Tanaka Works Arisaka Rifle Type 99 "Short" Bolt Action Gas Powered Rifle

"So I bought one. So if you’re planning on getting one of these expensive replicas, let me give you a hand so you can make your decision. First and foremost you’re paying for the rarity of this gun, since they are imported and due to this process it causes the price to go up. There are other versions of this very same rifle out there but this exact version has a beautiful wood finish along with gray steel. I’ve seen others on sites like red wolf that are exactly the same, even from the same company but the wood is that cheap looking, bright and orangish look and the steel parts are all black. I will say that the gun in person is as beautiful as it is in the pictures and the coloring is not deceptive at all. What you see is what you get. But is it worth the $1600?
Now let’s talk about functionality. Upon unboxing I noticed not only how beautiful this gun was but also how absolutely smooth the bolt pull is. It feels great in the hands and is not heavy at all. I bought extra magazines, but I will say that the magazine that comes with this version has that steel gray color to it, and the spare magazines are painted black, just fyi. Also the magazine insertion and extraction takes getting used to since the mag release is a ribbed little lever nub inside the trigger guard that sits towards the front, that slides up with pressure to release the magazine. The mags are heavy and easy to drop if you don’t catch it after the release. These only hold 9 bb’s so get a few extra. Each mag can be loaded about 5 times after each gas fill. Athough the build quality and finish looks beautiful, I have to say that I was a little disappointed with how creaky and squeaky the gun could be. I can say though that it didn’t creek as much as cheaper guns, but it was still there. Still worth $1600? Let’s see

Pro’s: FPS is constant and very accurate.
Bolt pull is wonderfully smooth.
Feels great and i mean great in the hands.
Magazine seems very reliable
Light enough but still has a perfect heft and length
Sights are very well built and can be used accurately
Orange tip comes off very easily (IMO)

Cons: Price/doesn’t come with scope or extra magazine
Magazines are heavy and finicky (not too bad)
Metal monopod is useless, it’s flimsy and totally unstable
Bolt is very loose on full pull, feels like it can break.
Build still has squeaky and creaky overall feel to it like cheaper models but not as bad.
Trigger is decent -

If this is your first airsoft bolt pull rifle and you have 1600$ to put into a bolt pull sniper I would honestly either buy the cheaper non grey steel version ($800 on redwolf and cheaper on other sites) or look into tanaka’s other gas/spring versions. I’ve noticed functionality is basically the same with tanaka’s gas type 99, 38, 97 (I have these also). Again this version is more expensive due to the rarity of the steel grey version. If your someone looking for precision and you also want to collect this type of rifle then you’ll love this one. Remember it comes with only one mag and it only holds 9 bb’s which is more realistic than efficient. I wish they could’ve tightened up the build a bit so it didn’t have that little bit of creakyness but I can deal with it.
Bottom line: It’s a wonderful, beautiful replica and it is a blast to hold and the bolt pull is so smooth BUT the creaky parts and garbage monopod brings everything back down to earth. The scope should’ve came with this rifle especially for the price and it is hard to find so that doesn’t help. If you have the money like a drop in the bucket, it’s easy to forgive the faults found in the rifle but if it’s money saved up that could go to something else then you might want to pass since the excitement will go away and you might regret blowing $1600 on it. Again I will say that this is not a poorly made rifle and the finish on it is a collectors dream but my price would be $900. For $1600 I would expect a scope, better monopod and 3 extra grey steel magazines and next day shipping. Personally I love it. I can’t stop picking it up and plinking my digital screen with it. Hasn’t gotten old yet. I’m happy with the purchase.