Norinco M305 Questions/Recommendations

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Statik

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Good morning all,
I joined CanadianGunNutz today because this seems to be where the best information is coming from right now. I am looking at purchasing my first rifle either this fall or shortly thereafter. I would like to purchase a Norinco M305 but I have some questions that I hope you guys can help with:
1. Where is the best place to purchase an M305? I live in Nova Scotia and the Halifax Army Navy store often has them in, but usually with the wooden stocks. Cabelas/Bass Pro is supposed to be opening later this summer and they also carry them. Is there a better place to purchase them from? Do some stores/online retailers offer a better deal or kit?
2. To those who own the M305: which barrel length do you have and what are your thoughts? I'm looking for an M305 primarily for deer hunting with 'alternate' usage being a secondary concern. Weight of the rifle is not as big a concern as accuracy. If the trade-off, in your mind, isn't worth it, please let me know. What I mean is, if you don't gain much in accuracy for the added weight, let me know. My goal is to eventually get the accuracy to MOA, perhaps better, with tweaking. I know not to expect that out of the box. :)
3. I would love to hear which scope mounts you have all tried and which one seems to be the best bang for your buck.
Thanks!
Statik
 
my advice.... buy a previously owned rifle with a receiver dated 2009 or older.
the recent M305 stuff is straight up junk
 
As much fun as an M305 is to shoot, if hunting is your primary use for it, get yourself a decent bolt gun. Out of the box accuracy of an M305 won't hold a candle to a Savage/Remington/etc. bolt gun. I love my M14/M305 but I wouldn't use it for hunting.
 
Getting a stock Norinco to shoot MOA isnt any easy feat. You're likely looking at a new barrel at least.

I was in the same boat as you , I wanted a dual purpose firearm for hunting and target shooting. I had to sink a bunch of money into it before I was happy and even then 1.5moa is the best i can do with factory match ammo. It also weighs alot more now and I would never consider hunting with it anymore.

M305's are fun to tinker with, sometimes you can get a decent one and sometimes you get one where the bolt blows up in your face like me.

With the money I spent on my M305 rig I could have bought a rem 700 and a fun range blaster for far cheaper and less headaches. CGN has alot of guys who know alot about the platform and can offer advice on tweaking and tuning them. If your looking for a project gun then they are not a bad choice but as hunting is your first criteria choice I'd look at a bolty, a rem 700 or Bergara.

That's just been my experience. Hope it helps.
M305
18.5" barrel, HRT bolt, m14.ca chassis, blackarrow spring guide & spring ,LMB m14.ca break & pre gen 3 stock
 
Older m305s is the way to go. The new ones has MIM parts which are not as reliable. The new guns also cheap out on the polymer they make the stock from and little things like the bolt catch is now stamped steel. The standard 22" barrel will give you a few more FPS but not enough to offset the convenience of the 18.5" shorty. Those 4" makes quite the difference in terms of transporting and shooting in the woods.

As for hunting, using a m305 is not un heard of and may people like the fact that it is a non restricted 308 semi that can accommodate a legal removable 10 round magazine. If you want to go light, go with a Browning BAR, it is a better option for hunting but if you want a gun that you could tinker with, upgrade as time passes and is also fun and not all business than the m305 is the ticket.

You can still fine some deals on for a good price. My last m305 cost me $450 and it came with 1x5 round magazine, 2 x 5/20 round magazine and an AIA 10 rounder. It also came with a Springfield Armoury scope mount but I would have preferred a CASM mount and an Archangel stock. All I added was a op rod spring guide rod.

Even if you got an m305 for $400 to $500 in stock form, you will be ahead of the game because you won't find much in a semi 308 in that price range.
 
The enjoyment I've had playing and shooting with the M305 makes me wish I would have taken it seriously years ago. Not the easiest platform to work with, as mentioned, but it is incredibly enjoyable and satisfying. I had a Springfield M1A in the past, which was fine, but I sold it, finding it really as enjoyable as the $450 Norinco I started to shoot. As accurate? probably not, but to me it was not enough to justify approximately 4x the cost. You can upgrade as you go, as you see fit. Just my experience.
 
RifleDude said:
As much fun as an M305 is to shoot, if hunting is your primary use for it, get yourself a decent bolt gun. Out of the box accuracy of an M305 won't hold a candle to a Savage/Remington/etc. bolt gun. I love my M14/M305 but I wouldn't use it for hunting.
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With all due respect, if your M305 can hold groups tight enough to be able to hunt with it, it's either faulty or you're doing it wrong.

Are there more elegant guns to hunt with? Yes.

Can an M305 take game? Yes.
 
45ACPKING said:
yup.

everything after 2009 is a crap shoot , I know the dealers and importers won't like me posting that but it IS the truth.
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Not to disagree exactly, because I agree that after 2009 the rifles started to decline in quality, but I would say anything dated later than 2014 is a no-go. After that we start seeing cast receivers here and there, lower quality parts, etc.

Anything 2014 and earlier MIGHT be a good gun, but you need to know what to look for. I buy used in person and have several 2009-2014 era receivers that are just fine.

FWIW, I tend to use the M305 to harvest receivers and then build on them. Nowadays though, you might as well just buy a Fulton receiver instead of tearing down a Norinco and tossing out all the chinese parts.

When shopping for a RECEIVER (whole rifle is another story), basically I look for a 1990's era made receiver (assembly date matters not), and I look for a vertical scope mount slot that is centered on the side bolt hole. I also looks for in-spec safety bridges and sight pockets that aren't obviously crooked. After that, most other things can be fixed.
 
my beater rifle i keep behind my truck seat or on the front rack of the quad is a pretty much stock 2007. Only upgrades where the spring and guide rod and the sights (usgi HR). I did chop the barrel and add a flash hider from dlask and I tuned the trigger and put it in one of my stocks. But the gun basically has all it's original important parts ie, barrel, bolt, trigger group, oprod, gas system.
I have taken 5 mule deer , 2 moose, 13 coyotes, a wolf and 1 bear with that rifle in the past 7 years..... it easily qualifies as a hunting rifle and weighs a full pound and a 1/2 less than my ruger MKII 7mm mag with nikon scope.

I still love these rifles, I'm sure folks can get that, but I'll stand by my recommendation that if you are a "noob" (pardon the expression) to these rifles in general...... I dunno if I can personally recommend anything from China after 09.... and I'll stick to that and leave you guys to the discussion.
 
Claven2 said:
Not to disagree exactly, because I agree that after 2009 the rifles started to decline in quality, but I would say anything dated later than 2014 is a no-go. After that we start seeing cast receivers here and there, lower quality parts, etc.

Cast would not be as bad. I would settle for cast over MIM parts. Metal Injected Molding is how they are making the receiver and bolt now.
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Garaldtao said:
Claven2 said:
Not to disagree exactly, because I agree that after 2009 the rifles started to decline in quality, but I would say anything dated later than 2014 is a no-go. After that we start seeing cast receivers here and there, lower quality parts, etc.

Cast would not be as bad. I would settle for cast over MIM parts. Metal Injected Molding is how they are making the receiver and bolt now.
Click to expand...

you have seen a MIM receiver? That's news to me. The recent ones look investment cast from who knows what.
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I have an 18.5" M305 that I've lightened from 13 lbs stock to 8 lbs 6 oz.

It's still a nose heavy rifle, but I only shoot at the range anyway.

I bought someone else's abandoned project: a chu wood stock with an 870 adapter for an AR15 butt stock. If it doesn't work out, I'll put it on my DA Grizzly 870 clone, and buy a Boyd's stock.
 
stevebc said:
I have an 18.5" M305 that I've lightened from 13 lbs stock to 8 lbs 6 oz.

It's still a nose heavy rifle, but I only shoot at the range anyway.

I bought someone else's abandoned project: a chu wood stock with an 870 adapter for an AR15 butt stock. If it doesn't work out, I'll put it on my DA Grizzly 870 clone, and buy a Boyd's stock.
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years ago that lazerus2000 clown made a folder out of a rem 870 side folder unit and a Chu wood stock.... then when the guy he built it for fell while hunting (i think it was) the chu wood stock promptly failed miserably.
not to give you advice where you may not want it..... but I would opt for a real hardwood stock or get one of the chinese plastic stocks. Once you cut the back off one of those plastic ones, it's like the opening left behind was almost made to fit the buttstock adaptor modification. Using that chu wood for a mod like this could end up causing injury.
 
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