Marstar M14 Arrival Report and pictures

if the bolt did indeed come free of the action with the oprod seated in it's track, SEND IT BACK TO MARSTAR , your rifle is not safe to shoot , period.
I have never seen that happen to any of the rifles i have tuned, tweaked inspected ect.

There is not one "issue" common to the norc m14s that is not easily dealt with. with the exception of badly indexed barrels as most guys have no access to a barrel vice and m14 action wrench.
stick around here, you'll have all the help you need. ;)
 
Have a look at the rolling thing that is on the bolt, maybe its missing the roller part? That might loosen things up enough so the bolt could come loose.

I'll dig up a photo of mine if I can....

Here it is. Do you have that ring roller piece?

m14bolt.jpg
 
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John, the roller is there and it rotates freely. I will put it back together again and cycle the action trying to redo what I did originally. If the bolt comes out again, I will contact Marstar. After all they say guarantee and service what they sell. I am really not making this up. I really would love to go the Hungry's clinick thie January 17 but for me the timing is really tight. I am curious if there is another clinic shortly after this. Thanks for your comments, guys.
 
millwright said:
Time to learn some man skills,dude.
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Millwright, I am not sure how you define "man skills". My definition of man skills is to be able to put food on my family table. Perhaps I am not so good with hammers, vise grips and TIG welders but I happen to be a music production and sound engineer. I am really good at processing digital signals into synthesized sounds with modular or additive synthesizers, I am really proficient at processing digital audio via multi-band compression filters, multi-mode frequency filters, signal saturators, or passing audio through low frequency oscilators. I am incredible when it comes to mastering the signal using parametric equalizers with simultaneus application of low mid, middle and high frequency peaking filters, and I am fantastic when it comes to enhancing track signals using spatial effect enhancers at 192 kHz sampling frequency. At the same time, in my spare time which I have little, I enjoy shooting sports. If I need to learn, I prefer to spend that time learning new "man skills" that would put more food on my family table such as new applications in distance panning and spatial surround sound enhancement skills.
 
Got mine Dec 31 in a manner that included me running down the street after the postie truck, boot laces flapping and yelling and waving my arms. Caught him at the intersection - that was close.

I got two - opened up the first one, NO cosmo, just a light coating of oil that wiped off easily with a rag. The whole rifle came apart just like expected with no issues. Wiped the whole thing down; put it back together, and figured I'd won the Norinco lottery or something.

Then I opened box #2...
whiteplague.jpg

Still, no cosmoline, and all the mold wiped off. Had to wrestle the trigger assy out with a fair amount of force. Washed the stock down well with Mr.Clean, dried, and took a pic.

m14parts.jpg


The disassembly/reassembly of both included swapping the stock Norc oprod spring guide with the aftermarket one sold by Marstar. AFtermarket above, stock item below:
orsg.jpg



Put the 2nd one back together, and the trigger assembly again had to 'persuaded' to seat all the way in.

For a guy who's never taken a rifle apart in my life prior to this I have to say it was pretty painless. The only tool required ships in the buttstock of the rifle itself, and it's dead simple after you've done it one time.

The only cosmoline-looking substance I found was in the cleaning rod bag of one of the rifles - it's packed full of the stuff. Strange.

I also ordered two of the scope mounts, which leads to a question: How do I get this part out? Hesitant to start hammering on things fresh out of the box :)
scopemountproblem.jpg


Overall I'm very happy so far. Money well spent. My only real complaint is that I should have ordered three :)

m14s.jpg
 
Subdermal, you mention that you washed the moldy stock with Mr. Clean. I am not sure about your guns but the mouldy stock on my gun smells really bad, smells like old, rotten, moldy wood that has been in a ground for the past 50 years. I washed and scrubbed mine three times with Simple Green, dishwashing detergent and bleach but the smell is still there. The wood after my treatment is almost white (few greasy spots still keep comming out) but the smell remains. Not as strong but every time I handle it, my hands have this nasty mouldy, rotten wood smell and I have wash and scrub my hands. I have a baby at home so I have to make sure my hands are pretty close to sterile.
 
Subdermal,the "clip guide" is removed by using a small punch or nail or spring loaded punch(or similar small punch-type object) to remove the "roll pin" that is at an (approx.) 45 degree angle through the "clip guide".that small hole at a 45 degree angle contains a "roll pin" or "split pin" that holds the guide in place.
once the pin is removed then you take a plastic,fibre or rubber mallet and drive the guide either from right to left or vise-versa(i don't think it matters but i have to check).

abalas,you can get rid of the mold by runnibg the stock in the dishwasher a couple of times.make sure the "better half" either dosen't mind or is out of the house for a few hours.after the dishwater does it's thing you will have a stripped wood stock (hopefully) free of mold.oil the metal bits and buy some "boiled linseed oil" or ""tung oil" or "tru oil" or whatever to refinish the stock. the "blo" is easy to do and dosen't require "man skills" or special tools.just spread it on,wait a bit and wipe it off.reapply several times as needed...
 
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I just got two 2007 Norinco M14s (mine came from MilArm in Edmonton) and had no fuzz or powder it (one is still sealed up in the box waiting to go to my friend) was however downright PACKED in grease, it took 2 hours to get it cleaned up.

The wood is (or seems to be) soft for three reasons from what I can tell, 1. It's so impregnated with grease it's falling apart, like when you dip bread in milk 2. it's just crummy wood to start with 3. people don't know wood is soft anymore because they only either handle wood or crappy wood impregnated with sealants and varnishes.

I soaked mine in safe stripper (to dissolve the grease) for a few hours and then water (with agitating), then dried it off lightly and sanded it a little to open the surface up a bit more, and packed it in salt for about a day. Now it's quite hard. When you tap it with a pen it doesn't have a dull wet sound it sounds like wood.
 
Toyboy, yeah, I got the Tru-Oil already is ready to be applied this weekend. My little concern is the bad stench still coming off the stock. It just seems to me that the mold and whatever else the Chinese applied to the stock permeated very deep into the wood crevices and multiple washing cycles cant get it out. It doesn't matter, ultimately, down the road, the stock will be replaced with whatever 45ACPKING comes up with.
 
abalas, I guess I got lucky, even the moldy stock after cleaning didn't smell bad at all. Now it smells like paint, but that's a different story :)

toyboy, that's awesome thank you for the tips on removing the clip guide.
 
I wish mine smelled like paint.
perhaps I should submerge my stock in bleach for a couple of hours and then see what happens. Or I will simply soak it with Axe deodorant...not only it will smell great, it will be a chick magnet and perhaps even I can score too....
 
abalas said:
I wish mine smelled like paint.
perhaps I should submerge my stock in bleach for a couple of hours and then see what happens. Or I will simply soak it with Axe deodorant...not only it will smell great, it will be a chick magnet and perhaps even I can score too....
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LMFAO... Nice!
 
I don't recommend soaking wood in bleach it's going to attack the wood and reduce the integrity, and Synth-O-Wood™ can't afford to get any more fragile…
 
also buy some easy-off oven cleaner, apply liberally, soak for 15 - 20 minutes, scrub with an SOS pad, and rinse with boiling water. Repeat 2 - 3 times till clean.
 
How about a poll?

It seems that some people like myself have received excellent rifles with great metal and wood parts and others have received rifles with bolts that fall off and stocks you can scratch with a finger and are so inundated in mold that they should be in a bio-hazard bag.

How about a poll of people who have received M14s rifles from Marstar from this latest shipment to see what percent were great and what percent were junk.

Choose on:

a) Rifle is fine.

b) Rifle has major problems with excessive mold and/or its operation.
 
Well, it is not black or white.
In my case, parts look OK, it's been put together fine, no gunky cosmo, just a bit of liberal amounts of oil which is fine, just the mouldy, stinking stock is the problem. My bolt fell out when I cycled the action several times without the op rod coming out but I haven't been able to recreate this problem. I must have done something wrong myself.

I would expand that list of issues to include metal parts fit and finish and chicom stock as two separate items.

Hungry here: PULL the op rod handle STRAIGHT to the rear, do not deviate and pull it (op rod handle) to the right (starboard) as you pass the op rod tab cut out found just beneath the rear sight windage knob. It's designed that way. Rack it straight to the rear. I've handled hundreds of these Marstar imported M14's and they are all good. :D
 
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I would suggest:

)Rifle is A-OK in all respects
)Rifle functions excellent, with fit and finish issues
)Rifle functions poorly with fit and finish issues and has been repaired under Ironclad Guarantee
)Rifle is in otherwise excellent condition but the stock is reminiscent of the discharge from a whores birth canal.
)rifle has a serious functional flaw and has been returned under Ironclad Guarantee.
)rifle is junk and I regret my purchase, I have since sold it on EE for a tidy 20% profit.

**In answering all all cases above I recognize that I received excellent value and service from the supplier and I'm overall happy with the outcome (Excellent rifle or Profit in Lieu of)**
 
abalas said:
Here's mine. An interesting thing happened: I was showing off my M14 to some friends so I cycled the action several times and as I was doing it, the bold came loose and fell out of the receiver!!!! I told them, "ahh, yeah, it was supposed to happen".....but that is worrisome! How can the bolt come out without disassembling the gun in the first place. Should this be possible happen at all? Is this a case of ill fitting parts where some parts have incorrect dimentions?

M14_3.jpg
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Abalas, you should start a thread on this. In my case the bolt floats to the right about 1/8in, 1/2 way down as you action it back. I can't seem to get it to fall out, now this is my first M14, I do have a M1 garand and that's what I'm comparing it to. I hope to maybe get this looked at when I go to one of these clinics,

Hungry here: It's supposed to float to the right 1/18" and part way down as you rack it rearwards. They are designed that way. Now sign up for one of my clinics before you newbies are fearful fer yer dicks falling off and these guns gotta go back to Marstar. Trust me, they are just fine! You guys must be new to this platform!
 
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Okay, this is getting annoying. Let's get some of you experienced Norc M14 owners who have been to my clinics.... step up and tell these newbies that their rifles are fine after a good TLC cleaning bout! And then attend my clinic(s) when they can.

These M14's are a darling and they deserve great cleaning and handling like you own it! :evil: Better yet, watch a copy of "Full Metal Jacket", "Forrest Gump", or "Blackhawk Down", then get back to us!
 
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