There is a series on the Discovery Channel call Sons of Guns that is about the Red Jacket Firearms company/shop. I’d heard about it when it was first piloted but it didn’t draw much of my interest. I have noticed that they come with new episodes in the doldrums of summer when anyone outside of the premium channels are not running new episodes. If nothing else it’s something to look at while I’m kicking back for a few min before bed. After watching a few of the episodes, I do kind of enjoy it. I assumed it was going to be along the line of American Chopper where they build some ungodly designed bike that you have to be independently wealthy to own. The firearms they are putting together are a little spendy, but it’s something I could reasonably afford to buy. $1500-$2500 will set you up with a lot of the things they put out (barring legal issues). They main customers are military and law enforcement, so I’d have to look at the law involved in owning some of what they put out. Beyond that, unless you are intensely into some sort of home defense mentality or just like to burn up ammunition, they are not all that justifiable to me….but I like the idea that I could buy one.
I’m watching this show last night…every once in awhile some brings in a gun they own to have it checked out, cleaned up…whatever. Some dude brought in a japanese millitary rifle that was used in WW2, an arisaka model 38. I listed to them a little…then got to thinking, I’ve got one of those in one of the gun cabinets. I look, sure enough…same gun. I listen to them explaining some of the history and significance of it, detail some of the markings…it was pretty interesting.
My grandfather brought the gun back from the pacific after his time as a marine in WW2. He brought at least 2 guns back, I’m not sure if there were more. They were the 7.7 and 6.5mm rifles. The guns were shot regularly for quite a few years by him and the kids until it was finally retired for no real reason other than they acquired other guns. After he died the 7.7 was taken by my old man and the 6.5 by his brother, my uncle. Looking at the 7.7 it still has the “emperor” mark, which according to the show and what I read online is a touch rare. Apparently when the soldiers thought their guns might fall into enemy hands they tried to file off the mark as a respect type thing for their emperor. I had read that Patton also had ordered these marks filed off of acquired rifles…but the validity of that is questionable.
Listening to them talk about this rifle and the history it made me think about the significance of what is now my rifle. It was a mass produced piece of equipment, so the quality and accuracy is probably questionable…but there’s no reason to think it’s a pile of junk. They used it hunting, it must be somewhat accurate. Thinking that this rifle was used by someone from another nation, sent to kill Americans/allies and an American acquired it…possibly killing the guy that owned it…it’s just kind of a strange feeling holding it. It can be argued that every gun I own was designed to “kill people” and they could all perform that function…but this one possibly did. The other’s can kill people, but with the exception of the glock, none of them were really designed for that function. Most are hunting rifles, built for accuracy or target guns…etc. This one was built to use while foreign soldiers hunt down Americans/allies and kill them. I don’t know the story behind the gun or how it was acquired, and that’s kind of a shame. I’d like to know if Harold took it off the battle field or picked it up in some other way. I’m not even sure what he did in the Marines.
It did pique my interest in shooting this gun though. It’s not worth any more than any other rifle in the collection, in fact it’s worth a bit less than several of them. Seeing this on T.V. though did give a little bit of significance to this, before last night, insignificant rifle.