Norinco M305

James1873

James1873

CGN Regular
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McLennan, Alberta
any experience with the m305/m14 clone? is it a good rifle out of the box or is it one of those "finish it yourself" guns. i was thinking about getting one because there a fraction of the cost of a springfield m1a.. whats with the price gap? must have cut corners somewhere
 
I enjoy mine! shoots pretty good groups. I did a lot of mods to it after just because I didn't want it to look standard. I wanted the same as you, a Springfield, but for the price difference I went with the 305. Yes it is a norinco and some will hate, but overall I am very happy with my purchase, no issues and shoots pretty decent
 
Go to the battle rifle section, pretty much an entire section dedicated to the M305. I have 2, love them. They are not precision rifles IMO, and they are finish yourself rifles. Some tuning and tweaking, and you'll have a very nice rifle. Just don't go into it expecting it to shoot tiny groups like a bolt gun, it won't.
 
I have an M305. It's fun. It'll do 2.5MOA ish. Nowhere near what a Savage 10 or any other equally priced gun will do in the 6-800 dollar range. It makes me smile to bang away on it. There are still some issues with it but I will never expect it to be a 1MOA gun as I won't put that kind of money into it.

You want precision buy a bolt. You want history and to talk to your gun like Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket? Then you need a M305 :)
 
For the money they are a great rifle .There are a few common faults with some of them but most issues can be fixed easily enough .
As mentioned read the stickies up top on the battle rifle forum to find out what to look for and there is lots of advice / help on CGN .


My Grandparents and a sister and brother lived in Mclennan Alta ...I was going there a couple times a year up until the late 70,s . :)
 
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Lots of fun to shoot, great for blasting clays at 200 yards even with surplus ammo but the accuracy is nowhere near what I get from my savage 10 PC, I have read that they can be made into MOA guns but it's going to cost $$$$$ I have one with a blackfeather stock and love it, thinking about packing it for deer this year and keeping it in the stand during archery season in case I run into another wolf
 
I own one, and they are decent (but nothing spectacular) out of the box. Like the guys mentioned, they do have their typical issues. If you can inspect your M305 before you purchase it, that will save you some headaches when it comes to barrel indexing issues, head space issues, etc. If you like project guns I think these have a lot of potential... just my $0.02.
 
Probably the funest gun I own....shoots clays at 200 yards no problem with surplus ammo....have tried groups but frankly it's not worth it....ring steel, shoot clays or kill coyotes but if you want to have the precision of a bolt gun you better have deep pockets....
 
You want precision buy a bolt. You want history and to talk to your gun like Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket? Then you need a M305 :)[/QUOTE said:
I have a M305, but it was accessorized at the time I bought it. It was topped with the original USGI Scope, which I had been looking for, for a long time. I think I paid somewhere around $1700.00 for the setup. I then mounted this scope on a Custom M14S with the M25 Receiver from LRB Arms. The M25 Receiver has the scope mounting slots forged integral to the rifle. No side mount, just like it was drilled and tapped for a normal scope. http://www.lrbarms.com/m14receiversactions.html

While my M305 is not as accurate as my M14S which has outstanding accuracy, I found the accuracy could be improved by turning off the Gas Port, which effectively turns the semi-auto into a single shot Bolt Gun. When you are comparing groups, check this out.
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The 22'' one have better quality control afaik. I have a shorty and the front sight, flash hider and bolt catch is machined at an angle. Barrel is also overindexed. The op rod guide and guide spring is two things you would want to change (for about $40) since they are of poor quality and the stock spring are rather soft. The spring isnt really an issue if you shoot lighter load but if you intend to shoot 168gr (depend on the load for 168) and 180gr its much better with it. The finish wears off quicly and I have a few place where it's bare metal. After I shimmed mine and changed the part I mentioned above (I still have to change the spring, however) I make an average of 3 MOA (5 shot groups) using surplus ammo and some hunting load. Some other load like the federals powershock 150gr gives me 2 MOA. I trie a scope on it but I didnt like it, you need some cheek riser, the scope sits very high and it makes the rifle really heavy. The iron sights (US made, not norinco) are imo the best kind of sight there is, very easy to adjust elevation and windage, and the peep is really awesome. I've handled a springfield armory M14 at cabelas near barrie and it felt better overall, even lighter than my shorty! In comparison my shorty feels like there is sand in the action next to the springfield. This springfield asking price however is a staggering $4000. Is the $3300 difference worth it? Not in my book.
 
I like them.... My wife would tell you I have a problem!

For $600 (new price) add in $500 in parts and bits, and it will shoot as good or better than a NIB SAI. In my experience.....

Take a SAI NIB, for $2300, add in $500 in parts and bits, and you have pretty close to the same thing.

The extra cash gets ya a nicer finish, no tool marks and an American made rifle..... But that's about it!

I have 9 (yea I know, the wife may be right) M305, M-14S, Poly or M1As in the stable. With as little as $1100 into one at the bottom end and $4700 at the top end.

At a minimum, you will want to swap the op-rod guide pin and the sights.

Cheers!
 
notsorichguy said:
I have 9 (yea I know, the wife may be right) M305, M-14S, Poly or M1As in the stable. With as little as $1100 into one at the bottom end and $4700 at the top end.

At a minimum, you will want to swap the op-rod guide pin and the sights.

Cheers!
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I thought I had a problem with 5 - we definitely need a support group Laugh2

These days my default "swap-out" parts list, without even looking at the rifle first is:
- Rear sight (ideally USGI, but the Springfield ones are still far better than the Norc ones - alternately a CASM if I'm scoping it)
- Op-rod spring guide (I tend to go with either Sadlak or black-arrow, if the latter I don't bother with a new spring)
- Firing pin (usually the chrome ones from treelinem14)
 
The op rod guide and guide spring is two things you would want to change (for about $40) since they are of poor quality and the stock spring are rather soft. The spring isnt really an issue if you shoot lighter load but if you intend to shoot 168gr (depend on the load for 168) and 180gr its much better with it. The finish wears off quicly and I have a few place where it's bare metal. After I shimmed mine and changed the part I mentioned above (I still have to change the spring, however) I make an average of 3 MOA (5 shot groups) using surplus ammo and some hunting load. Some other load like the federals powershock 150gr gives me 2 MOA. I trie a scope on it but I didnt like it, you need some cheek riser, the scope sits very high and it makes the rifle really heavy
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That is my experience, as well. Brownell's (the US gun supply outfit) has a very good stick-on cheek piece to solve the stock comb/scope height problem.

Try posting some of these opinions on an American forum, and you'll be treated like an escapee from the local leper colony. Glad Canadians are more open minded, and don't put forth an unsubstantiated opinion.
 
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Most of the important or relevant stuff about these rifles has been covered but just to simplify it to the lowest common denominator ; if you like/ love tinkering with guns & a semi-auto .308 is what you think you need, then a Norc m14 might be just what the doctor ordered! If you want something that shoots a reasonably heavy round accurately straight out of the box with nothing required other than cleaning; then for heaven sakes stay away from them!!

The nice thing is if you do like to tinker, there are lots of resources available both in parts & experience (largely available on this website) to accomplish whatever you want to get out of your Norc. I have been buggering around with my shorty now for 2 years, doing some pretty major mods to it & still have under $1000 into it including rifle cost (thanks to the EE!) minus glass, & it's almost to where I want it finally. It will shoot around 1.5-2 moa all day long at 100yrds with surplus ammo through a 1x4 scope; plenty good enough for me. Not to mention whenever I bring my Norc to the range or gravel pit, my bolt action accuracy seeker buddies all end up putting away their guns & shooting mine as much as I will let them lol.
 
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