6.5 x 51 R Jap. Arisaka Load Data

Caliber Overview

The 6.5×50mmSR Arisaka (designated as the 6,5 × 51 R (Arisaka) by the C.I.P.) is a semi-rimmed rifle cartridge with a 6.705 mm (.264 in) diameter bullet. It was the standard Japanese military cartridge from 1897 until the late 1930s for service rifles and machine guns when it was gradually replaced by the 7.7×58mm Arisaka.

The first rifle to use it was the Model 30 (in the 30th year of the Meiji reign, 1897), which used a rounded-nose bullet. It later evolved into the Model 30 of 1902 and the Model 38 of 1905, which used aerodynamic-nose bullets. During the 1930s, the Model 99 appeared in 7.7x58 SR caliber and was widely used during World War II. Subsequent tests showed it to be the most robust of all those used in the war, withstanding pressures that could destroy the German Kar-98 or the .30-06 Springfield.

To our knowledge, hunting weapons have never been chambered in this caliber. After WWII, many war surplus Arisaka rifles were used in the U.S. as inexpensive hunting weapons. The cartridge and gun are said to have been very suitable for deer hunting. Ammunition is still manufactured in small quantities to meet this demand.

A relatively large number of these rifles can be found in Spain, since the Model 30, 35, and 38 rifles were used during the Civil War. Their history is a fascinating one. Most of these weapons arrived with the first batches of Soviet aid to the Republic and were examples captured during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and were used as ammunition manufactured in Russia or acquired from England for these weapons during World War I. The War Material Recovery Service manual only shows rounded bullets, the type used in the 30. The manual for the rifles, however, describes only the Model 35.