japanese 7.7

[looking for answers]

I am looking for a cheap alternative to spending upwards o$60 on a box of jap 7.7 shells. I recently read that the british enfield 303 could be shot through the 7.7 since the specs are relatively the same. Can anyone tell me if this is true&

[kg42]

No. It must have been about bullets.

The 303 cases might do for the 6.5 jap after lots of work. The 30-06 is the usual suspect for case conversion to 7.7 jap.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=21574

I'm not home right now and a bit fuzzy on japanese cartridges, so I'll get back to the thread after checking some doc. I think they had a rimmed cartridge like the .303 (the 7.7 is rimmless).
http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

You've got new ammo here:
http://www.grafs.com/ammo/239

New 7.7 brass is available if you are willing to reload:
http://www.grafs.com/metallic/780 , shipping paid in U.S.
http://www.huntingtons.com/cases_grafhornady.html

kg

[testhop]

No. It must have been about bullets.

The 303 cases might do for the 6.5 jap after lots of work. The 30-06 is the usual suspect for case conversion to 7.7 jap.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=21574

I'm not home right now and a bit fuzzy on japanese cartridges, so I'll get back to the thread after checking some doc. I think they had a rimmed cartridge like the .303 (the 7.7 is rimmless).
http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

You've got new ammo here:
http://www.grafs.com/ammo/239

New 7.7 brass is available if you are willing to reload:
http://www.grafs.com/metallic/780 , shipping paid in U.S.
http://www.huntingtons.com/cases_grafhornady.html

kg

if i recall right the japs chamberd the 7.7 so thay could use our 06 ammo but
we couldnt use the 7.7so i think it may be posable to make 7.7s from 06 brass
and if you use cast boolits with lower pressure maybe ok

[versifier]

It is never safe to fire .30-06 ammo in a 7.7jap. It has been done, but that doesn't mean it's a very smart thing to do, and the smaller diameter .30cal (.308") bullet won't be stabilized in the larger bore anyway. The bit about the Japanese designing their rifle so that they could use our ammo but we couldn't use theirs was a "battlefield rumor" that unfortunately persists to this day. There is absolutely no truth in it as far as my researches have been able to find. You can form 7.7 cases from -06's, but cases are available at reasonable costs now, both unloaded Norma cases and loaded Privi ammo, so why bother? Norma ammo is fairly pricy, but I did see the prices on some of that new Hornady ammo! Holy Sheep! For that kind of money, they can keep it - the Privi goes for around $15 a box and the brass holds up well for many loadings.

Bullets designed for the .303Brit are the same diameter as those for the 7.7 (.311") and that's what you buy to load your own. The problem here is one of confused terminology: many people say "bullets" when they mean "cartridges". The bullet is the projectile, the cartridge is comprised of bullet, case, powder, and primer. Rimmed .303 brass is not compatible with either the chamber or the boltface of an Arisaka rifle. It's like people who don't know the difference between a "clip" and a "magazine" causing more confusion than they realize.

Realistically, the 7.7 is a round for handloaders today anyway. Actual bore sizes of wartime production rifles vary quite a bit, so you are better off slugging the bore to find the right size and firing cast boolits out of it. My Arisaka patterns new Norma ammo like a shotgun, but it will shoot cast under 2" @ 100yds.

[kg42]

... I think they had a rimmed cartridge like the .303 (the 7.7 is rimmless).
http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

The 6.5mm Arisaka is semi-rimmed.