Norinco M305: 22" or 18.5"

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saltbait

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Hey guys,

I am looking into buying a Norinco M305, but have seen a few negative things on the shorty. Hoping someone hear can clear things up. I contacted the sales department at Marstar and they said they discontinued the M305 shorty from their inventory because of all of the problems people were encountering. I realize that Norinco, being a chinese manufacturing company, can have bad batches at times.
 
the best way , of course is to try them both; however, all the data from zediker and the rest have been compiled using the standard 22 inch 1/12 barrel- including the recipe books- however, if you're willing to develop your own loads using the 18 inch barrel, you might find it handier as a bush gun- target, definitely 22 inch- you'll lose about 100 fps /inch of barrel if you go shorter- I have 4 m14s and they all wear 22 inch barrels- they also have 4x12x40 scopes and harris bipods,and other goodies- as you can see, i'm all about long range- I use a load equivalent to the old slr load- 43.9 of 748 under a 165-168 bullet- the slr( special long range) load calls for a 173 grain match, so I cheat a little- the load was developed by zediker esp for the m14 and it's a "work -up" load
 
I'm still kind of stuck in the middle. I would like the M305 to be a bit on the lighter that the standard m305 since I plan on using it for hunting trips. I'll be using it tops 250-300 yards. I'm drawn to the shorty since it does have the shorter barrel which should cut down the weight a bit (correct me if I'm wrong), but then again I realize that the standard m305 with the 22" will have better range.
 
The shorty will be a little lighter, but I think its main advantage is better handling, esp. in the bush. The longer barrel may give a small increase in terms of accuracy and velocity, but I'd still prefer the 18.5".
 
I have a short one and it shoots well, but if I did it again I would choose the longer barrel for more accuracy. Its a good truck and an excellent range gun but not a popular choice for hunting so its not like most people are going to be carrying them around. Its not that you can't go hunting with one, its just that there are so many better choices of rifles.
 
Have you picked up one of these? I have the 18.5" version and can't imagine lugging it through the bush all day (I'm such a wimp).
Mine has seen less than 100rnds of Norinco ammo without a hiccup. It came "tuned" by Barney so probably explains that.
 
johNTO said:
Have you picked up one of these? I have the 18.5" version and can't imagine lugging it through the bush all day
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Its ten pounds without strap, scope, or ammunition.


Ten pounds is not a heavy hunting rifle. I'm not a big guy, 6ft and 175 pounds, and ten pounds is the average weight of a rifle so it shouldn't be a problem to carry. Even my featherweight Mod70 in 30.06 with scope, strap and ammo is almost 9 pounds.

The reason why the M305 is not a good hunting rifle is because its clunky, plastic and makes metallic noise 30 hours a day. Good luck sneaking up on a whitetail with that noise-maker. It makes noise all by itself while sitting in the safe.
 
fiddler said:
Its ten pounds without strap, scope, or ammunition.


Ten pounds is not a heavy hunting rifle. I'm not a big guy, 6ft and 175 pounds, and ten pounds is the average weight of a rifle so it shouldn't be a problem to carry. Even my featherweight Mod70 in 30.06 with scope, strap and ammo is almost 9 pounds.

The reason why the M305 is not a good hunting rifle is because its clunky, plastic and makes metallic noise 30 hours a day. Good luck sneaking up on a whitetail with that noise-maker. It makes noise all by itself while sitting in the safe.
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They also come with a wooden stock if you prefer them that way :)
 
saltbait said:
Do you think an aftermarket stock like a sage or one of those blackfeathers would lighten it up?
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Not even close lol

If you are dead set on a m305 for hunting, plan on lugging it for long periods of time, and your range is 200-300 yards... I would get the 18.5" version, leave it in the synthetic stock, and practice with the irons at your intended range. I don't think you will notice a difference in weight between the 18.5"-22" versions. So then your choice comes down to basically a shorter gun for the bush (not sure if this applies to where you are hunting) or having a little bit more in terms of FPS.
 
hawk-i said:
They also come with a wooden stock if you prefer them that way :)
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I've seen some of the new Italian stocks, but for those of us who already have them, the only other real wood to choose is from Boyds.

That said, I don't think the wood stock will make it much lighter, and half the noise is still from the metallic parts such as bolt, Op rod, and magazine.


I enjoy shooting my 305 shorty and I do it often, its just not my choice for a hunting rifle.
 
ok, I've been around long enough to set a few things straight- the m14 stripped, no magazine, NO STOCK, just the barrel and action weighs roughly 9.5/10 pounds- the standard m14, cleaning equipment stowed, 111/4- in other words there ain't no way you're going to get less than 10.5-11 pounds no matter which barrel length you use, no cleaning equipment, or stowed, - and yes, I know we're talking m305s here, but for all intense purposes it's still an m14- so use the weights in the front of the manual- even with a fiberglas stock( mine are usgi) it still weighs in at 11 - - which means if you want to use it for hunting either practice a lot of carrying it so you become used to the weight, or use a lighter rifle( ie a sporter like a semi auto HUNTING rifle that weighs in at about 7-8 pounds)-so what's the m14 for?- the shot where you have time to deploy the bipod, get a rock steady position, and squeeze the shot-but only to 265 yards or less as that's the mpbr of the 308/165
in order to make them more comfortable to hunt with, I changed the sling swivels to the top of the buttstock, and the front left/right and added an m60 sling- this sits the rifle at hip level and has enough give to slide up to the shoulder easily- and yes, I use the thing that goes up as well- it sits better into the shoulder
 
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no- I mean plate, shoulder rest, - it's part of the buttplate- although most folks on here call it "the thing that goes up"- by putting that up and bearing down on thebipod, you can increase the forward pressure to almost 35 pounds , which minimizes the felt recoil and allows better groups
 
If you have the cash buy both the long and short versions. The m14/305 platform is a great one in my opinion and most people have multiple rifles. If cash is limited just grab the long version can't go wrong.
 
The M14 is a hefty rifle, not heavy and not light. The bbl length has a negligible difference on its overall weight. Just don't add a bunch of mall ninja sh!t to it and it will be fine. They balance and point well with either barrel. As someone who enjoyed carrying my M1 Garand in the bush I think the M14 is a cool and suited hunting rifle. Adjust your sling so the rifle doesn't ride to tight or loose on your body otherwise the weight will get to you sooner than it should. This is true with all rifles. I like my shorty quite a bit and the 2013 shorties are a step up in quality. The price is up as well but given mine only had a faulty bolt hold open that I fixed in about 30 mins I'm not sorry I bought it. Fit and finish is much better than the crap I've passed on previously (they looked like high school shop class garbage) and the trigger
Is fantastic. I say get whichever you prefer. The M14 can't be loaded to bolt action velocities and the 100 or so FPS difference will not be considered by the animal you shoot. Deer can't even spell FPS.
 
saltbait said:
I realize I'm a newbie to these types of questions so pardon my stupidity if it makes an appearance. Would there be anyway to make it into a better hunting rifle?
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You can hunt with the rifle, it has a cartridge that can knock down any animals we have. The rifle has an inherently clunky and noisy action that spooks game. Although there are many people here who have successfully hunted and taken nice animals with this rifle, for many others, it is less suitable because of superior options in other rifles. .
 
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