Hmmm.....interesting dilemma, which reminds me of when I was your age and starting to hunt.
I have both of these rifles and can say a few things about both. For hunting, the M-14 would be a bit more versatile, since you could shoot at longer ranges and use it on game that one might not want to hunt with a 30/30 equivalent cartridge. If you have to wait to purchase a solid scope and mount, the peep sights are generally user friendly. I would recommend sticking to 150 grain bullets rather than the 180 grains that you usually see in most department/sporting goods stores, since the latter are very hard on the op-rod of the rifle.
On the other hand, if most of your hunting is for deer or smaller game at generally short ranges (usually 100m, though I can consistently hit a 200m gong with my CZ) or you tend to push through the bush/drive your deer, a CZ is a lot lighter and fast handling. I have yet to install my folding stock and muzzle break (to make her even handier, while the barrel barely even rises with the brake), and would seriously consider using it for those applications where a light carbine is preferable.
For target shooting, the M-14 can be used for Service Rifle matches, as well as built up into a long distance rig with the proper mods and equipment. It should however be pretty good right out of the box, and a fine candidate for honing your marksmanship. Once again however, I've found that my CZ 858, and that of at least one other friend tends to be considerably more accurate than most SKS's and certainly AK varients (the latter based upon what I've heard from US shooters). While not a rig for precision target shooting, you can still at a reasonable price get a fair bit of target practice in by using relatively cheaper surplus ammo. I think that on account of the availability of cheaper ammo and the reputation of these guns that many people shoot them for fun without taking as much care as they would with more expensive ammo in what's considered a more accurate rifle.
As for the cost of shooting your rig, 7.62x39 is currently available at far less than any surplus 7.62x51 that can even be found, though I've personally taken up reloading in the past year and a half/two years and discovered that it can be done effectively with a minimal outlay of funds (i.e. Lee Reloading kit with manual, dies and components). It's a lot easier to find both reloadable brass for 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester not to mention .308bullets, and it's a lot easier to find hunting ammo in the stores when you need to buy it in a pinch. And while I would not discourage someone from shooting corrosive ammo or buying a rifle for which most of the available ammo is corrosive, I don't like the idea of learning that I've missed a spot during my cleaning by finding light rust on the gas assembly, which did happen on one occassion with my CZ.
Over the long term, the M-14 would be amenable to more accuracy improving upgrades, versus the predominantly "tacticool" mods for the CZ 858. In the meantime it would be just fine in it's stock form, though a replacement USGI stock would add to its durability and appearance.
From the standpoint of which rifle will keep you more occupied with it, I think that the M14 has a lot more in the way of books, manuals, internet discussion boards, opportunities for reloading, eventually adding extra accessories etc that might make it a more interesting rifle in that regard, whereas my CZ is essentially a shooting gun and little more (though it does that awfully well).
As a first time firearms buyer, I would also have to add a few caveats about the M14 that may or may not play into your decision. If you have the chance to examine your rifle beforehand, you should check to see if the barrel is indexed properly, as many Norincos have the front sight slanted ever so slightly to the left or right. While the rear sight can be adjusted to compensate so that the rifle will group to point of aim at a given range, the point of impact might be a bit off at other distances. If you want to keep using the irons, you'll probably want to have the barrel timing fixed, which can be done relatively quickly by a skilled person like Hungry, but is not so easy for most of us. If you mount a scope however, the issue should be a moot one, since the alignment of the sites won't come into play.
You might also want to examine the rear sites on your Norinco, since they work fine on some, while on others they tend to be rather sloppy or don't adjust very well. The usual solution, to buy a USGI M14 or M1 Garand rear site assembly would probably put you out another $60 or so, depending upon availablity. While these issues hardly disqualify the Norinco M-14 as a good buy, they can factor in for those of us who like to buy a rifle that we can shoot as is from the box. On the other hand, the ability to play around with different things on the M14 rifles is also part of their appeal to many people, since it keeps them busy reading up about them or tinkering away on cold winter nights.
If they still have a few left, you can get the M14 to your door from Marstar for about $480, shipping and taxes. If you want to reload for it, you could probably buy something like a Lee Anniversary kit or Lee Hand Press and a scale, dies, one or two pounds of powder (at about 150 rounds a pound), a thousand primers, some brass and one to three hundred bullets for another $225-250. If you can find a source of cheap brass, you'll essentially be paying $30per pound of powder, $30 per 1000 primers and approximately $20 for 100 soft point bullets, perhaps less for bulk jacketed. With luck you might be able to add one or two 20/5 round mags and/or a USGI synthetic stock and still be around the total cost for a CZ 858 shipped to your door (about $750). Favouring the CZ however is the fact that for about $200-$250 more you will be able to purchase an extra 1000 rounds of milsurp ammo, and just shoot away.
While it's not clear for how much longer the CZs will be available, the consensus is that the availability of new M14s from China is coming to an end, as they are no longer in production and the Chinese seem to have exhausted the remaining rifles and parts that were left over there following the US import ban on those rifles. I suspect that given a bit of time, these rifles will certainly be worth more than their current $400-500 price tag. So it might not be that bad an investment to purchase one now before they cost as much as the CZ if not more.
Best of luck with whichever rifle you choose!
Regards,
Frank
