Norinco m14 blued receiver

[zouave]

Picked up a norinco m14 sporter that a gentleman had bought in the mid ninety's. Said he had never fired it. Markings are C. A. I., ST. ALBANS, VT. What I am curious about, why is everything parkerized except the receiver, which is blued? Thanks for any help.

zouave.

 

[t-star]

might be one of the transition models or maybe made up from parts- the early norcs were entirely a deep rich blue- i've got one- even the cleaning rod sections are blued- which makes sense, as they'd just throw the whole thing into the tank at once- i'd be leaning towards the made up from parts explaination- either way, get the headspace checked the markings are probably century arms, inc, saint albans, vermont- the importer or assembler

 

[Lazerus2000]

possibly one of the CENTURY parts guns, assembled from spare pieces??
NOT THAT THERE WOULD BE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT,
as your average Canadian gunsmith or even hobbyist would probably be more careful assembling the parts than your average Chinese "assembler".

 

[Beadwindow]

My first M14S was purchased from SIR for $230 plus tax back in 96 (it was partially assembled until one of Hungry's clinics) and is exactly as Zouave described. The reciever was blued and the rest of the parts came parkerized (though not as well as the newer M305s) and the wood seems to have been a bit more slab sided than the newer ones.

Unfortunately mine does not cycle reliably, probably due to rough machining on the inside left side of the reciever, so I hope that you are luckier with yours. I look to figuring this problem out after I finish sighting in my two M 305s.

Good luck with your new rifle.

Frank