I would argue that the M1A and M305 are definitely NOT basically the same rifle.
The M14 is the US military rifle, capable of being fired in full auto (though not all of them were issued with the selector switch and connector installed on them, the receivers all had the lug for the sear trip). These are all prohibited in Canada and cannot be owned by most people nor generally taken out to the range and enjoyed.
The M1A is the Springfield Armory rifle, made after the M14, but is a civilian-specific, semi-auto only rifle that is incapable of being easily adapted for full auto fire. There are many variants/versions of this rifle made by other companies, including JRA, LRB, Armscorp, etc etc. Norinco/Polytech/Dominion Arms also makes their variation, so I guess in that respect, it is "the same type of rifle".
The Springfield Armory. rifles are made of a cast receiver, and have other bits that are cast. Some people will argue that these are not as good quality, etc. I tend to agree, but that's just my own personal feeling about cast parts - I don't have enough experience with these guns to say "the cast is worse", I simply know that I prefer a forging to a cast part, in general, when there is an option. But a properly cast part, that's properly heat treated, can definitely be a good quality part. There has been talk about the Springfield Armory cast receivers not being very good, dimensionally or heat-treat wise. That's the single biggest reason that I decided NOT to build my gun off of a SA receiver.
BUTTTTT.... the Norinco rifles are far lower quality, in general. Especially the pieces added on to the receiver to make the rifle. The receiver itself is a forged receiver made to the same dimensional specs as the original M14 (minor full auto bits, of course). It seems to be able to be had with quite good dimensional tolerances, so as long as you get one with good heat-treating (some years had awful heat treating), you might have a decent receiver to base a decent rifle off of. It's not going to be an LRB or JRA, but it'll be decent. This is what I built my gun off of, but the only thing left on it that is Norinco is the receiver. Everything else is USGI or USGI-spec.
So there you have it.... If you go buy an M305, do NOT expect it to be up to the same quality and accuracy as the Springfield Armory M1A, and definitely not up to the same quality and accuracy as the LRB/JRA/etc (good quality US made guns). But if your purchasing it for a bear/moose/truck/zombie gun, it's a great gun at a really great price. Just know what you're buying - you're not buying a single hole at 9,000 yards gun. You're buying a copy of a battle rifle designed to shoot men at a few hundred yards decently enough. If you go buy a Springfield Armory M1A, expect to still have to do some tuning on it. It won't be perfect from the factory, and there have been numerous people I've talked to, and heard of, who have had significant/serious issues right out of the box (SA has a lifetime warranty, so it WILL generally get fixed, but you also generally shouldn't have to send a rifle in right out of the box for repairs). If you go buy an LRB or JRA or similar rifle, get out your wallet, take out all your credit cards, and cut them up after buying the gun. You likely won't be buying anything else for a while. But it will be a sweet, sweet rifle. But it's STILL NOT A SNIPER RIFLE. It's still a semi-auto battle rifle, designed to hit men at a few hundred yards. You can't expect pinhole groups with any of these guns.
