Norinco M14 accuracy

Rockcore

Rockcore

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Guys, what kind of accuracy can one coax from a Norinco M14? With optics of course... The folks at Grouse River suggest 4" groups at 100 yds. which doesn't excite me at all.
 
It's a battle rifle, not a precision rifle. It's meant to shoot people not make tiny groups. What do you expect?

You can make them shoot accurate, but expect to spend money. The more accurate you want it, the more money you will have to spend.
 
With most guns it depends on the gun. Even more so with Norincos were the tolerances very greatly. I have seen some bone stock M305s shoot like lasers. Most need tuning and some can be hopeless.
 
I think that Grouse River was referring to a stock M305 and they are correct on that.
I think you could shrink that down to 1-1.5 with a high end barrel and a bunch of US-made components.
 
You could probably spend $2000 on a Norico and still get 4" groups... It's a pig you can dress it up as nicely as you want but in the end it's still a pig...
 
Yup it's a battle rifle and minute moose is accurate enough. Okay minute of zombie. You can out a lot of money into accuracy search bout there are no promises of accuracy.

But if you grew up on LEGO then tinkering is a sub-hobby then this rifle might be for you. Who knows? For the rest of us, it's an addiction.

Cheers, Barney.
 
Anything below 3" is unusual for a stock Norc. Check the online reviews of high end M14 platforms, many only approach 1.5" groups. Fact is, there is far too much benchrest shooting done with rifles that have no place trying to be precision bolt guns. It's like expecting your mechanic to also have an MBA in international economics. Pick the right tool for the job. If you want an M14 as accurate as they come, order a fully optioned LRB imported from the states. Probably be $4500 all it though.
 
A friend put a scope on a bone stock M305 (2207 model). Nothing has been changed on it, except it was bedded. he gets 3" with military ball, which is outstanding, because the ammo is not capbale of much more than that.

I have two. Both have a few tune ups on them, including a new spring guide on one. Both shoot so well I smile when I shoot them. Stock iron sights.

But it is luck of the draw. Some guys complain the stock sights are crap. Mine work just fine.

Have seen postings that new ones are better.
 
If you can accept 4" or MORE groups out of the box then its a good rifle. If you want to tinker with it then its a good rifle. If you want to tinker and spend some money you can improve its accuracy. People can get them to MAO or sub, but don't expect it to be punching bug holes. It isn't a bolt gun.

Tons of info on here regarding making it more accurate too.
 
Shoot steel, not paper. You'll be happier. Consistent 2MOA is a reasonable goal. They can do better, yes, but the return is not worth the investment.
 
Check out the 1.5 MOA Challenge in the link below. There are 2 M305s that have succeeded along with a whole bunch of heavy barreled US iron.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1049913-M1A-Precision-Challenge-1-5-MOA

That said with a whole bunch of tinkering they can be made to shoot very well. After my last tinker, I shot the following this past Saturday and I'm quite frankly very happy with this. Not my smallest groups but some of the best average groups. I'm now going after sub-MOA consistency and 1.5 MOA at 200 and 300 yards.


 
Change the stock out for a USGI fiberglass. Bed it. Do the usual tinkering stuff that costs virtually nothing, ie shim the gas system, tighten up the op rod guide. With good ammo or handloads. I bet it will hover around 2 MOA.
Mine sits in that 1.5-2 moa area and I consistently cold bore head shaped gongs at 300M with little effort. Shooting torso sized gongs at 600 is no problem most of the time.
It is quickly becoming my "go to" rifle the more I shoot it.
 
Reading the foregoing, I am pleased that my bone stock norinco is giving me 2-3" groups at 100M with mil ball, and the canted front sight.......LOL. So far it is doing all I have wanted it to do and will just get better with tinkering. Best of luck.
 
Thanks for constructive feedback guys. Sounds interesting. I handload but I'm gonna have to learn up on some tweaks mentioned. I know some of the 'real' M16 can be quite accurate.
 
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Rockcore said:
I know some of the 'real' M16 can be quite accurate.
Click to expand...

Assuming you mean USGI M14s.

The rack grade M14 rifles issued to US soldiers were every bit as inaccurate as the Norincos we shoot today. It took years of experimentation to make those rifles shoot well, and each individual match or sniper rifle had ten of hours of hand labour put into it to make it shoot well. Most of the accurizing methods people use today came out of the USAMTU M14 match rifle program. About the only thing we don't have the luxury of doing is air gauging hundreds of standard rifles to find those with best bores before starting work. We kind of have to work with the rifle that shows up when you order it.
 
I found my own reloads helped a lot with accuracy. I picked up a hornady cartridge OAL gauge, and seated bullets 0.040 from the rifling. This helps you find the best OAL to seat to for each bullet, for each rifle. The groups were half the size of factory AmEagle, and I am still tweaking the powder charge a bit. Lots more info available in the reloading section .

On top of this, I just went to a clinic this weekend to help with some accurizing. Barrel indexing, gas system unitizing, trigger job etc. Good stuff :D .

Jarret
 
With a decent scope and hand loads they seem to be capable of 1.5 to 2.5 groups most days. Mine is usually around 2 inch or under for most groups with the (very) occasional 2.5-3"
Rodney
 
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