The M-14's are in.

That said, I fully realize this is not a $3000 + Smith Enterprise. Fully expect to replace the stock, op-rod spring and rear sight, but I really don't think I should have to deal with barrel indexing. Again, I know its a $400 firearm but indexing issues is pushing it imo.

AF
 
Sounds like lots of problems with these latested m14s . I got mine 3 yrs ago from marstar . didn't have to pressure wash it to get the grease off & it worked & shot great right out of the case & still dose . also had a early Norinco m14 15 plus yrs ago & it worked well also
 
Finally got mine. Ordered an extra mag that never showed up but got charged for it. Are these rifles supposed to be shipped in a case? I was under the impression they were. All I got was a cardboard box.
When I first opened the box I wasn't all that excited about it. Now that I have mopped up all the oil and played with it a bit i am warming up to it. I love the sound of the action. The stock sucks but we all new that before we ordered.
 
yeah i really dont see what everyone is #####ing about with the new stock. theres nothing wrong with it, nice hard wood, doesnt look too bad, inletted well and the liner is inletted and installed rock solid. the exterior finish of the stock could use a touch of hand sanding since i see some faint machine marks on it but get real - this is supposed to be a battle rifle, not a select grade walnut stock.

from all the #####ing in the forums i expected it to look like it was carved with a chainsaw and be soft as cottage cheese, lol. so due to all that harping about crappy Norinco stocks, i went and ordered a USGI fibreglass stock before i even got the rifle... now i kindof wish i wouldnt have. i think the oversized wood stock with the liner may even be a more solid platform than the fibreglass stock, if the wood is impregnated/sealed properly against the elements. still, the fibreglass stock is much slimmer and feels better in the hands, so ill keep it as a spare and perhaps refinish the Norinco stock. anyone know what the recent Norinco stocks look like when the chinese finish is sanded off and they are just tung oiled?.

my only gripe with the Marstar stock is that the handguard seems slightly oversized - a mm too long perhaps. when the Chinese assembled it they just forced it on, and apparently many of the rear corners of the handguards are cracked or broken off due to this. mine was, and i was just PMing someone who had the same problem. i wasnt happy about it at all, but i dont know what to do short of returning the entire rifle, which i dont want to do since i may get a worse one.

from what i can see by eye, my barrel seems properly indexed... but i wouldnt be able to detect a degree or two off anyway. overall i am very happy with the rifle but havent had a chance to fire it yet. unfortunately i dont know enough about M14s to know if mine has any more serious problems but the action operates smoothly, it has a nice ping to it, and everything 'looks' ok to my untrained eye.

i got it on the 24th, btw. nice suprise that it was here in time to go under the tree.
 
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I ordered 2 of them. One for me and one for a friend. When they showed up we each selected a box and decided that was the one we wanted before opening it no matter what the other rifle looked like. That way nobody got to pick the best one. It was left to chance. Mine was quite a bit better. The final finishing around the edges was quite a bit rougher on his. His also had a couple a small nicks in it.
Over all they are a neat rifle. Definately happy with it for $400. I am coming around to the stock even.
Just out of curiosity ...how much are the fiberglass stocks?
 
asphalt599 said:
I ordered 2 of them. One for me and one for a friend. When they showed up we each selected a box and decided that was the one we wanted before opening it no matter what the other rifle looked like. That way nobody got to pick the best one. It was left to chance. Mine was quite a bit better. The final finishing around the edges was quite a bit rougher on his. His also had a couple a small nicks in it.
Over all they are a neat rifle. Definately happy with it for $400. I am coming around to the stock even.
Just out of curiosity ...how much are the fiberglass stocks?
Click to expand...

what about the indexing on yours?

well, i ordered two for myself so based on your situation i have a 50/50 chance of getting one i like , :D . it also would be nice if i got one that is properly indexed and a good wood like what manbearpig got, yeah, i know i want perfection for $400.:D
 
asphalt599 said:
Just out of curiosity ...how much are the fiberglass stocks?
Click to expand...

i picked one up on the EE for $160 with all the hardware, buttplate, handguard, etc included. it fit the Norinco receiver like a glove without any modification, although i intend to fill in the selector cutout and glass bed it.

i saw one with no hardware or handguard get snapped up pretty fast for $100+shipping so i figure $160 wasnt bad. i was the first to say 'ill take it' but the guy sold it to his friend locally instead, so i missed out on that one :jerkit:

honestly though, from the earlier remarks on the Norinco stock i thought i was going to get something hideously ugly and so soft it would feel like cottage cheese, but i was pleasantly suprised with the wood stock i got.
either the guys saying they got a Marstar M305 and 'are going to chuck the Norinco stock in the trash' are getting something different than what i got, just Norinco bashing, or they need to lay off the crack pipe.

IMO there is nothing wrong with the one i got. no, youre not going to get a AAA grade mirror finish walnut stock on a $400 battle rifle :rolleyes:
 
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Out of 7 rifles I've owned, only 2 had what i would call decent, sturdy stocks. One of those 2 is excellent, nicely grained hardwood. What i noticed with most of these "softer" stocks is that the action gets loose in the stock after several hundred rounds. This is when a soft stock becomes noticeable, and why many folks prefer the solid platform of a usgi fiberglass stock or a quality hardwood stock.
 
this definitely seems to be hardwood. if i push really hard i can faintly mark it with a fingernail, but i could do the same on a walnut or birch stock.

is there any way to tell for certain what it is? perhaps theyre not even all the same, with different peoples stocks being made from different sources. i recall several statements that Marstar purchased all of the available M305 parts in China and then had them assembled into rifles... perhaps some batches of stocks were made from different materials?

mine looks nearly identical to Holleyman's pic above.
 
curtton said:
what about the indexing on yours?

well, i ordered two for myself so based on your situation i have a 50/50 chance of getting one i like , :D . it also would be nice if i got one that is properly indexed and a good wood like what manbearpig got, yeah, i know i want perfection for $400.:D
Click to expand...


Honest truth...I don't know how to tell if the indexing is ok.

Any tips?
 
curtton said:
what about the indexing on yours?

well, i ordered two for myself so based on your situation i have a 50/50 chance of getting one i like , :D . it also would be nice if i got one that is properly indexed and a good wood like what manbearpig got, yeah, i know i want perfection for $400.:D
Click to expand...


I had ordered 2 M14's earlier in the year from 2 different suppliers before finding out about the Marstar shipments. The first I received from Rodger at Dark had the barrel properly indexed, did not have a "2007" stamp on the right side of the reciever and came with a marbled brown handguard to match the stock. It did not include the user manual that is now appearing with the latest batch of rifles. The rifle was cleaned up quite well and test fired (for function only) by Rodger. I believe it was a good deal and am happy with it.

The second M14 arrived in early November from Milarm. It wasn't overly oily within it's plastic sack, was stamped "2007" on the receiver, had a properly indexed barrel and had a black handguard. It did include the operator's manual. Oddly enough both rifles are within 180 serial numbers of each other. Hmmm.

Those that feel they haven't been so lucky with their Norc M14's and don't wish to deal with indexing a barrel, thoroughly cleaning a rifle prepped for cross-ocean shipment, op-rod fiddling or refinishing a stock can PM me and we can discuss the adoption of your unwanted "baby", albeit at a reduced price (it's not "perfect" in your eyes, that's why you're no longer "into" the rifle, right?).:D
 
Artie Fufkin said:
.....Fully expect to replace the stock, op-rod spring and rear sight, but I really don't think I should have to deal with barrel indexing. Again, I know its a $400 firearm but indexing issues is pushing it imo.

AF
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I Agree.
Why should you have to replace anything? Or fix anything??
If you are replacing items for cosmetic reasons....that is up to you.
If the firearm is not safe to use or is in an un-usable condition, send it back and exchange it.
 
yeah im not going to bother replacing things unless something doesnt work right or fails. if the chinese bolt works fine, and there are no headspace issues, i dont understand why so many people are rushing out buying USGI bolts? (not being a smartass, im genuinely curious - whats wrong with the chinese ones if their lugs lock up tight and there are no headspace issues? is there some metallurgical/QC reason im unaware of?).

the only thing i am eyeing right now is a replacement op rod spring guide, simply because from an engineering perspective it seems like a superior design to the flat stamped one that comes stock.
 
manbearpig said:
yeah im not going to bother replacing things unless something doesnt work right or fails. if the chinese bolt works fine, and there are no headspace issues, i dont understand why so many people are rushing out buying USGI bolts? (not being a smartass, im genuinely curious - whats wrong with the chinese ones if their lugs lock up tight and there are no headspace issues? is there some metallurgical/QC reason im unaware of?).
Click to expand...

I think a lot of it has to do with Fulton Armoury's possibly somewhat unjustified anti-Chinese-M-14 propaganda. Their website pans the Chinese guns, and plays up the bolt issue. And one of their guys is co-author on one of Scott Duff's M-14 books, and goes into a lot of detail on how Chinese blots are a prime cause of FRSGDS (Firearm-Related Spontaneous Genital Disconnection Syndrome).

But from what I understand after several weeks of obsessive-compulsive research while waiting for my M-14s to arrive, that was more of an issue with older Chinese M-14's, and might not actually have been entirely justified. Hungry can probably speak to this with more certainty than I can.
 
manbearpig said:
yeah i really dont see what everyone is #####ing about with the new stock. theres nothing wrong with it, nice hard wood, doesnt look too bad, inletted well and the liner is inletted and installed rock solid. the exterior finish of the stock could use a touch of hand sanding since i see some faint machine marks on it but get real - this is supposed to be a battle rifle, not a select grade walnut stock.

from all the #####ing in the forums i expected it to look like it was carved with a chainsaw and be soft as cottage cheese, lol.
Click to expand...

Your mileage may vary.

My original stock had a three inch crack on the left side by the stock ferrule. The Chinese just carved out the broken end of the cracked piece and filled the void with some kind of brown bedding compound.

The same stock is also very soft. There were inletting marks from the reciever and the trigger group after 40 rounds! Say what you will, but no Walnut stock would do that!

You probably have the same Banana wood that I do, if the grain on the inletting peels away in strings... that's a good indication.

You did a good thing by buying that FG stock. Fill in the selector cut-out and the guide-rod retaining pin area, bed it, and you won't look back.

Bonus points for creative cam jobs. I stuck with classic black.
 
to answer the usgi bolt question..... I am building an m14s that i want to use strictly for hunting purposes. I want to be able to shoot commercial .308 hunting ammo, and as accurately as possible. Headspace is important for accuracy, so i took my norc bolt with 9 thou excess headspace and swapped it for a trw bolt that required minor lapping, that left me with a chamber that is bang on .308 go.
If you are planning to just use your m14s for the range, maybe occasional hunting, plinking..... ect..... and plan to shoot surplus ball whenever it is availlable.... do not concern yourself with the need to have a usgi bolt... it's probably un necessary.
 
So how are all these USGI m14 parts getting installed on all these Norincos since they are not allowed to be exported out of the US . I'm trying to get a 60 yr old barrel in a obsolete calbre shipped out of the US and every dealer says Milsurp part no export period .
 
Tyler said:
You did a good thing by buying that FG stock. Fill in the selector cut-out and the guide-rod retaining pin area, bed it, and you won't look back.

Bonus points for creative cam jobs. I stuck with classic black.
Click to expand...

filling in the selector cutout is an aesthetic thing, i know.... but is filling in the guide-rod retaining pin area and bedding it necessary before firing or just something people do for added accuracy/stock stiffness? if its necessary then i need to throw it back into the wood stock while i work on the FG one, i dont have too much time right now. is quality automotive short-strand FG sufficient for this?

as for the paint job, i was thinking just olive drab for the stock, and black for the handguard. right now its all matte USGI turd-brown :)
can anyone recommend an olive drab spraypaint for the stock? ie: brand/color?

45ACPKING said:
to answer the usgi bolt question..... I am building an m14s that i want to use strictly for hunting purposes. I want to be able to shoot commercial .308 hunting ammo, and as accurately as possible. Headspace is important for accuracy, so i took my norc bolt with 9 thou excess headspace and swapped it for a trw bolt that required minor lapping, that left me with a chamber that is bang on .308 go.
Click to expand...

mine is marked .308 on the receiver, not 7.62. is it safe to fire .308 commercial ammo in it? to be honest i am not concerned with turning mine into a tack-driver: i want something 2-3" capable, so accuracy beyond that isnt too important to me.... i dont have the money or time to try and turn it into a sub-MOA rifle. so safety is my primary concern, not accuracy.

quick question on the bolt lockup for you guys:
i just noticed that when in battery, with an EMPTY chamber, if i put my thumb on top of the bolt there is a little bit of front-back play in it. about half a millimeter. is this normal with an empty chamber?
i cant test it with a round chambered as im not going to drop the bolt/op rod on a live round in an M14 unless im at a range :(
 
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