Gun Noob

AbsoluteZero

I've come into possession of an old Japanese Nambu Type 14 pistol. I don't know shit about guns, where do I start? I don't really want to fire the thing, seeing as it's pretty old and looks really nice and I'd rather not fuck it up... but I would like to know how to take care of it. Also, it seems to have a problem. I don't know if the clip is stuck (I've read these particular guns have problems with their clips) or if I'm just doing it wrong, but I haven't been able to remove it.

Any resources out there I should look into?

Uncle Long

Well look into your state laws (if you're in the US). You're going to want a case if you don't have one.

I know in Michigan I ran into a similar situation with my grandfather going a bit nuts with alzheimers and my uncles removing the weapons from his house; I happened to inherit a small .22.

Anyway, I took it down to the police station in a case and told them about it and I had to leave it there and fill out some paper work and I picked it up the next day. They said that if I took it to a range or whatever I had to have it stored in the case and in the trunk; because I didn't have a concealed weapons permit.

The next day I took it down to the local gunshop which, being in Michigan, was an experience in and of itself. They helped me clean it up and put it into good working order.

BlochWave

Get it cleaned and checked by some professionals

If it's in good working order, it'll work just fine if you ever wanna go to a shooting range or something, just clean it after every use, but if it's not clean or working right it could break severely or hurt you

Edit: how ARE you trying to take the magazine(technically it's a magazine! Clips are for like rifles and crap) out? There should be a button or small lever somewhere. Usually, I dunno about old Japanese pistols. Don't be offended but...are you sure there's a magazine in there or that it's..not a revolver(hey it's worth asking)? Does the slide work?

Well regardless get it checked

arod_77

Good lord be careful with that thing, it'll shoot your cock off.

(Take it to a smithy)

AbsoluteZero

I got the magazine out, the release button was stuck. A couple raps got it back in action. I did not know there was a difference between a magazine and a clip, I kinda thought the term was interchangeable.

I'm not worried about accidentally shooting myself with it because it's not loaded and the firing pin has been taken out of it. I still want to keep it nice though...I'll have to see if there's some sort of gun shop around here... but what exactly should I be looking for?

vonPoonBurGer

Have you seen this page? It's a scan of some pages from a manual on Japanese weapons (including the Type 14) made by the US War Dept. for American troops, so they could figure out how to operate these weapons if needed. Kind of neat. There's instructions for unloading on page 18. Apparently, removing the clip requires that you put the safety in the forward (fire) position, so depending on your comfort level with firearms, you may want to let a professional handle it until you're up to speed on gun handling and safety.

AbsoluteZero

vonPoonBurGer wrote: »

Have you seen this page? It's a scan of some pages from a manual on Japanese weapons (including the Type 14) made by the US War Dept. for American troops, so they could figure out how to operate these weapons if needed. Kind of neat. There's instructions for unloading on page 18. Apparently, removing the clip requires that you put the safety in the forward (fire) position, so depending on your comfort level with firearms, you may want to let a professional handle it until you're up to speed on gun handling and safety.

Hey, that actually helps a lot, thanks. The one I have is a little different from the one there, but very similar.

EDIT: NM. The type 14 is on there, just had to scroll down a little further. Thanks a ton!

Steel Angel

AbsoluteZero wrote: »

I got the magazine out, the release button was stuck. A couple raps got it back in action. I did not know there was a difference between a magazine and a clip, I kinda thought the term was interchangeable.

It's kind of like how your parents might have referred to any game console as "The Nintendo" even if it was an Atari, Sega, or Neo Geo. For the most part, clips are used to to load ammunition into older firearms and actually consists of a piece of metal holding the ends of all the rounds the same way a paper clip does paper. Haven't really been used in handguns since the WWI era and in rifles since the WWII era.

I'm not worried about accidentally shooting myself with it because it's not loaded and the firing pin has been taken out of it. I still want to keep it nice though...I'll have to see if there's some sort of gun shop around here... but what exactly should I be looking for?

You may want to consider looking at gunshops that are also gun ranges. The staff at those places have to maintain a lot of guns that see lots of use by renters. If you have the number of any shops in your area, you can also call ahead and ask if they deal with curio and relic firearms and go from there if they do.