Around year 2016, or so, several Canadian vendors were selling a Norinco replica which resembled a “Mauser Karabiner 98 kurz” used by the German (Nazi) Armed Forces in WWII. I like the WWII firearm replicas, so I wanted to buy one but eventually I did not buy it for various reasons. Nine years fast forward and I see a very similar replica at Tenda Canada, under the name “Norinco JW-25A “Mini Mauser” 22LR Bolt-Action Rifle”. Why not to fulfill my long desire to have such a replica and buy it? Surely, I ordered one. It came to my door, after a couple of days (I live just about 100 km from Tenda’s location-that’s why it was so fast), packed in a plastic sleeve, inserted in a Styrofoam form, which, in turn, was inserted into a cardboard box, well secured. Excellent packaging, no problem here at all.
Tenda, on the webpage of the “JW-25a”, specifies the following dimensions: Barrel Length: 20.5 inches (52 cm) and Overall Length: 38 inches (97 cm). Immediately, after unpacking the rifle I noticed that there was something very wrong with the dimensions listed by Tenda. The rifle in a plastic sleeve was thoroughly covered with some light oil (not Cosmoline). After cleaning it with Ballistol oil inside and out, I measured its external dimensions. It happens that the barrel length is 66 cm (26 inches) and overall length is 110 cm (43.4 inches). The length-of-pull is 13.5 inches. The dimensions listed on the Tenda’s webpage are completely erroneous!
Now, the dimensions of the original WWII “Mauser Karabiner 98 kurz” (K98k) are as follows (Wikipedia): barrel length 600 mm (23.62 inches) and overall length 111 cm (43.7 inches). Apparently, the rimfire 22LR replica from Tenda is dimensionally nearly exactly a replica of the WWII “Mauser Karabiner 98 kurz” rather than a replica of some “Mini Mauser”! The latter designation by Tenda is completely wrong! The weight listed by Tenda is 3.4kg which is also very close to the 3.7kg weight of the real Mauser K98k (that’s obvious that the 22LR rimfire replica must be lighter).
Quite baffled, I did some Google browsing and found an advertising from a German firearm selling company named “Norconia”. And voilà, they list two types of Norinco 22LR JW rifles. The first one is the JW25 (KKW) with barrel length: 66 cm and total length 110 cm, advertised as “Well-made copy of the famous German K98 “Karabiner” (h ttp://www.norconia.de/w/?p=1459). The other type is the JW25A (33/40) having a 53 cm barrel and 97 cm total length advertised as “Well-made copy of the famous German G33/40 “Gebirgsjäger” (h ttp://www.norconia.de/w/?p=1461). Now, there is no doubt that the replica being sold by Tenda is the Norinco JW-25, which is a very close replica of the Mauser “Karabiner 98 kurz”, rather than the replica of the JW-25a which is a replica of the shorter Mauser G33/40 “Gebirgsjäger”!
Now, a few comments about the quality of my replica of the “Karabiner 98 kurz”. My rifle was produced in 2024 (stamped on the right side of the receiver), which seems to be a very recent production run. There are letters “CA” after the year of production. Does it mean “Canada”? Would it be a special production run for Canada only?
The rifle is just steel and wood, no plastics of any kind and no aluminum parts. A very old fashioned rimfire replica. Surprisingly, fit and finish are very good. The wood is probably beech (although I’m not sure) with a dark stain and a very even satin-like finish. This dark stain is not authentic to the original K98k which had a much lighter finish. However, since it so nicely finished, I am not very keen on removing it and make the finish much lighter. After cleaning the stock with Ballistol, a nice wood grain became visible.
I disassembled the rifle and removed the barreled action from the stock (a good video how to do it is here:
-it is pretty easy). The barreled action steel is very well blued. I cleaned it by rubbing Ballistol oil for a few minutes until light preserving oil was completely removed. The dark bluing looks very well now. According to the literature the steel receiver is forged and milled (https://www.riflemanfirearms.com/norinco-k98-mini-mauser-rifle/p44045). The top of the receiver has a 11mm dovetail rail for mounting a scope. I have to find some cheap scope.
The worst part of the rifle is its bolt. According to the literature it is a knock off of the early Brno/CZ452 bolt. In the beginning it was very coarse and gritty. It needs quite a bit of break in. I lubricated it with white lithium grease and moved back and forth like 200 times. It is much smoother now. So, indeed it needs time to break in. The initial trigger pull was 5.5 lbs. After like 200 trigger clicks it went down to about 4.5 lbs. It will definitely go down even further with use. I guess, it can get to comfortable 3 lbs.
The rifle came with one, 5rd steel magazine. I also purchased a spare 10rd, steel mag from Tenda (see pics). The magazines are pretty rough and also need some break in. Since the action is based on the CZ 452, I also ordered 5rd PLASTIC magazines for CZ452/455. I’ll see how they fit.
The gun has a bayonet bar at the front which according to some videos can perfectly accommodate an original K98k bayonet. I ordered a replica of this bayonet. I also ordered a K98k replica sling so, I’ll report on both later. Also, I’ll report on the accuracy later.
All in all, the replica which Tenda is selling now is a VERY GOOD 22LR RIMFIRE replica of the Mauser “Karabiner 98 kurz” which is designated as Norinco JW-25. Probably, the best replica on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Tenda, on the webpage of the “JW-25a”, specifies the following dimensions: Barrel Length: 20.5 inches (52 cm) and Overall Length: 38 inches (97 cm). Immediately, after unpacking the rifle I noticed that there was something very wrong with the dimensions listed by Tenda. The rifle in a plastic sleeve was thoroughly covered with some light oil (not Cosmoline). After cleaning it with Ballistol oil inside and out, I measured its external dimensions. It happens that the barrel length is 66 cm (26 inches) and overall length is 110 cm (43.4 inches). The length-of-pull is 13.5 inches. The dimensions listed on the Tenda’s webpage are completely erroneous!
Now, the dimensions of the original WWII “Mauser Karabiner 98 kurz” (K98k) are as follows (Wikipedia): barrel length 600 mm (23.62 inches) and overall length 111 cm (43.7 inches). Apparently, the rimfire 22LR replica from Tenda is dimensionally nearly exactly a replica of the WWII “Mauser Karabiner 98 kurz” rather than a replica of some “Mini Mauser”! The latter designation by Tenda is completely wrong! The weight listed by Tenda is 3.4kg which is also very close to the 3.7kg weight of the real Mauser K98k (that’s obvious that the 22LR rimfire replica must be lighter).
Quite baffled, I did some Google browsing and found an advertising from a German firearm selling company named “Norconia”. And voilà, they list two types of Norinco 22LR JW rifles. The first one is the JW25 (KKW) with barrel length: 66 cm and total length 110 cm, advertised as “Well-made copy of the famous German K98 “Karabiner” (h ttp://www.norconia.de/w/?p=1459). The other type is the JW25A (33/40) having a 53 cm barrel and 97 cm total length advertised as “Well-made copy of the famous German G33/40 “Gebirgsjäger” (h ttp://www.norconia.de/w/?p=1461). Now, there is no doubt that the replica being sold by Tenda is the Norinco JW-25, which is a very close replica of the Mauser “Karabiner 98 kurz”, rather than the replica of the JW-25a which is a replica of the shorter Mauser G33/40 “Gebirgsjäger”!
Now, a few comments about the quality of my replica of the “Karabiner 98 kurz”. My rifle was produced in 2024 (stamped on the right side of the receiver), which seems to be a very recent production run. There are letters “CA” after the year of production. Does it mean “Canada”? Would it be a special production run for Canada only?
The rifle is just steel and wood, no plastics of any kind and no aluminum parts. A very old fashioned rimfire replica. Surprisingly, fit and finish are very good. The wood is probably beech (although I’m not sure) with a dark stain and a very even satin-like finish. This dark stain is not authentic to the original K98k which had a much lighter finish. However, since it so nicely finished, I am not very keen on removing it and make the finish much lighter. After cleaning the stock with Ballistol, a nice wood grain became visible.
I disassembled the rifle and removed the barreled action from the stock (a good video how to do it is here:
The worst part of the rifle is its bolt. According to the literature it is a knock off of the early Brno/CZ452 bolt. In the beginning it was very coarse and gritty. It needs quite a bit of break in. I lubricated it with white lithium grease and moved back and forth like 200 times. It is much smoother now. So, indeed it needs time to break in. The initial trigger pull was 5.5 lbs. After like 200 trigger clicks it went down to about 4.5 lbs. It will definitely go down even further with use. I guess, it can get to comfortable 3 lbs.
The rifle came with one, 5rd steel magazine. I also purchased a spare 10rd, steel mag from Tenda (see pics). The magazines are pretty rough and also need some break in. Since the action is based on the CZ 452, I also ordered 5rd PLASTIC magazines for CZ452/455. I’ll see how they fit.
The gun has a bayonet bar at the front which according to some videos can perfectly accommodate an original K98k bayonet. I ordered a replica of this bayonet. I also ordered a K98k replica sling so, I’ll report on both later. Also, I’ll report on the accuracy later.
All in all, the replica which Tenda is selling now is a VERY GOOD 22LR RIMFIRE replica of the Mauser “Karabiner 98 kurz” which is designated as Norinco JW-25. Probably, the best replica on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
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