7.7x58 Arisaka ammo availability question.

K

Kimio

New member
Now I don't suspect that this cartridge will ever be as cheap as the 7.62x54r, but I was wondering how available is this particular round for those who are interested in shooting these rifles?

So far, it looks like the only ones offering it is Hornady, but at 28.95-36.95 per box of 20, I believe I may be better served in just getting a Mauser or even an Enfield.

In the end, it looks like reloading would be the only cost effective way of actually shooting an Arisaka in any quantity, unless I'm missing something here. Is there any other options other than Hornady in regards to the 7.7x58 round? I haven't seen any other company producing it so far.

Advice or suggestions would be apprecaited
 
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grafs sometimes has PCI fmj ammo.
That was like 25 bucks a box. If you're going to shoot it a lot, get a set of dies.
 
Back in the 1970's I bought 2 boxes of Norma ammo and later on I made Arisaka from military 06 cases. I found the reformed '06 cases shot better than the expensive Norma brass so I have not bought any since...

Tony
 
there are actually 4 brands that I am aware of. two are made by hornady, one being their metric customs that are almost always instock at cabelas.com and the other being grafs which are usually in stock with them off and on throughout the year. another is PRVI partizan under their PPU brand but they are only made in limited runs and usually out of stock wherever I've seen it listed.

the last is some goofball company which I can never remember the name but grafs has it listed but is never in stock.

norma used to make it but discontinued it. so to answer your question, no there is no cost effective way to shoot an arisaka without reloading. however nobody buys a 7.7 with the understanding that it's going to be a cheap rifle to shoot. people buy them because compared to most other military rifles of the period they were not built in nearly the numbers so they are more of an oddity. half the militaries around the world have used a mauser of some design at some point or another in some capacity. there is nothing rare about them. arisakas were only ever used by 3 nations that I'm aware of(england and china) and both of them destroyed them when they were done. the enfield and mausers have a lot more in the way of ammo availability with ammo available from ATK and remington in addition to a number of foreign companies and augmented by the occasional resurfacing of surplus ammo but they run about the same price per round as 7.7 so why would you go with them because you don't want to be stuck just shooting hornady when the Jap's appreciation will soon overtake the others?
 
I'm a collector at heart, not to mention Half Japanese, so there is that sense of history and sentimentality from owning one. I also am a shooter, I like to shoot what I own.

That said, it would have been nice to be able to shoot an Arisaka with some degree of regularity without crying after every shot. I can't reload at the moment due to space issues (among other reasons), so factory loads are my only option at this time.

I appreciate the answers, looks like I'll buy the rifle and perhaps a Springfield or something and just save my brass so that I can make my own ammunition when I get the chance to get my reloading rigs setup (whenever that time comes)
 
would 6.5 Arisaka be more available than the 7.7??? I have a 6.5 & have enough of a supply, but I don't know about within the current market ???
 
7.7 is a lot easier to get ahold of. I was kindof tricked into getting my 6.5 because I was looking for the 7.7 and a fellow was offering both rifles as a package deal and only after buying did I find out that 6.5 is a lot more rare than 7.7. the same places still list the same brands as 7.7 that I've seen but it's out of stock everywhere but cabelas every time I've checked.

as far as hornady ammo from cabelas, 6.5 is only available in 140gr spire points. 7.7 is available in both SSTs and spire points in 150grs so you have better factory options for hunting with the 7.7. I know what you mean about wanting to collect your guns and shoot them too. I never reloaded until I got my arisakas because it was never a necessity until then. I was lucky enough to stumble onto a small fortune in cheap 303 brit, 7.62x54R and 30-06 surplus ammo and until the arisakas I never owned anything but springfields, mosins and enfields, now the Arisakas and a little MAS36 are part of the group and lack of cheap factory options(and good factory hunting ammo in 7.5x54 french and 6.5x50 jap) made reloading a necessity. not that I'm complaining, my little 6.5 carbine killed my first black bear this spring and it was also the first big game animal that I'd killed with open sights... even though I was suffering serious buyers remorse with the 6.5 because of the impossible to find and very spendy ammo, I will never ever part with that gun now.
 
I bought a bag of Prvi Partizan 7.7 brass. The Arisaka uses the same bullets as the 54R, .303, and 7.65x53, and I already reloaded for them.

Yes, there's a price hit for buying new brass to start with, but it's not like I'm burning through a couple hundred rounds per session, either.
 
mine's actually the type 44 with flip up bayonet... still one thing about the japs... they sure made a fun little rifle even if it wasn't their intent...

here's what a 6.5 with some handloads does to a mountain black bear...
100_1529_zps77c9d494.jpg

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p563/tahunua001/100_1529_zps77c9d494.jpg

it's a push pull with me... the only gun I regret selling is my 1903A4 but I got both my arisakas for it so it's one of those damned if you do damned if you don't deals.
 
7.7mm Jap ammo has never been common, or cheap. Although a lot of the rifles were brought back to the US after the war, not much ammo was. That's why you often see Arisakas converted to other calibers (with varying degrees of craftsmanship, and safety).

For those not old enough to remember (which would be a lot of you..;)) there was a time (a very LONG time) when 7.62x54R and 7.62x39 were neither available nor cheap, if you could find some. A lot of Moisins and SKSs brought back from Korea and Vietnam, were virtual wall hangers for decades, because, until the fall of the Soviet Union and the removal of the Iron Curtain (you kids may have to google that one, :rolleyes:) there just wasn't any supply of ammo for them in the US, outside of tiny lots held by collectors.

And, of course, Norma. You could get Norma ammo for almost everything, but it was rarely stocked and always expensive. 30 some years ago, 6.5x55mm Swede was also rare, but you could get Norma ammo. at $20 a box, when Remchester 30-06 was $12 and bargain .30-30 was $8.

Even with the virtual doubling of ammo cost in recent years, we are still living in the best of times when it comes to ammo. Nearly everything is available from someone, somewhere, and although the rare/oddball stuff costs a lot, you can get it, something that didn't use to be true.

I've made 7.7mm ammo from 06 brass, it works. And remember you are dealing with a round which has ballistics virtually identical to the .303 British. Its not a hotrod round, never was, and you shouldn't try to make it one.

Lots of people claim the reason they haven't gotten into reloading is lack of space. To me, that's a really weak excuse. You can reload fine ammo if all you have is a couple of square feet of table space (and if you can't find that, I don't hold a lot of hope for you...;))

What you can't do is set up a reloading bench and leave it set up, if you don't have the space. A couple large C-clamp and a couple feet of a fairly sturdy table and you can mount a press and reload anything. And pack it up when you are done. using one of the Lee Loaders is tedious, but takes even less space, and can produce fully adequate ammo, although you have to do more work for each round...

Unless you are living in your car, you have the space you need, you just don't recognize it, or your priorities don't allow it.
 
You can get 7.7x58mm ammo from PPU, S&B, ArmsCor, Hornady, Winchester ("Metrics"), and Norma. Some of the production runs might be 5 years apart, and availability may be unsatisfactory; but the ammo is available in several forms.

In the past, I've also seen it offered by PMC, Federal, Wolf, Hot Shots (repackaged PPU contract), and a few 'boutique' manufacturers.
 
Lack of space is one thing for me, but it's more of a legality thing since I don't want to get introuble with the security forces on my base for illegally storing ammo and "explosive/flammable materials" in my dorm room.

I don't know of anyone else that would be kind enough to let me set up shop in their place of residence, let alone stay for hours on end making rounds.

I have at least another year or two before I can get a place of my own, so it's just a waiting game so far.

I appreciate the feed back everyone, as well as the stories. It's amazing to hear what the cost of ammo was back in the day. Would have been nice if the prices had stayed the same.
 
interesting that they have no problem storing your gun for you but not your ammo. I believe that often times a padlocked ammo box will suffice for stored ammo as long as you run it by the proper authorities, they may even let you check it into the armory as well.
 
Storage is not an issue, ammo wise fortunately. Howerver, it's the actual reloading components that's an issue. The powder would be considered a hazerdous material which is expressley prohibited in the dorms if memory serves.

If I had my way, I'd have a reloading bench setup in my room, and would likely spend a good portion of my evenings churning out '06 and .308 win rounds to my hearts content. Alas, I don't have that option right now.
 
hazmat up to a certain amount is allowed. they can't completely ban it from BEQ since every day cleaning substances such as ammonia and bleach are considered hazmat as well. a limited reloading bench using a very limited array of powders may actually be allowed depending on how strict/lax the hazmat rules are.

also something to think about. does your base have a marksmanship team? army marksmanship team handloads their ammo and depending on whether there is any equipment on your base or not you could see about appropriating it for a few hours a week or even see if any of them would be willing to help you load it. where there is a will there is a way.
 
Kimio is in the Air Force. There's no way they'll allow powder and primers.
I'm amazed he has gotten away with having any ammo, at all, honestly.

When the Air Force introduced their "private" dorm concept in the early 2000s, new recruit suicide rates went through the roof (due to lack of engagement with other dorm residents). As part of the 'solution', they went crazy on the dorms - banning nearly anything 'nonessential' that could ever be used to hurt yourself or someone else. There were a few years where I had to confiscate cigarette lighters and matches during room inspections, because they weren't allowed in the dorms (only the parking lot). :rolleyes:
 
USAF indeed, we're only allowed a microwave in the dorms, can't have anything else even a hotplate (unless it has an automatic shut off).

I store all my firearms and ammo with a good friend of mine off base, away from all the headache (locked up and secure of course, me having the only key for them)

My base does not have a marksman team unfortunately and leisure use of our CATM facilities unfortunately is prohibited to non-security forces personnel. Guess Uncle Sam is trying to save at least a little bit of money or something, I wouldn't mind using the indoor range to practice rifle drills with my AR if it was an option, perhaps would make some friends within the SF.

I still have a while before I'm even eligible to move out unfortunately (Still a scrub at this point) so reloading is out of the question for the time being.

Thank you for the suggestions however, it's really appreciated.
 
Eh, I deal with it, not that I have much of a choice at the moment, hah.

Back on topic though, I take it that there would likely need to be quite a bit of trimming and adustments made to the case to make -06 brass useable in an Arisaka.

Is there anything I should be concerned about whenever I do get my reloading rigs setup?
 
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