How good are the norinco m14's

my points in bold

brutus101 said:
Hi,

I was thinking about a norinco m14 shorty and a 22lr (marlin 795) as my first firearms but all the dealer here in Quebec that I spoke to seems to think that norinco m14's are crap.
To me, they look really cool and the fact we can have 10 round magazine for them is even cooler 9magazine MUST be pinned to 5 rounds.
Also, having one would piss off the anti gun crowd, which in itself is a good reason to own a specific firearm except that I don't have enough money to buy one only for that! no it won't any firearm will piss off the anit crowd, buy a SKSThe intended uses are target shooting (mostly), hunting, and SHTF/emergency preparedness(SHTF probably won't happen but better have it and not need it).

I am ready to dissasemble it and replace 300$-500$ worth of parts if necessary to improve/fix it. if your willing to spend 500 on a rifle then 500 on parts buy a real deal for 1200
Once done, can I espect it is going to last as long as other good factory 308 and be reliable shooting surplus ammo and commercial 308 ammo?
Is there much chance that I get a lemon?
What king of accuracy can I expect.

Do you guys use them for hunting? Do you like them for that application? What about scope mounting?

Is the shorty much noisier than the normal m14?

Thank you!
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I you like to tinker with your rifles, M305 is a good way to go ---- I would agree with one of the posters suggesting a used unit that's already been tweaked. I think most guys know that bolting on $600 worth of parts onto a $400 rifle is not going to fetch them $1000 in return (although a few do).

The recent jump in prices with some of the local importers made me think twice about purchasing an M305 mostly on principle (but I won't bore you with the whole hash on that) ---- my current thinking is; the most valuable part of the M305 is the forged receiver (someone correct me if I am wrong, but the civilian Springfield M14 isn't forged??) --- seems most other parts are being changed up with genuine US-built parts. Like I said, if you like to tinker -----

As a hunting rifle, I would be looking to something else ----- my reasons for consideration in the first place is/was that I wanted a battle rifle (as close to an FN as possible) for nostalgia reasons ---- I wouldn't consider an FN for hunting either.
 
Holleyman said:
There are varying degrees of quality with the Norcs, I have one that shot 2 to 2.5" out of the box and my worst shot 9 - 10" with a crown that looks like it was cut with a pocket knife .
There are inexpensive ways to make them fairly accurate but if you are looking for a cloverleaf at 100 then skip the platform and just buy a bolt.
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My sentiments exactly!! The reason (in my humble estimation) that battle rifles were/are adopted as hunting rifles is because they're cheap and plentiful and can reliably group between 3-4 MOA ---- which is all that a battle rifle is meant to do; get a lot of lead on the target with reasonable accuracy.

Some would argue that the M14 was used as a sniper rifle, and this is true, but, these were typically manufactured with tighter tolerances (and accuracies) from the get-go.

For hunting, there are better, lighter (and cheaper) platforms. If you like to tinker a LOT, buy the M305 and replace many of the parts with M1A/M14 original parts (which could run you into the $1500-$2000 mark in the end). If you only like to tinker a little, buy an M1A and tweak.
 
I think that the OP will get many points of view on this topic because quality varies widely on the Norincos as will the experience. No doubt they are tinkering/project rifles that will get you in the game inexpensively and can be tweaked for many years. Very little beyond a basic home workshop is needed to work on these guns.

My experience having one for a couple of years, thousands of rounds and having tweaked it extensively is that they can be fun or frustrating depending on what you want. Reloading is likely a must if you want decent accuracy. Over the years mine has gone from 3-4 MOA with Norc surplus to 0.7-1.5 MOA with reloads. It is now shooting 0.8 - 2.5 MOA which I hope to squeeze back down with some more tweaks. Having these rifles is a continuous work in progress and the work is excellent to really learn the platform.

If you just want a rifle that shoots well out of the box, there are better platforms. I personally love mine and will be playing with it long after I've sold other rifles with which I've grown bored.
 
Just too heavy too lug around hunting. For stand or truck/quad hunting it would be fine. Too much work for a first gun.
Get a good bolt gun with a decent optic. Learn to shoot well. Get an M14 after you get a shotgun and probably most
importantly, get a .22 for lots of cheap trigger time. M14's get expensive to shoot.
 
I have an early import "2005" and they were the best bunch produced. None of the issues the newer models had. A late production can be had for as little as $400 on the EE and a early model can fetch $600+ easy. Do your research, then buy. I wont sell mine.
 
the M1a is one of the most expensive rifles to get into .... some folks drop a grand into those crazy looking metal stocks and not skip a beat

on the M14 forum, people will pick up an old norc and use it for a build ...and dump alot of bucks into parts and think nothing of it

imo.. just buy the rifle, and spend the bucks to make it what you need it to be... why people nickle n dime things to death is just crazy, they should stick to lever action rifles and double barrel shot guns .... lol
 
dimeN said:
the M1a is one of the most expensive rifles to get into .... some folks drop a grand into those crazy looking metal stocks and not skip a beat

on the M14 forum, people will pick up an old norc and use it for a build ...and dump alot of bucks into parts and think nothing of it

imo.. just buy the rifle, and spend the bucks to make it what you need it to be... why people nickle n dime things to death is just crazy, they should stick to lever action rifles and double barrel shot guns .... lol
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Yeah, I wan't to leave it plain jane (iron sight, factory stock). I may do a few innexpensive mods. I found that on the internet.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/affordable_accuracy.htm

The guy talk about a few inexpensive mods he did that improved the accuracy of his m1a.
 
M-305 hands down ( I have had 6-7 of them now and I am down to just 2 ..lol ) ...These are a great rifle for the money , As others have said you can spend a lot or a little on tweaking and customizing them . Get to a clinic if possible and check out the stickies above for the more comman faults and fixs ( most of which you can do yourself if needed).
There are lots of people here familiar with these rifles and they are fairly easy to work on .
 
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Most have some type of problem. Exploding bolts don't instill confidence.

My 2007 (bought on the EE) has some upgrades, but needs a new flash hider (crooked sight base), needs two shims and I have not had the headspace checked. There are no local gunsmiths to work on them and I don't want to spend $400 plus double shipping. on a "package".

It's right on the verge of making my sell list.
 
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I've had no issues with my 09 M305. I used it as a hunting rifle for a year or so, and then had it modified with a trigger job, shortened barrel (before the shorties were available), op-rod spring guide, and a host of other mods that a 'smith did (who doesn't do them anymore-too bad).

It was as reliable as a claw hammer before and after the mods were done, so I can't complain either way.

I use a Bushnell 3x9 Trophy scope and an aluminum mount when it's used as a hunting rifle (my bush gun).
 
lone ranger said:
I have an early import "2005" and they were the best bunch produced. None of the issues the newer models had. A late production can be had for as little as $400 on the EE and a early model can fetch $600+ easy. Do your research, then buy. I wont sell mine.
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I've heard there's been issues with the newer Norc's --- again, one of the reasons why I couldn't justify the increased cost for diminishing quality
 
Some of the posts in this thread are typical LOL exploding bolts are not very common

10 years of constant new content in the main battle rifle forum is a testament in itself to the popularity of the chinese M14/M305. The rifle has a cult like following and at the same time has brought out the tinkerer in many a gun owner. No, the chinese M14 is not perfect and like has been said, they do produce their lemons so buy from a dealer with an exchange policy/warranty.
BUT if you like to tinker and play with your tools... The chinese M14 is certainly a fun rifle to own. That and there is a fantastic community here to be part of and make new friends. The thing that makes them popular is not accuracy out of the box, it's not the finishing on the metal , it's not the sloppy parts fitment... It's just that they are a real fun rifle to tinker with and a real fun time to shoot.
That's my thoughts anyways.
 
Well said.
Travis Bickle said:
How good are they? Good enough Sir.
The M14 is a sloppy battle rifle design. I've seen Norinco's out of the box shoot nice consistent 3-4" groups with relatively s**t ammo.
You have to ask yourself if you're the kind of guy that likes to take things apart, read up on them and do a little hands on work. If so then it's a great rifle and one of the best for reliability and decent dependable accuracy. Just make sure you can inspect the rifle before you buy one is all I'm going to say, check the indexing of the barrel, everything else can be easily fixed with simple tools around your house and threads/info from right here on CGN.
I'll say one other thing, if you're looking for sub MOA precision accuracy, just buy an M700 and save yourself a lot of time and money right off the bat Sir.
You can go broke real fast trying to turn something into something it isn't and never will be.......
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As others said canted site= bad indexing, also the oprod guide can be diagnosed without dissasembly. Simply move the front part of the oprod back and forth there should be no play if the oprod is actually tight
 
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