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Thread: First Order from Nordic Marksman - feedback!

  1. #1
    CGN Regular w squared's Avatar
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    First Order from Nordic Marksman - feedback!

    I've enjoyed owning, tweaking (schooled by Hungry back in the day), and shooting Norinco M14's for quite a few years, but when I moved to the US I sold off all of my Norincos to avoid the challenges of attempting to import one. I do know that it's possible, but at that time my professional life did not allow for the investment of my time that would have been required to ensure 922(r) compliance.

    I returned to Canada in 2017, and this year I finally got around to jumping back into the Norinco M14 game. I purchased a used rifle on the EE here. During the process of being modified, someone had removed both the front and rear sights (but also did a very serviceable job of mounting a quality scout scope on a scout handguard, so I'm not going to hold it against them too badly!). I still have a couple Norinco "GI" front sights and two Norinco rear sights left over from the time I spent rifles. I even have one old BM-59 sight that I bought from someone here on the EE. What I don't have in my magical mystical mystery parts bin is any way to mount said front sight on a barrel that has been cut, crowned, and threaded.

    This is where Nordic comes in. Their site popped up when I "googled the interwebs" for a gas lock front sight in Canada. I saw that they had a wide variety of options (in addition to stocking SEI Good Iron brakes which I'm a big fan of). They also offered a gas lock with a dovetail on the top, threaded for the Norinco barrels, and at the correct height to be used on a 22" barrel (which is perfect for my application even thought it's been cut to 18.6", since the gas lock hasn't moved!). They had them in stock, so it was a no-brainer to order one. I noticed that a fair amount of detail was provided about the way that the steel had been heat treated and the resulting hardness (I was honestly a little surprised to see an RHC of 60!). I did think to myself that the price was maybe a little bit steep - but the part is exactly what I wanted and I'm a believer in "do it once, do it right" so I ordered it late on Sunday.

    This morning my doorbell rang, and when I answered the door I got a wave from a race-walking letter carrier headed down the street, and saw a small box on my steep from Truro. I was quite surprised that it had arrived so quickly, since I'd selected the standard shipping option. When I opened it, I was even more surprised. Nicely packaged, with correct paperwork, I found an SEI gas lock marked 305-22. Not only did they get it to me quickly, the part that I had ordered turned out to be an actual Smith Enterprises part - something that I was not aware of. The quality of the machining, the crispness and regularity of the threads, the flawless rollmarks, and the attention to detail in every aspect of QC during manufacture is 100% evident. Not an inexpensive part - but 100% score on the "value for money" index.

    Thank you for a quick, seamless, and 100% spot-on transaction. This was my first purchase from Nordic Marksman, but I have a hunch that it won't be my last.

  2. #2
    CGN Regular HKNova6's Avatar
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    +1. These are good people. Very helpful and supports shooting sports in our country . Can’t go wrong
    You’re not completely useless, you can always serve as a bad example.

  3. #3
    CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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    Nordic is gtg, lots of good transactions.

  4. #4
    CGN frequent flyer Tarrantula's Avatar
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    I have spent more money there than I care to admit. Always fast shipping and great service.

  5. #5
    CGN Regular w squared's Avatar
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    Well, it turns out that the SEI gas lock only has threads that are cut part of the way through it, and thus does NOT fit onto the Norinco barrel. I'm wondering if this is normal, and if anyone has attempted to fit this part onto their Norinco M305....I have to admit, having an SEI part that was not 100% drop-in and perfect fit for the intended purpose is very definitely a new event for me!

    Also, now that I have the rifle in my hands, I was incorrect in believing that it had been cut, crowned, and threaded. It turns out that the original Norinco flash hider and castle nut have been removed, but the stock Norc splines and castle nut threads are still in place, complete with evidence of the spot welds having been broken when the flash hider was removed....meaning that it was an 18.6" "shorty" from the factory. Also, the quality of the threads is such that any smith who did that as part of a cut/crown/thread would be run out of town by angry customers. Gotta love that Norinco QC!

  6. #6
    CGN Ultra frequent flyer abbynormal's Avatar
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    Nordic Marksman - Brad, Mrs. Nordic Marksman, and Cathy are tier one - period.

    Every dollar I have spent with them over the years has been spent with confidence.

    Yeah, I'm on the other side of the country, but as with a few other outfits on CGN, NM have carved out a niche by stocking several products others just can't seem to stock. If those specific products are on your shopping list - then shipping (which is always fair) is inconsequential.

    Solid retailer / shop with confidence.

    Abby

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