>>298810The stock doesn't looked cracked to me, just gouged. The reason why the stock is worth some cash is that it has the original finish. Many people sanded these down and restained them and converted them to hunting rifles. The finish is fuxor'd though. I hope the OP doesn't re-blue it! He should just remove whatever surface rust there is and leave it as is. Also, if the screws are still staked in plcae, don't move them!
The price I quoted was mainly what a die-hard Arisaka collector would pay. This rifle could go up in value if there was an original sling, dust-cover and any capture papers.
>>298807I've never shot my 'Last Ditch' rifle. I do know a few collectors who routinely do and haven't had any problems. There are very few known 'Ka-booms' in the Type 99 series, and non-exsistant in the Type 38 rifles. The bad reputation comes from GI's shooting ammo in the Trainer Rifles. Those go BOOM, but nobody was smart enough to know the Kanji for "Blanks Only".
Here's a link to a data sheet. There is a listing of Series Katakana that will help the OP identify his rifle a little better.
http://www.gunboards.com/sites/banzai/DataSheets/M99/M99Data.htm#Model_99 
