Norinco JW15 -- Progressive review

M

Meroh

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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I picked one of these up yesterday. After looking at and reading reviews, and the price ($219.00 plus tax) I thought I would give it a try.
jw15a.jpg



(not my rifle, stock picture from the dealer).

Initial observations:
- Well packaged with lots of thick oil, in a plastic bag, in a box with fitted Styrofoam; manual included (very small exploded parts drawings though).
- Usual Norinco machining marks on the internals, and sharp edges in a lot of places (I'll see how it wears in before I do any polishing).
- The black bluing is very dark, even and smooth, and IMO better than both Savage and Marlin.
- After cleaning and oiling, I applied some Lithium grease to the bolt and the bolt slides, and worked the action maybe 50 times; and it smoothed out nice. There are some wear marks so I know what to
polish now.
- Sights: Front sight was loose; tightened the screw, it's hood is secure; the front blade is square and no contrast, added a bit of high vis paint to the tip. Rear sight had a lose adjustment ramp; I torqued
the spring a bit to provide more pressure on the ramp and it's good now. Edges are sharp, but the sights are visually finer than either the Marlin or the Savage.
- Composite Stock: First off; it felt and fit me way better than either the Savage Mark II and the Marlin XT; I would give it a 9.5 out of 10 for appearance and a 10/10 for fit (including free-floated barrel).
The sling rings are crooked, ugly and asymmetrical (I will be replacing them with screw in studs). The 24" barrel gives a long sight radius which is always a benefit for precise aiming.
- Rifling is strong and defined, and has a mirror finish. Pretty standard crown on the barrel (not threaded with a knurled protective nut as seen in most videos and pictures; I think standard crowning looks
better, and I have no use for the thread anyway).

A number of reviews and some of Norinco's own material bill this rifle as a CZ clone; which it is but it is no CZ; however, at about 1/3 the cost, and the good reviews by others, I figured it certainly is worth a try!

I have yet to shoot it, but will report back here once I have.

Many thanks to Bullseye in London for their great service, knowledge, and patience while letting me compare, and make up my mind!

Mark
 
I have a couple of JW 15's both 24'' and 13'' barrel length and the .22magnum JW 23.They shoot as well as the BRNO they were copied from if not as finely finished.Factory sight are immaterial, as I have to scope them anyway.Bushnell 4X rimfire works just fine for the typical sub 50 yard ranges I shoot at.I filled the hollow stocks with regular industrial 'NON expanding foam'( DO NOT use 'expanding foam') There was a 'thumbhole' stock version in both black and camo( didn't get one, probably should have they were ' on sale' for $179 before being sold out,with Norinco, if you like it get it, they are rarely restocked )

Very decent and functional 'ultilty guns' and you won't get better value for the money.
 
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I was thinking about grabbing the short barrel version from bullseye. Don't need any more 22's though lol.

with a 2x7 or 1x5 on it, it would be an awesome tree rat gun.
 
For tree-rats, I have an old Boito .410 side by side with the chokes reamed out (used it for skeet too) cheep ugly gun; way rougher than this Norinco rifle; but does it ever shoot!
 
ratherbefishin said:
I have a couple of JW 15's both 24'' and 13'' barrel length and the .22magnum JW 23.They shoot as well as the BRNO they were copied from if not as finely finished.Factory sight are immaterial, as I have to scope them anyway.Bushnell 4X rimfire works just fine for the typical sub 50 yard ranges I shoot at.I filled the hollow stocks with regular industrial 'NON expanding foam'( DO NOT use 'expanding foam') There was a 'thumbhole' stock version in both black and camo( didn't get one, probably should have they were ' on sale' for $179 before being sold out,with Norinco, if you like it get it, they are rarely restocked )

Very decent and functional 'ultilty guns' and you won't get better value for the money.
Click to expand...

Tonight I set up the trigger; I have no force gauge, but it is quite light and crisp; I am very impressed; it is comparable to my old High Standard Sport King pistol; zero take-up, clean break. I do need to get a bit of lock-tight on the screw though.
 
gandalfe said:
This is the first that I have heard that a Norinco is on par with a BRNO.It's hard to believe.
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Well, I would have said more so, but I have not fired them all!

But,

The Norinco NS522s that I have owned are far more accurate than any
BRNO that I have come across personally. I do not own a JW 15 at the moment, but the last one I had was as rough as they get, but very nice to shoot on paper.
 
I've seen some bad reviews of Norinco,and I agree some of the quality contro on some models must be hit and miss, but apart from the fit and finish not being up to BRNO standards ,the Norinco's I own are pretty decent guns.The JW 15 'backpacker' is now my 'grouse gun'
 
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Update...

I tried a crappy old scope on it last night, and it was not good. I took it off and tried iron sights from a bench-rest. It was shooting low and right. I had trouble drifting the rear sight; the front of the dove-tail seems much tighter than the rear and it drifted crooked. It is currently on about a 5 degree angle out of coliniarity with the center line of the barrel; however, it is putting 10 shots in 1.5" with crappy Remington ammo; in the bulls-eye!... now, if I could do that free-hand...

It shoots way better than I can, and I love it!
 
Further update:

Out shooting today, but found my groups had drifted back to the right; I re-drifted the rear sight back to zero and shot a couple of fantastic groups, and it drifted back. I looked more closely at the rear sight an noted that not only was it lose in the dovetail, but the male dovetail on the sight itself was not perpendicular to the line of sight.

I called Bullseye and they asked me to bring the rifle in for them to have a look at. They agreed, and let me look at another one, and when we were all happy they sent me on my way with a brand new rifle.

I have just finished cleaning it up and setting up the trigger; tomorrow, I shoot again, and I have every confidence in the rifle; and even more in the great staff at Bullseye. While I was there I picked up some scope rings and a Hogue handal grip for my Zastava M-57; I have installed both and they fit great. Helpful and great prices!
 
Action: Did a bit more spotting in on the action and the mag; stoned off some sharp edges and the action works as smooth as silk now.
Over 500 rounds of both Thunderbolt and Federal Champion Bulk through it and not a single miss-feed of FTF).

Sights: The rear sight itself is a separate plate that attaches to the spring assembly, and it was asymmetrical with an ambiguous notch in it; with the diamond files, I have done some very minor contouring and have defined the notch more clearly, and it not only looks better, but much easier to align it precisely.

Trigger: The first rifle, I had no trouble adjusting the trigger to where I wanted. On this rifle I adjusted it and as soon as I put the stock back on, it would hot remain cocked. These rifles have a sub-plate between the trigger guard and the stock and there is a rectangular notch through which the trigger passes. Hard to see, but the trigger, when assembled was making contact with the notch. This too I was able to rework with needle files and lengthened it forward of the trigger by about 2 mm. Problem fixed.

Barrel: I noticed that it is not quite fully free-floating. I have not had time to address this yet, but a bit of light sanding on the inside of the stock should cure this very easily; however, it shoots so well, that I'm not sure free-floating will make much of a difference. (It will make me feel better).

I still really love this rifle and am glad I bought it.
 
I have the same rifle in K98 trim and find it very satisfying. I only bought a CZ because I wanted a left hand gun. I'm keeping the Norc, though.

I did not know that the trigger could be adjusted..

My one real complaint is the small sharp cornered mag release.

And for some reason my trigger stopped resetting after a shot, which had me hitting myself in the face a few times when working the bolt. I cleaned it and stoned the ways on the bolt that the sear rides up into a bit and that seems to have fixed it.
 
I have used toothpaste( which is just a polishing compound) to smooth out some of the areas that need polishing..just put it on, work the part many times and then clean it thoroughly .cheap fix
 
Mark-II said:
I have the same rifle in K98 trim and find it very satisfying. I only bought a CZ because I wanted a left hand gun. I'm keeping the Norc, though.

I did not know that the trigger could be adjusted..

My one real complaint is the small sharp cornered mag release.

And for some reason my trigger stopped resetting after a shot, which had me hitting myself in the face a few times when working the bolt. I cleaned it and stoned the ways on the bolt that the sear rides up into a bit and that seems to have fixed it.
Click to expand...

I believe that the actions and trigger group are the same on both models; check the sub-plate for trigger contact. The trigger adjustment is the tiny screw that limits the travel of the trigger assembly. Use a small, flat-head jeweler's screw driver to adjust it; half turn at a time. When you get it releasing at about the point you like it to, put the barrel back in the stock, #### the action and firmly bump the butt-stock on the floor a few times to make sure that it does not release. If it does, back off the screw a half turn and try again. The fit of the screw is quite lose, so put a dab of removable thread locker (locktite blue or equivalant) or a dab of nail polish on the screw and trigger, this will prevent it from moving on you.

ratherbefishin said:
I have used toothpaste( which is just a polishing compound) to smooth out some of the areas that need polishing..just put it on, work the part many times and then clean it thoroughly .cheap fix
Click to expand...

Yes, it is!

When we spot dies and molds we use either Red Lead past or Prussian blue to detect high spots; after I get a few hundred more rounds through it, I will apply this to the bolt, find the remaining high and sharp spots, polish them in, then polish the bolt up, and maybe even jewel it, like this one:
sav2.jpg
 
Just picked one up for my nephew.Put a cheap "Barska" scope on it ,a little valve grinding paste on the bolt and worked the action to smooth it out.Have to say I am impressed with the rifle.The kid is pretty good with it at 50 yards.I bought a JW-15 back in the 90's that looked and felt like a one eyed blacksmith built,but this rifle seems of much better quality.Decent blueing,good crisp rifling and the plastic stock is not bad either.I will have to lighten the trigger a bit though when I get time.In all I would definitely buy another one at the price they are going for(And likely will)
 
I bought a 13" barrelled version from T and T Arms (a CGN sponsor). It was coated in that Chinese grease and I had to take everything apart (including the bolt). The bolt comes apart the same as a CZ 452. Once I cleaned up the rifle I tested the trigger and was suprised that it is 2.25 pounds! The front sight post was very thick and eneven. I removed the sights and have an inexpensive fixed 4x scope on it. It shoots nice little groups. I plan on strapping it to my backpack and bringing it hunting with me for grouse and rabbits using CCI Quiets.
 
homer76 said:
I bought a 13" barrelled version from T and T Arms (a CGN sponsor). It was coated in that Chinese grease and I had to take everything apart (including the bolt). The bolt comes apart the same as a CZ 452. Once I cleaned up the rifle I tested the trigger and was suprised that it is 2.25 pounds! The front sight post was very thick and eneven. I removed the sights and have an inexpensive fixed 4x scope on it. It shoots nice little groups. I plan on strapping it to my backpack and bringing it hunting with me for grouse and rabbits using CCI Quiets.
Click to expand...
Been eyeing up the 13" myself.Looks like handy little plinker
 
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