anybody know of a good place to locate some? I just got a arisaka type 99 and am having a problem finding anything affordable seems like norma is the only company to make it now, I didnt see it on the hornady website

Last batch I got was on Gunbroker.. Good luck

I've managed to scrounge up forty rounds for my Arisaka over the years but most places now don't carry them anymore.
"Gad Custom Cartridges" claims to have 7.7 Jap.
I have no idea if they are good to deal with or not.
http://www.gadcustomcartridges.com/
Mike

__________________
"I think myself that we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious."
Thomas Jefferson- Letter to William Ludlow, September 6, 1824

Reform 30-06 brass, and roll your own.
Note that the Arasaka chambers are often oversize (from spec), this was to insure functioning in harsh conditions, but it's real hard on brass intended for reloading. IOW it dosn't matter if you start with -06 brass (that's .002ish smaller than arasaka spec) or "real" arasaka brass, your most likely to get a fairly large base bulge.
In commericial ammo, Norma is about the only game in town.

I think thats what im going to do, just refrom 30-06 brass seems to be the only economical route

As long as your 7.7 is not a late war production piece you can shoot 30-06 all day long, heck you can load a 7.7 bullet in an 06 and fire it. PO Ackely tried to blow the action on a 7.7 once, he finally drove 7 bullets into the barrel and fired a max-loaded cartridge and suceeded in blowing the barrel off the receiver but the receiver held together. It's called "Safety Breaching".

Not sure how you'd chamber and fire a .30-06 cartridge in a 7.7 Jap, but using the brass to trim and reform into the Jap caliber is something I often do to keep costs down. You can even use other cases in the '06 family, such as .270 Win and .25-06, but they're more difficult. 8 X 57 Mauser's another good one.

I haven't had any problems with short case life due to base bulge, but neck splits can happen if you don't anneal the necks.

Sportsman's Guide often has 7.7 Jap in Norma, Hornady and possibly other makes. Not cheap though. Reloading's your best bet. You can also use .303 Brit and 7.62 X 54R projectiles in your 7.7 reloads. They're all .311, so they're a pretty good match for the Arisaka.

Another plug for frangibles...
...even SinterFire makes a .310" 125gr bullet which could be loaded in your 7.7 Jap. It may give you the ability to shoot this Type 99 at some indoor ranges.
Many commonly-available 30 caliber molds drop bullets at about .314", so that gives you plenty of cast fodder to experiment with also. Just get a sizer die for .312/.313", as required.

There have been 7.62x54R pulled bullets on the market. They mike .311, perfect for 7.7. I've got some 147gr, but there has also been heavy ball out there (190gr).

__________________
. A good anvil never fears The Hammer. ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! Semper Gumby كاف

I'm looking at dies to buy, should I buy a full length die or just a neck sizing die?

Full length. You can always back it off a bit to just size the neck if you go that route. With mild loads, brass should last a very long time in a bolt gun.

__________________
. A good anvil never fears The Hammer. ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ! Semper Gumby كاف