Jim Keenan said:
I also have three Japanese training rifles, reasonably well made and perfect for training. I am even a bit skeptical about those blowing up if fired with live ammo. First, they were made only for the 6.5, not the 7.7. And the bore is much larger than the bullet, so pressure would be nearly non-existent. I still strongly advise never to fire one with a bulleted round, but I would like to hear from someone who has actually SEEN one that blew up.
True story; if I'm lyin', I'm dyin':
When I was still working at Randy's Guns & Knives, these three dudes come strolling in with what looks to be, from a distance, a regular old wartime Arisaka and start perusing the ammo shelves. I asked if I could help them; they asked if I had any Arisaka ammo. (This was before Graf's was loading it again and Norma was the sole source.)
I was out of both kinds, and so I just answered "Nope," before enquiring as to the variety they needed. They didn't know. "We just shot the three rounds that we had for it from his pawpaw..." (I think it was three rounds; it may have been two. It's been a few years.)
"Well, let me see it, and I'll try and order the right kind."
They brought it over to the gunsmith who was standing next to me and, sure enough, it was a trainer, without a locking lug to its name; like a Gras or a Gew.71, the only thing between Cletus and a bolt through his grape was the bolt handle nestling in the receiver wall cutout. The gunsmith warned them that it probably wasn't at all safe to shoot anymore, explained to them what it was, and sent them on their way, muttering "There go the three luckiest guys in Tennessee..."