Original Item. Only One Available. The Type 99 rifle or Type 99 short rifle (九九式短小銃, Kyūkyū-shiki tan-shōjū) was a bolt-action rifle of the Arisaka design used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Not Available For Export.

This is a lovely movie prop Type 99 Arisaka rifle, measuring 43¼” long. There is a good bit of damage across the rifle, so it certainly saw a good amount of use as a movie prop. This would have been a "background" used prop gun and not a close up camera version. Typically rubber guns are given to actors when they are on vehicles and in faster motion. 

The condition is fair and reflects that of an item with extensive use. There is paint missing in spots. The bolt is bent as shown and there are some carvings in the stock.

A nice example, ready for display.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, the Japanese soon found that the 7.7mm cartridge being fired by their Type 92 heavy machine gun in China was superior to the 6.5×50mm cartridge of the Type 38 rifle. This necessitated the development of a new weapon to replace the outclassed Type 38, and finally standardize on a single rifle cartridge. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) developed the Type 99 based on the Type 38 rifle but with a caliber of 7.7mm. The Type 99 was produced at nine different arsenals. Seven arsenals were located in Japan, with the other two located at Mukden in Manchukuo and Jinsen in Korea.

The IJA had intended to completely replace the Type 38 with the Type 99 by the end of the war. However, the outbreak of the Pacific War never allowed the army to completely replace the Type 38 and so the IJA used both rifles extensively during the war. As the war progressed, more and more cost saving steps were introduced in order to speed up production. Late war rifles are often called "last ditch" or "substitute standard" due to their crudeness of finish. They are generally as crude as the 1945 dated Mauser K98k of Germany, or worse.

The Type 99 was produced in four versions, the regular issue Type 99 short rifle, the Type 99 long rifle (a limited production variant), the take-down Type 2 paratroop rifle, and the Type 99 sniper rifle. The standard rifle also came with a wire monopod and an anti-aircraft sighting device. The Type 99 was the first mass-produced infantry rifle to have a chrome lined bore to ease cleaning. All of these features were abandoned by mid-war.