Decisions decisions !

leonard

leonard

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I have been reading every piece of material i can find on these newer M14 options and its still kind of a up in the air thing for me on which brand to go with.

On one hand M302 Norinco's are 400$ - But from what i read it looks like you might have to spend a bunch of $ to get them half arse accurate. And you may still end up with junk

On the other hand Springfield Armory's M1A's seem to have some nice quality but guys complain about the cast receivers. and they are 2000-2400$ typically and harder to find in canada.

I've seen some feedback on the James River Armory's M14F's Rock-O-La class rifles - Which appear to be a combination of good parts? and cost around the same as the SAI's I've seen But not much information on them is out there Ive been quite interested in these not sure if they are scope mountable though any opinions?.

So Thing is i plan on putting a Scope of some type on the Rifle as my eyes aren't exactly the best.

I plan on possibly having this gun double as a hunting rifle, So with that in mind Accuracy is going to be a somewhat big deal breaker for me.

I do handload for my other rifles so likely I will handload at-least for the hunting rounds for this rifle as i prefer for tune my rounds and have bullet preference in 308 already.

Am i leaving out any optional Rifle manufactures here?

Can any experts weigh in on this?

I really just want something that is going to be solid / good accuracy and not a pile of hair pulling type problems.

Since i live a few hours from the city its not like i can take the rifle to a smith weekly for example.

I would actually prefer to have any work needed done by myself.

I have a SKS that I've done a bit of work on which shoots great but i really wanted to move into .308 Semi-auto territory as i have a few .308's and I love that darn round for hunting so having something i could multi roll with would be nice.

Any Input would be appreciated
Thanks !
 
Buy the Norinco rifle and have it enhanced to suit your needs.

Spend the rest of the money you would have spent on another brand on ammo & accessories.
 
^^^^^ what H20 Man says
and to put it into perspective, he live's in the US , with all of what the American m14 industry can provide.... and his advice is buy the norc LOL
that in itself speaks some volumes in my opinion.
 
I was going to do exactly what the boys above said. I bought the Norinco...but I live in Alberta and the gurus and authorities seemed to be in other provinces and cities...and I just couldn't be bothered. The rear sights on my Norinco were absolute junk and made me fear the quality of the rest of the rifle. I said to hell with it and bought the Springfield M1A Loaded and haven't regretted it. I got what I wanted right up front, I went to the range and zeroed it with 9 shots, and with those CASM mounts from the boys over at M14.ca - scoping up was a snap. I tend to shoot only from positions and off my hind feet but when I finally DID get around to bagging up and shooting off the bench...the gun did 2" groups all day long in high winds and blowing snow. I would like to shoot it again in decent weather. The only issue I've had is a loose rear sling attachment and the boys here will probably making recommendations on how to remedy that in short order.

Unless you have ready access to the gurus and authorities here I would stay away from Norinco. The impression I have is that tweaking and upgrading is a snap - IF you have somebody show you how first. Having said that, I have also heard guys spending a small fortune trying to upgrade these guns with only mediocre results. Others have had spectacular success. From my perspective it's a crap shoot.
 
if yer not a tinkerer , don't buy a norinco. the fun in owning them is the ability to personalize the rifle and taylor it to your individual needs.
if you want to take it outta the box and be able to not have to do anything , just enjoy it.... LRB, JRA or SAI in that order
 
leonard said:
On one hand M302 Norinco's are 400$ - But from what i read it looks like you might have to spend a bunch of $ to get them half arse accurate. And you may still end up with junk

On the other hand Springfield Armory's M1A's seem to have some nice quality but guys complain about the cast receivers. and they are 2000-2400$ typically and harder to find in canada.
Click to expand...

I too was cautious about buying a Norinco due to some of the horror stories out there. I found a BNIB M305 tweaked by Barney(Tactical Teacher). It ran like a champ but the fit and finish wasn't to my standards/taste(I'm such a snob). However, it did introduce me to the platform and convinced me to sell my AR's.
Long story short…sold the M305 and bought a SA SOCOM16. Sure, it cost a bit more than the Norinco but the fit and finish exceeds my expectations. Even thou its Restricted…I'd rather have one than not. The Life Time Warranty is hard to beat too.

…"guys complain about the cast receivers…" just wondering why?
 
johNTO said:
I too was cautious about buying a Norinco due to some of the horror stories out there. I found a BNIB M305 tweaked by Barney(Tactical Teacher). It ran like a champ but the fit and finish wasn't to my standards/taste(I'm such a snob). However, it did introduce me to the platform and convinced me to sell my AR's.
Long story short…sold the M305 and bought a SA SOCOM16. Sure, it cost a bit more than the Norinco but the fit and finish exceeds my expectations. Even thou its Restricted…I'd rather have one than not. The Life Time Warranty is hard to beat too.

…"guys complain about the cast receivers…" just wondering why?
Click to expand...

Because it was stressed (pardon the pun) by a number of people that Norinco's have a very good receiver to build on as it is forged and the SA receiver is not GI spec as it is cast. Castings can be made very well and the steel is of the same grade but forging compacts and aligns the molecules (aligns the grain). No question it is stronger. The real issue is the cast receiver strong enough? Yes it is. And damn fine looking.
 
Seafury said:
They used to be but I've never seen one or heard of anyone having one. How about 260 Rem? But then you couldn't shoot Chicom Nato ammo.
Click to expand...

That in my mind is a a great combo.
better range than 223 - and flatter shooting then 308 (to a point) and hardly any recoil.

I have a Remington 700 vls in .243 and its beauty to shoot with my handloads. can hit empty cartridges off the top of a post @ 200 Yards :p.

I always found it odd that instead of 223 the military didn't go with something in the middle like .243(6mm) or .264 (6.5mm). as they can drive them nearly as fast and have better distance then .223 without all the recoil of 308 (which really isn't sooo bad either)

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anyhow i saw a sale on the M305 on one of the edmonton sites @ 400$ - not sure which it was but closest i see now is P&D @ $499.99 currently with the clips and tools ect.

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Lol all the back and forth replies here is why i was still dragging my feet on what to buy.

If i do buy a 305 I'm not sure ill have any access to a local smith being in whitecourt Alb.

so anything requiring milling or what not might be out of the question.

Anything I can do with limited physical modification would likely be my limits around here.
 
The idea of a hammer forged receiver is nice but there is nothing wrong with cast.
If they were problematic, I doubt Springfield would offer a lifetime of repairs/replacements on them.

I've honestly seen some really great shooting M305s out of the box, but also had one where I unscrewed the barrel by hand.
Total crapshoot, but that's why I like em!!! I get to make them good and in doing so make the owner happy!

If you're in a rush to get it out and shooting well, buy a big name brand; if you have time to dissect it, figure it out, and make it good, Norinco all the way!
 
I'm never in a rush really when it comes to firearms. I've been down that road before and it leads to big mistakes.
I'm just worried about anything thats going to need machining or smithing specifically(things i can't do myself).
And also I'm worried about any disappointments in accuracy that may end up being unfixable.
Or also any Quality issues where i end up spending just as much or more money to make the chinese M302 shoot as well as an SA or JRA ect would.

Other then that If i knew for sure i could make a Norinco Shoot just as good or better then the American made M14's for less without Tons of costs from having to ship the rifle off to a foreign smith , then that would make the decision much easier :p.
 
yes you are ,the sg 542 in 308 auto loader with hand loads and im 1.25 moa at 100 im using for a deep timber /thick timber elk rifle
 
Tikkam65 said:
yes you are ,the sg 542 in 308 auto loader with hand loads and im 1.25 moa at 100 im using for a deep timber /thick timber elk rifle
Click to expand...

I do most all my hunting with 308 now anyhow's but a semi that shoots nearly as good as my main hunting rifle(s) would be something really great imho.
a good pig gun too nice and quick to fire we have a bunch of wild pigs around here.

and a great just all around fun gun that can multi purpose is a nice thing to have. and if its really good i might even get more into the comp side of things if i can.
 
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