The M-14's are in.

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.

There seems to be many varied reports with this batch of Norinco M14's.

- Stock reports are ranging from excellent rock hard examples to soft as balsa. Also, I have a USGI fiberglass and prefer that, so its changing even if I "luck out" and get a good stock.

- Have repeatedly read that the op-rod spring is too small in radius. Funny thing is many have also NOT mentioned it. My fav. spring is David Tubbs chrome silicon so that is changing as well.

- the rear sight is totally confusing me at this point. Many have said its very crappy and recently several have said its hard as rock. Argh...... So on this potential issue I will judge when it arrives. Have a USGI ready yo go though if necessary.

- The only other thing I really want to replace is the connector lock. Have never liked the shorter chinese spec on this part. Going to swap that with a Smith Enterprise.

Other than that I'm hoping its all good to go. We will see.......

AF
 
- Have repeatedly read that the op-rod spring is too small in radius. Funny thing is many have also NOT mentioned it. My fav. spring is David Tubbs chrome silicon so that is changing as well.

- the rear sight is totally confusing me at this point. Many have said its very crappy and recently several have said its hard as rock. Argh...... So on this potential issue I will judge when it arrives. Have a USGI ready yo go though if necessary.

i think the issue is that the stock op-rod spring is too small in radius for the round-style guide rod. it seems perfectly fine (on my gun) with the flat, stamped guide rod that comes stock on the Norinco. if you replace the flat rod with a USGI one i heard you have to upgrade the spring as well. i have no idea what the case is with the Marstar one, perhaps someone can clarify if it will work with the Norinco spring.

the rear sight on mine seems pretty well hardened. seems like a stupid design to me though - since the little serrations on the sight/receiver are bound to wear out at that level of tension regardless of how well they are hardened, you are rubbing two serrated surfaces together at high tension. i guess i would rather have a soft sight and have that wear down (easily replaced) rather than one thats well hardened and is actually wearing the serrations off my receiver :eek:
again im an M14 noob so just reporting what i am seeing on my particular rifle. seems that they are all different. we should start a thread for people to list their specific Marstar rifle's condition in short bullet-point form so that it will give someone just ordering them an idea of what they will get. in fact i am off to start one now...
 
..........
again im an M14 noob so just reporting what i am seeing on my particular rifle. seems that they are all different. we should start a thread for people to list their specific Marstar rifle's condition in short bullet-point form so that it will give someone just ordering them an idea of what they will get. in fact i am off to start one now...

Agreed but the problem is they seem to be HIT AND MISS.

AF
 
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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.

The issues that Fulton Armories has with the Chinese copies of the M14 are not unfounded all the Chinese poly tech M14 rifles suffer from the problems they listed on there website [this is posted on there website because of the sheer numbers ofpolytech that are still in the hands of shooters] ,certainly some of the Earlier Norinco M305 did suffer from poor dimensional bolts that were sold in Canada.From what I have seen of late the bolts are as good as the USGI versions but those wishing to attain better accuracy might want to check your head space
 
I got on the Marstar M14 list Feb 11, 2007. I haven't received any notification that this shipment came in. Let me guess, I'm out of luck.

Did they actually notify people on the list or was it first come, first serve?
 
Waited, waited,didn't order til Dec.Never recieved confirm.Called and was told my order was recieved and would be processed as soon as they could.Now it's time for the waiting game. Who knows?
 
I got on the Marstar M14 list Feb 11, 2007. I haven't received any notification that this shipment came in. Let me guess, I'm out of luck.

Did they actually notify people on the list or was it first come, first serve?

Got on the list June 14th.

I read that they'd arrived early on November 15th, and placed my order for two early that morning. I got the order confirmation email a couple of days later, and the arrival email a couple of days after that. Still no rifles though.
 
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?

Unless you want the guide-rod and spring to fall out during firing with your USGI stock, I'd fill in the retaining pin area. ;) You don't need to bed the stock, the rifle will just be more accurate if you do.

Most people just use JB Weld, or any other brand of cold-weld material, and sand it down to size. Check the FAQ for the how-to.

As for paint, Krylon makes a series of cam paints in spay cans for hunters. I used primer, two coats of matte black, and a matte clear coat to protect the paint.
 
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I have done a great many fill jobs on the usgi stocks. I have tried jb weld, standard short strand polyester glass filler, and have settled on 2 part EPOXY, marine grade filler. way harder and it chemically bonds with the stock. Any polyester based filler should be avoided as they shrink slightly when they cure and are more prone to forming air pockets. Filling the selector hole also gives more bearing surface for the receiver and filling the oprod guide pin area is a MUST for using these stocks on a norc rifle or the pin can come out under recoil. A usgi rifle has a longer pin.
 
Unless you want the guide-rod and spring to fall out during firing with your USGI stock, I'd fill in the retaining pin area. ;) You don't need to bed the stock, the rifle will just be more accurate if you do.


filling the oprod guide pin area is a MUST for using these stocks on a norc rifle or the pin can come out under recoil. A usgi rifle has a longer pin.

yeah when i disassembled it completely i realized this, and why the spot has to be filled in the stock :)
ill give an epoxy filler a try.

As for paint, Krylon makes a series of cam paints in spay cans for hunters. I used primer, two coats of matte black, and a matte clear coat to protect the paint.

thanks... can you get these at Crappy Tire?
 
MOZAMBIQUE TECHNIQUE;
We sent an e mail to all those who asked, we did get a large number of rejects, address no longer valid, sender blocked, spam filter blocking, etc, etc....

To those who requested to be phoned, we called each and every one, left may messages on answeing machine, with parents, with wives, (we assume) many rejects once again " no longer at this number, phone disconnected, never heard of him, not another damn gun, etc, etc"

If you were not contacted we apologize, send me a personal e mail so we can correct the problem
John
 
i was contacted by email.... and by message on my phone that marstars m14s rifles were arriving, a couple weeks before the website changed from sold out to instock. So they must have diligently went through thier list cause i'm sure i was no where near the top of the list.
I think marstar/johnone has done a pretty damn fine job at addressing his customers through this site as well.
 
I ordered mine Nov 16th. I got an email back on Nov 19th "thanking me for my order. Signed F"
Does that mean I'm on the list? I phoned Mon Dec 31st but got no answer. Guess they're still closed.
Never got another email nor any phone call.


We sent an e mail to all those who asked, we did get a large number of rejects, address no longer valid, sender blocked, spam filter blocking, etc, etc....

To those who requested to be phoned, we called each and every one, left may messages on answeing machine, with parents, with wives, (we assume) many rejects once again " no longer at this number, phone disconnected, never heard of him, not another damn gun, etc, etc"

If you were not contacted we apologize, send me a personal e mail so we can correct the problem
John
 
I ordered mine Nov 16th. I got an email back on Nov 19th "thanking me for my order. Signed F"
Does that mean I'm on the list? I phoned Mon Dec 31st but got no answer. Guess they're still closed.
Never got another email nor any phone call.

I'm pretty sure you are on the list. Same thing for me, I ordered mine on Nov 15th and got a confirmation signed F. My visa as not been billed yet but I don't worry with that! I'm sure things will go pretty fast now that holidays are finish...
 
RICK65CAT;
If you got a signed return from "F" for Frank, then your order will be processed....
We are catching up

John
 
Got on the list June 14th.

I read that they'd arrived early on November 15th, and placed my order for two early that morning. I got the order confirmation email a couple of days later, and the arrival email a couple of days after that. Still no rifles though.

Got an email today from Marie at Marstar; mine will be shipping Friday.
 
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