7.7×58mm Arisaka
Encyclopedia
The 7.7×58mm Arisaka cartridge or Type 99 rimless 7.7 mm was chambered in the World War II Arisaka
Type 99 Rifle
. The cartridge
was designed to replace the aging 6.5×50mm Arisaka cartridge after seeing the .303 British
in action in China
during 1937. Due to lack of materials the plan to phase out the 6.5 mm Arisaka cartridge by the end of the war was not completed.
While the round chambered by the Arisaka rifle used a rimless
case, rimmed and semi-rimmed variants were produced for use in some Japanese machine guns. This machine gun ammunition is more powerful, and the altered rim is meant to prevent it from being chambered in a rifle. The 7.7 mm Arisaka uses the same .311–.312" bullets as the .303 British, and its cartridge case is similar in power to the .30-06 Springfield
(7.62×63mm). Factory loaded ammunition and brass cases are available from Norma
and Graf; Hornady
, Sierra
and Speer
also produce usable bullets. Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by reforming .30-06 brass, or fireforming 7.92×57mm cases. Case heads derived from the .30-06 will be slightly undersized and will bulge slightly just ahead of the web on firing, while the 7.92×57mm derived cases will be slightly short. It should be noted that Norma cases of the correct dimensions will also bulge slightly, however, as most Japanese rifles of this era had slightly oversized chambers, intended to allow the bolt to be closed on a round even in a very dirty chamber. Reloading data for .303 British is a good starting point for load development, since the two cartridges are nearly identical.
The 7.7×58mm Arisaka as a sporting cartridge is suitable for most big game with proper bullet selection.
cartridge
and was primarily used with the Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun
and the earlier Type 89
flexible and fixed air-cooled machine guns used on Japanese planes.
Late war ammunition can still be encountered, although it is generally advised to not fire it, due to its collectability and the possibility of a hangfire or squib.
Arisaka
Arisaka is a family of Japanese military bolt action rifles, in production from approximately 1898, when it replaced the Murata rifle, until the end of World War II in 1945...
Type 99 Rifle
Type 99 Rifle
The was a bolt-action rifle of the Arisaka design used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.-History:During the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, the Japanese soon found that the 8×57mm IS cartridge the Chinese used was superior to the 6.5×50mm cartridge of the Type 38 rifle,...
. The cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
was designed to replace the aging 6.5×50mm Arisaka cartridge after seeing the .303 British
.303 British
.303 British, or 7.7x56mmR, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun cartridge first developed in Britain as a blackpowder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee-Metford rifle, later adapted to use smokeless powders...
in action in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during 1937. Due to lack of materials the plan to phase out the 6.5 mm Arisaka cartridge by the end of the war was not completed.
While the round chambered by the Arisaka rifle used a rimless
Rim (firearms)
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. The rim may serve a number of purposes, the most common being as the place for the extractor to engage...
case, rimmed and semi-rimmed variants were produced for use in some Japanese machine guns. This machine gun ammunition is more powerful, and the altered rim is meant to prevent it from being chambered in a rifle. The 7.7 mm Arisaka uses the same .311–.312" bullets as the .303 British, and its cartridge case is similar in power to the .30-06 Springfield
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...
(7.62×63mm). Factory loaded ammunition and brass cases are available from Norma
Norma (company)
Norma Precision is a Swedish manufacturer of ammunition located in Åmotfors, in the province of Värmland, just 20 km of the Norwegian border. It is commonly referred to as simply Norma.- History :...
and Graf; Hornady
Hornady
Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition and handloading components, based in Grand Island, Nebraska.The company was founded by Joyce Hornady in 1949 and is currently run by his son Steve Hornady who took over after his father's death in a plane crash in 1981.Hornady...
, Sierra
Sierra Bullets
Founded in 1947 in California, Sierra Bullets is an American manufacturer of bullets intended for firearms. Based in Sedalia, Missouri since 1990, Sierra manufactures a very wide range of bullets for both rifles and pistols. Sierra bullets are used for precision target shooting, hunting and defense...
and Speer
CCI Ammunition
CCI , headquartered in Lewiston, Idaho, is a manufacturer of rimfire ammunition, centerfire handgun ammunition, and primers for reloaders and industrial power loads...
also produce usable bullets. Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by reforming .30-06 brass, or fireforming 7.92×57mm cases. Case heads derived from the .30-06 will be slightly undersized and will bulge slightly just ahead of the web on firing, while the 7.92×57mm derived cases will be slightly short. It should be noted that Norma cases of the correct dimensions will also bulge slightly, however, as most Japanese rifles of this era had slightly oversized chambers, intended to allow the bolt to be closed on a round even in a very dirty chamber. Reloading data for .303 British is a good starting point for load development, since the two cartridges are nearly identical.
The 7.7×58mm Arisaka as a sporting cartridge is suitable for most big game with proper bullet selection.
7.7×58mm Type 92
The Type 92 (Semi-rimmed) 7.7 mm (7.7×58mm SR) was a machine gunMachine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
and was primarily used with the Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun
Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun
entered service in 1932 and was the standard Japanese heavy machine gun used during World War II. It was used extensively by the Imperial Japanese Army and Collaborationist forces. Captured weapons were also used extensively by Chinese National Revolutionary Army troops and the North Korean army...
and the earlier Type 89
Type 89 machine gun
Type 89 refers to two families of unrelated Imperial Japanese Army aircraft machine guns. The first family is the recoil-operated Vickers gun. The Type 89 FIXED gun was a license-built Vickers E class gun chambered for the Type 89 cartridge . It was used in synchronized applications in fighter...
flexible and fixed air-cooled machine guns used on Japanese planes.
Japanese ammunition
All Japanese ammunition used gilding metal jackets for the bullets on ball and the PETN-filled flat-tipped explosive incendiary, cupro-nickel jackets for tracer and phosphorus incendiary and a brass bullet with steel core for armor-piercing.- Ball—lead core
- Tracer—lead core
- A.P.—hard steel core
- Incendiary—White phosphorus and lead
- H.E.—PETN and lead
Late war ammunition can still be encountered, although it is generally advised to not fire it, due to its collectability and the possibility of a hangfire or squib.