Norinco SA-22 takedown copy....opinions?

TheCoachZed

TheCoachZed

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Hi!

I'm looking to buy my first .22 as soon as the Feds send me back my PAL, which, knowing them, may be either sooner or later.

Anyway....

I want a takedown .22, so I can easily transport it on my motorcycle. I plan on hunting rabbits in the fall, and shooting varmints all year round. I originally planned on buying an AR-7 (I've wanted one ever since I was old enough to read gun mags) but a lot of owners seem to be unhappy with them. I was going to settle for a Mossberg 702 and figure a clever way to discreetly carry it on my 'cycle, since the Marlin Papoose simply looked like too much money (wife is still finishing university), but then I stumbled across the Norinco takedown copy of the Browning SA-22 on Marstar.

I don't want opinions of Norinco in general - I want to know what people like or dislike about this gun in particular.

Also, if anyone knows of a used take-down .22 (either a repeater or a combo gun) that would be either cheaper or a better choice, let me know! :) I really don't want a single shot, although if it was REALLY cheap, I'd pay attention.....
 
There are scads of good used .22 rifles. The ones from the '50s and '60s generally don't command high prices. Many can be taken down without much in the way of tools.
I sold two of these Browning clones through my shop. Had to work both over before they would function reliably enough to stay sold. Never brought any more in.
There are folks on this site who reort that theirs are trouble free.
I would much rather buy a used elderly .22. Should be able to get something useful for under $100.
 
TheCoachZed said:
Also, if anyone knows of a used take-down .22 (either a repeater or a combo gun) that would be either cheaper or a better choice, let me know! :) I really don't want a single shot, although if it was REALLY cheap, I'd pay attention.....
Click to expand...

Other takedown rifles I know about,

Marlin 39A (lever)
Winchester 9422 (lever)
Remington 12 (pump)
Winchester 61 (pump)
Winchester 63 (semi)
Taurus copy of Win 63

And there may be others. One thing about the 9422 is that the breechblock is not 'captured' in the receiver like the others; it will fall out on it's own.
 
I've owned one of the fairly early Armalite AR-7s since the 60s. It's reliable, accurate and fun. For many years, when I was flying my family around the US Northwest, I carried it as part of my survival gear. I've never had any trouble and like the gun a lot. I don't know about the later manufacturers, but that one is good. Later, I got one of the Savage 24 "campers" with .22 and 20 gauge barrels. It takes down, has more versatility and is also reliable and fun. I always have used it with chamber adapters that will allow me to shoot .357s and .410s from the 20 gauge barrel.
 
Ah, motorcycles and guns... Like peanut butter and chocolate! :) I ride and have bought a couple of guns with size in mind.

I looked at the Norinco but I'll tell you what I got instead (and am very happy with). My .22 rifle is a Marlin Model 70PSS. (Papoose, in stainless.) 16" barrel and takes down and assembles just fine without any tools at all, though the nut can also be tightened with an included wrench or a coin. I've added a small scope and detachable bipod and it all fits in the small take-down bag.

The Norinco will be less expensive, but the quality of the Marlin is fantastic and I think I'll own this forever. The Marlin isn't expensive. I would avoid flimsy rifles marketed as "survival rifles"... they might meet your size requirements but, according to reviews, don't seem suited for regular use and/or are inaccurate because of design compromises.

FWIW, my wilderness gun is a 12.5" barrel 12 ga. Bike friendly, for a shotgun. Strapped down the long way, *across* the seat (it's supported by a rear topmount case), it's no wider than my bars. Important for trail riding and splitting lanes. ;)
 
takedown Norinco

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I have had one of the Browning 22 Automatic copies made by Norinco for about 12 years now. This one is very accurate, and performs well. It has never jammed on me.

I used it for training younger people and ladies when they wanted to shoot. The light weight is good for this. A very high percentage of Women who used it liked it. Usually after starting them on some "fun" targets like tin cans, and progressing to smaller ones, after almost a box of ammo used, if they were doing well, I would take the empty box and put it on a stick. Then I would have them shoot at it, with the last five rounds. It is surprising how many of them would put 4 out of 5 rounds into the box, and a lot of them hit it with all five.

What I liked: you could shoot it either left handed or right handed due to bottom ejection.
it had fairly good open sights
it was light
mine worked well

What I didn't like: The wood on my rifle was a bit soft, definitely not hardwood
I had to take a bit of the stock wood out at the loading port on the buttstock so cartridges would enter the tube better
the rifle was a bit more difficult to "clear" for safety as you had to turn it upside down to see into the chamber
the scope mounting has to be on the barrel. The Browning mount will fit, but is more costly than plain Weavers or such
you have to replace the rear sight to mount a scope
fired off a bench, a hot empty can bounce back and burn you a bit........wear long sleeves........(Bren Gunners will tell you this)

The good side was the cost, slightly over $100 at the time. However, if you are a bit wary of the quality, I have seen Browning Semi-auto .22s available on GunNutz for about $300.

One thing for both rifles is on dis-assembly. There is a spacer ring on the barrel/forend assembly that regulates the headspace. If someone completely disassembles the barrel/fore end and removes this spacer ring, they can get it too far in or too far out when they reassemble the rifle. This will change the headspace, either moving the barrel out too far so the firing pin does not hit the rim, or too far in, where it is out of battery and the firing pin does not hit the rim. THERE IS NO NEED TO REALLY DISASSEMBLE THE BARREL/FORE END, BUT SOME PEOPLE JUST HAVE TO DO IT.

I have bought several Browning .22 Autos for a very cheap price because this has happened, and the owner wanted to get rid of the "malfuncioning" gun. About two minutes work corrected this.
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For one thing Marstar has been out of stock for over a year. Second you can get a genuine used Browning for not much more . I have 3 all Belgian made bought them within the last yr & 1/2 & never paid more than $250.00
 
My brother bought two of the JW-20s on sale a few years ago ($100+/-), and they were a decent buy at that price.

I would not touch one at $250, though.

The machine work was crude, and the upper edges of the chambers were really sharp, which caused them to cut shavings off the bullets as the cartridges fed. Rounding the edge with a light touch from a Dremel fixed that.

The extractor broke on one of them, after several thousands of rounds, and a Browning one was procured ($20).

Save your nickels for a while longer, and get a keeper. The Norinco is OK if you can get one cheap enough, but at full retail the price is too close to some good, quality pieces, used or new, to be a deal in my opinion.

Cheers
Trev
 
I'm also a guntotin motorcyclist, and have gone down the same path as you.Don't even think about a crappy Ar7.Junk is the word that describes it.Save your money and buy a Papoose, or better yet, take the advice offered in the earlier posts, and buy a used Browning takedown.I would rather have one used Browning than three new Norinco .22's.
 
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