The Norinco M334 in detail. A bizarre Mauser variant! Now with range report.

LarryG said:
The chu wood stock alone, which is inferior to the hardwood or walnut used by everyone else for very good reasons, should be a sign that the norinco is not a good choice. At a minimum the stock will need to bedded or replaced.
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the worst wood for a "stock".... like a cross between balsa wood and pine...i would like to see a proper test and review of these....headspace, test fire, proof load, steel hardness test
etc...308 develops significant pressure and back thrust and i wonder about the rifles durability....the mauser design is a tried and true design but one wonders about the steel quality and the hardening/tempering employed....i have fired the old spanish 1893 mauser 308 conversions and they seemed a little iffy to me, this one needs to be tested further i think...my 2 bits...i would fire a box if max loaded handloads remotely from a tire and the check for signs of cracks, peening and stretching...paying close attention to the pinned barrel/breach...sent me one free and I would check it over but not till april when I am back from the states
 
wannabe said:
the worst wood for a "stock".... like a cross between balsa wood and pine...i would like to see a proper test and review of these....headspace, test fire, proof load, steel hardness test
etc...308 develops significant pressure and back thrust and i wonder about the rifles durability....the mauser design is a tried and true design but one wonders about the steel quality and the hardening/tempering employed....i have fired the old spanish 1893 mauser 308 conversions and they seemed a little iffy to me, this one needs to be tested further i think...my 2 bits...i would fire a box if max loaded handloads remotely from a tire and the check for signs of cracks, peening and stretching...paying close attention to the pinned barrel/breach...sent me one free and I would check it over but not till april when I am back from the states
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My example had hardness test dimples in all the right spots so it seems some care was put into the heat treat and materials. I couldn't find any reports of catastrophic failures either. I would definitely be interesting to do some long term durability and destructive tests to one.
 
riversrest said:
Serious question here.

Did they use a longer front receiver ring because they pinned the barrel? Like more surface for friction fit, making chances of barrel walking less likely?

I bet they didnt have the resources for threading receiver/barrel. "New old stock" when were these manufactured?
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Exactly that, you can see why in OP’s pictures. It has 2 pins in front of the recoil lug
 
With that front blade it might be interesting to try a peep sight, if you could get one that lines up
 
I'm gonna buy one of these. I'll be the guinea pig to find out if these new 2021 production are worth it or not. To be honest, those Zastava rifles are kind of #### too. Rough finished stocks and an action that feels like it's rubbing on rocks. The only nice Zastava I've seen are those Whitworth rifles and the Remington 798.
 
LarryG said:
The chu wood stock alone, which is inferior to the hardwood or walnut used by everyone else for very good reasons, should be a sign that the norinco is not a good choice. At a minimum the stock will need to bedded or replaced.
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My question is what exactly would you be able to replace it with? It looks to have a proprietary footprint with its "unique" dimensions. Is there a current aftermarket or factory stock this could drop in without a cabinetmaker level of wood skills?
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
To be honest, those Zastava rifles are kind of #### too. Rough finished stocks and an action that feels like it's rubbing on rocks. The only nice Zastava I've seen are those Whitworth rifles and the Remington 798.
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This Norinco is not even in the same ballpark as a Zastava. Sure, the inletting is kind of gross on a Zastava, but if you spend time shooting them instead of talking about how rough they are, the problem sorts itself out.
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
I'm gonna buy one of these. I'll be the guinea pig to find out if these new 2021 production are worth it or not. To be honest, those Zastava rifles are kind of #### too. Rough finished stocks and an action that feels like it's rubbing on rocks. The only nice Zastava I've seen are those Whitworth rifles and the Remington 798.
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There is no comparison. If you think a Zastava is crude, just wait until you see this thing!
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
I'm gonna buy one of these. I'll be the guinea pig to find out if these new 2021 production are worth it or not. To be honest, those Zastava rifles are kind of #### too. Rough finished stocks and an action that feels like it's rubbing on rocks. The only nice Zastava I've seen are those Whitworth rifles and the Remington 798.
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I have a few Zastava's that are as smooth as any other Mauser out there and they've only been getting smoother the more i shoot them. Mine are 2015ish production when they were sold with monte carlo style stocks. Fit and finish on these ones are a lot better than the recent imports. Yes, the Zastava's are not perfect and some might need some work out of the box but once things get sorted out they are solid work horses. If i recall, last time TradeEx mentioned, if they bring in more imports from Zastava, the new batch would be selling in and around 1000$, so the fact that we were buying these for 695$ was a bargain.

Knowing that jbmauser has handled and used a few Zastava's over the years, gives his word weight when he says one is in for a surprise of how bad these Norc's are. I take his word that they are no good rifles.
 
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dgradinaru said:
I have a few Zastava's that are as smooth as any other Mauser out there and they've only been getting smoother the more i shoot them. Mine are 2015ish production when they were sold with monte carlo style stocks. Fit and finish on these ones are a lot better than the recent imports. Yes the Zastava's are not perfect and some might need some work out of the box but once things get sorted out they are solid work horses. If i recall, last time TradeEx mentioned, if they bring in more imports from Zastava, the new batch would be selling in and around 1000$, so the fact that we were buying these for 695$ was a bargain.

Knowing that jbmauser has handled and used a few Zastava's over the years, gives his word weight when he says one is in for a surprise of how bad these Norc's are. I take his word that they are no good rifles.
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You don't have to sell me on Zastavas. I've owned 2 from the same time frame. Blueing was nice, stock wood and features nice enough, adjustable trigger is excellent, accurate. I found the actions rough, but as I say, if you spend time shooting them instead of complaining about it on a forum, they wear in and are great. If hindsight was 20/20, I'd have a whole flock of them!
 
saskgunowner101 said:
You don't have to sell me on Zastavas. I've owned 2 from the same time frame. Blueing was nice, stock wood and features nice enough, adjustable trigger is excellent, accurate. I found the actions rough, but as I say, if you spend time shooting them instead of complaining about it on a forum, they wear in and are great. If hindsight was 20/20, I'd have a whole flock of them!
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My bad, the reply was supposed to be for @Mumbles Marble Mouth.
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
Sounds like it's going to be like a Norinco M305. It's not possible to make the gun worse.
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I have owned M305s. If my 334 was a good representative of them then yes, you can make something worse.

I will add that the 305s I used to own were from the better years of production. I know the newer ones are often far worse so you might be accurate in comparing it to a newer 305.
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
I'm gonna buy one of these. I'll be the guinea pig to find out if these new 2021 production are worth it or not. To be honest, those Zastava rifles are kind of #### too. Rough finished stocks and an action that feels like it's rubbing on rocks. The only nice Zastava I've seen are those Whitworth rifles and the Remington 798.
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They are NOS, I don't think they are made recently, might be stamped 2021 for import purposes but not likely made recently.
Aftermarket Boyd's stocks for Yugo M48 might be made to work, but still lipstick on a pig.
You can get a new Thompson compass in 308 for $500 that is better made and will shoot good.
The bolt looks like it was finished with a chisel...
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jbmauser said:
I have owned M305s. If my 334 was a good representative of them then yes, you can make something worse.

I will add that the 305s I used to own were from the better years of production. I know the newer ones are often far worse so you might be accurate in comparing it to a newer 305.
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It seems you didn't understand me. I meant anything you do to a M305 is likely an improvement as with this M334. I did not mean the M334 can't be any worse than an M305. But that's yet to be seen as I've owned several M305 and they ranged from okay guns out of the box to not even serviceable.
 
Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
It seems you didn't understand me. I meant anything you do to a M305 is likely an improvement as with this M334. I did not mean the M334 can't be any worse than an M305. But that's yet to be seen as I've owned several M305 and they ranged from okay guns out of the box to not even serviceable.
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Ok. I see. Yeah, I'm sure these will be the same sort of deal. Some will be serviceable, some far from it and everything in between. I
 
Why would one spend $400-500 on something that seams to be a piece of #### when there is hundreds of good Mauser action rifle on the market that are way better at the same price or even lower?!?!
 
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