Norinco JW-15A Compact Hiker New Arrival
- Thread starter Tenda
- Start date
It's literally on the owners manual of the NR-15. Is the 22 magnum version still produced Tenda?
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Just received mine. You guys aren't kidding about rough machining. I have a few spots that's just chipped off and whatever coating that's just missing on few spots. Even the crown of barrel has some deep markings. Front sight cover just slides off, edges so sharp it'll cut me (especially rear sight), I have to put some force to move the bolt back and forth. Biggest concern, safety can't be operated by hand- I do have weak hands but I literally need a hammer to engage and disengage the safety lever. I'm contacting Tenda for warranty.
edit: I was leaving the rifle on the table, guess what, it just fell on my knee and the rear sight cut my knee. lol!
edit: I was leaving the rifle on the table, guess what, it just fell on my knee and the rear sight cut my knee. lol!
You know what. I bet that the machines the Chinese workers are using to make this new run of JW-15s is from the 90s and has never been replaced hence all the rough machining you are talking about. I own many Norincos and I have never heard of one being that roughly machined before. The Norinco NR-15 seems to be their newer 22lr and 22 magnum bolt action on newer tooling so maybe that one has better fitment and finishing?
I have this rifle and used it extensively in the bush for over a decade. I see allot of comments about quality and finish. It's to be expected in some degree but I believe the usefulness of a 13" bbl compact "beater" 22 LR is a what it makes it shine. I use the rifle for that purpose and not as museum piece. All I can say is that it's amazingly useful and accurate that has taken allot of small game. I just wish they made it threaded barrel.
part of the issue is you can compare it against the Scorpio which is 68% of the price, comes threaded, and doesn't have any of these machining issues.
Scorpio? Threaded? 68% of the price? Gotta look into that
. I forgot to add that I bought my Norc backpacker when it was just 199$ back in the day.
Outright failure of a new gun treated properly isn't good, so I get your frustration Jahn. I think with these budget/Chinese guns it's key to keep expectations where they ought to be, overall. BRNO, CZ, Tikka, Anschutz, Savage, Marlin etc. are all options for anyone wanting a finer gun. Lots of very decent/used guns too.
I should have mentioned when I've commented so far, these JWs do take some time to break-in like any new rifle and with mine..I spent about an hour smoothing it out with fine-grit, W/D sandpaper working very slowly. Then I sat in front of the TV with it (no mag/ammo) and cycled the bolt for about 10-12 minutes. Probably spent 60 minutes stripping/degreasing mostly, little deburring and getting any nasty/grease out of/off off the thing.
If my Scorpio experience was even OK, they'd be too big a temptation to pass-up honestly. I won't slag them, but mine was a complete dud and I sold for a fraction of what I paid with full disclosure. Agreed, a better-built/finished gun looking at it btw and the mags about 100X better... but like ton45-ll.......I have hundreds of good memories pushing through the bush with one of these JWs. Slung over my back muzzle-down...snow falling on it, me falling in the snow landing on it, bringing it home literally caked in snow/ice and let it melt/drip dry before a clean. No other 22 I'd treat that way, and this JW just came back for more.
Shooting update.
Groups better than I can shoot with the irons. The sights are really, really subpar. Adjustment for zeroing is crude at best. Rear sight slider has no cutout on the barrel to ride in, so it will lean to the left or right if bumped. Seems like the sights are more of a suggestion.
Ill have to throw a scope on to get a real idea of how it groups. I'd be interested in seeing the results of the gent trying to throw a set of peep sights on. The front sight post/ramp doesn't look like it would easily swap out with any commercial offering.
Unfortunately the magazines do not seem to have a 10 round capacity. Maxes out at 9 and I could not get a 10th in no matter what I tried (unless there is a secret way of loading lol). Maybe as the spring works in? A shame as Tenda advertises these as 10 round magazines.
I have springs from China coming in for some 3d printed mags. But still disappointing.
Also will not reliable feed the first 2-3 rounds if you don't apply pressure to the bottom of the magazine.
As it stands now, maybe a 2.5-3/5. I suspect I'll have to throw a scope or peep on given how bad the sights are from factory. Not super impressed but it shoots alright.
Also of note, Tenda's firewall blocks posting of reviews.
Groups better than I can shoot with the irons. The sights are really, really subpar. Adjustment for zeroing is crude at best. Rear sight slider has no cutout on the barrel to ride in, so it will lean to the left or right if bumped. Seems like the sights are more of a suggestion.
Ill have to throw a scope on to get a real idea of how it groups. I'd be interested in seeing the results of the gent trying to throw a set of peep sights on. The front sight post/ramp doesn't look like it would easily swap out with any commercial offering.
Unfortunately the magazines do not seem to have a 10 round capacity. Maxes out at 9 and I could not get a 10th in no matter what I tried (unless there is a secret way of loading lol). Maybe as the spring works in? A shame as Tenda advertises these as 10 round magazines.
I have springs from China coming in for some 3d printed mags. But still disappointing.
Also will not reliable feed the first 2-3 rounds if you don't apply pressure to the bottom of the magazine.
As it stands now, maybe a 2.5-3/5. I suspect I'll have to throw a scope or peep on given how bad the sights are from factory. Not super impressed but it shoots alright.
Also of note, Tenda's firewall blocks posting of reviews.
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Hey Iceman, I still haven't tried a peep on mine, but reading the last couple posts made me re look at the pictures!
It looks like my model is a bit different as it has a dove tail in the barrel and no ramp. They probably added the ramp to increase the front sight height and better get it zero'd with the shorter barrel. That means most any peep should work at the back as the front sight is already higher then a typical front sight that is dovetailed into the barrel!
Can someone post a picture of the front sight post in the ramp with the hood removed? It sounds like the blade is fixed in the base and not in a dove tail.
Correct. It is one monolithic ramp and sight post unit. The post itself is not flat, but pointed diagonally, one side is higher than the other.
Also of note, the method it is secured to the barrel is not the greatest. The fit is based on clamping between a dovetail nut and the ramp being screwed together. If it is bumped left or right with force it can slide out. May be worthwhile to hit the dovetail slot with some blue loctite to keep it secure.
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Maybe it is the same then... sounds like yours is secured by nut and bolt locking into a grooved cut in the barrel.
Best bet if you want an easy, light and compact setup is to remove the iron sights and run a micro red dot using a rimfire to weaver adapter on the machined rail cut in the receiver.
I think I have some spare 3/8" sights in my parts stash... I will take a look and see if they fit the dovetail cut.
Correct. From photos on the store page it looks the same to me. And yeah, secured via the nut and bolt.
That is likely my plan, small red dot or a scope. As it stands the irons are pretty shoddy as I mentioned. I am interested if the front dovetail cut fits any standard front sights though. As I would love a peep on this.
But from what I have seen online, the front dovetail cut looks to be an obscure sizing (at least the ones the australians/NZ got years ago). I would love to be wrong though.
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Received my order today. Fit and finish is as expected, but the iron sights are quite poorly oriented. I’ve emailed tenda to ask if all of these rifles are like this or if this one somehow snuck past the factory QC 
Update; since this thing is so crude I’ve simply decided to use a set of needle nose pliers to ‘adjust’ the rear leaf sight. Wasn’t planning on using the stock sights anyway seeing as I have a cheap 4x40 laying around.
Update; since this thing is so crude I’ve simply decided to use a set of needle nose pliers to ‘adjust’ the rear leaf sight. Wasn’t planning on using the stock sights anyway seeing as I have a cheap 4x40 laying around.
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Despite the sights being canted, my gun shot accurately. I would try to shoot it before messing with them. My sights looked exactly like wolfd89’s but functioned just fine.
Also I noticed my dovetail is tilted clockwise about 8degrees.
Pretty noticeable when you install a dovetail mount.
Is everyone else's dovetail similarly tilted?
Also I noticed my dovetail is tilted clockwise about 8degrees.
Pretty noticeable when you install a dovetail mount.
Is everyone else's dovetail similarly tilted?
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