape of that little pice of brass the powder goes in is almost irrelivent. If you want a 6.5jap then build one I gaurentee your target won't know it wasn't shot with something more common or modern.

[Robert357]

A co-worker has both a 7.7mm Type 99 and a 6.5mm Type 38 that his father brought back from WWII.  I have a Type 99 and reload for both my co-worker and myself.  My friend is more accurate with his 7.7mm Type 99 than the 6.5mm, although the recoil is nicer. 

A would echo the it probably depends on the rifle, his is stock military issue, no floating of barrel, no modest tricking out, just a plane piece of history that should stay that way.

My Type 99 was purchased at a gun show and Bubba owned it first, it has a bent bolt, shortened barrel, special williams type sights, and a sporter stock.  It is glass beded and as accurate as a nice commercial rifle.  I has no scope mounts, but it does have a nice full mum that is still there.

Get yourself a 6.5mm and see if it shoots well.  If it doesn't sell and get a different one, until you find one that shoots well.

Good luck

[S.S.]

I love that cartridge....
It is extremely accurate in my Arisaka
although with the military sights it groups about 3 inches high at 100 meters.
I reload for mine and the 100 grain nosler ballistic tips are excellent shooters.
I like the 6.5 jap so much in fact that I am having a custom rifle built for it.
I have bought up enough GRAF brass to last me forever.
That Arisaka is actuallly not that bad to carry around in the woods either.
The custom I am working on is based on a 96 Swede.

[His lordship.]

I once had 8 of the Arisaka rifles, half the type 99 and the other type 38, including a carbine.  These were the two cartridges that I handloaded for while in college, the Japanese rifles were mostly what I shot.  I even managed to buy boxes of the Chinese surplus source 6.5 that came into the country in the late 1980's, that was fun as it was so cheap.

I would buy new Norma brass, or buy a full loaded box and reuse the brass, usually around 5 loadings as my Lee loader was alittle hard on it and they got stretched out pretty good after five loads.  The 6.5 Jap is my all time favorite of the centerfire 6.5's, I also owned the Swedish and Italian version of the 6.5, but the Japanese round will always be my favorite of the bunch.

I shot a ground hog with my handloaded 139 grain bullets 10 years ago, and it really tore the animal up.  I put 3 shots into him as the first just grazed his head.  I was impressed with how it performed for hunting a very large ground hog.  I have since sold off my Japanese rifles and moved onto other gun collection areas.  It used to be that Arisakas were very cheap to buy, lots to choose from.  They are getting hard to find now.  I probably should have held onto 2 of my 6.5 Arisakas as they were nice.

[kombi1976]

Incidentally, what sort of velocities are you guys getting with a 120gn, 140gn and 156gn bullets?
Since the Arisaka is a tough action are you loading them nice and warm?

[S.S.]

I do not load anything over 120 grains.
Anything heavier and accuracy suffers terribly.
The Norma stuff is some of the worst ammo I have ever fired.
Not just in 6.5 jap either. I will never buy Norma's Junk again.
If I remember correctly, My 120 grain loads are around 2500 fps
and the 100 grain are about 2650 fps. That is adequate for anything
I will ever fire it at so I do not load too hot. Besides, Hot loads kill Brass
very quickly and I want it to last.

[june6th1944]

I have a Type I Arisaka in 6.5mm, but I have yet to fire it.  I don't even think the thing has ever been fired.  My intention is to put a scout mount/scope on it and hunt w/ it one of these days, but other issues keep me from doing that at the moment.  Although at the ranges I shoot here in North Texas, I could do just as well w/ iron sights.

If/when I do get around to firing this thing, I'll keep you posted.  I've even got dies for the 6.5mm Arisaka, so I can reload to the original military specs of the cartridge.  I don't have any ammo at the moment either.  I'll probably get brass from Grafs provided they still have it in the future.