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I once saw a type 38 cut down to short rifle length. I know they did this but is there anyway to definitely ID them? The 'book' shows the end of barrel turned down for bayo & upper band, I did not notice that on the rifle I looked at, (could have been turned). It was in excellent condition, hardly if ever used. The guy was asking 6 or 700 for it and it lasted 2 shows. Was this too much or about right? First one I have ever seen and was not even aware of them till I got McCullum's book.
The end of the barrel will be "stepped" with a small gap between the step and the front sight. The stock will have an odd contour as well. Look at the stock between the middle and front band. It should be angled up a bit compared to the rest of the stock. Also, it WILL have a full length hand guard and be the same length as a type99 give or take a 1/4" or so.
$600-$700 is a good price for one in good condition. I have two and put one out at Tulsa for $1,000. Mainly because I wasn't real excited to get rid of it. There is no set price on them due to rarity and they show up for as little as $250-$350 due to so many people not knowing about them.
They are a "Type38 Cavalry Rifle". They were all made from existing rifles at random. There are no marks or different parts that identify them as their own model of rifle. You have to go by whether they fit the pattern and if they look like they were modified 75yrs ago. Due to the fact that they were arsenal rebuilds, there is no way to know how many were made. In over a decade, I ended up with two. A friend who has big bucks and has been collecting for 30 years ended up with three. So they are definitely scarce.
Saw another at a gun show, 350. The gap on barrel, where turned down, was quite long but I think these varied? And it was behind the front band, as the one I mentioned above was.