Norinco Rimfires any good?

Father said:
you just described a Norinco/Savage/Marlin rimfire perfectly.
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Having owned alteast one firearm from each of those manufacturers, Savage and Marlin are way out of the Norinco league as far as quality. The funny thing it, a Savage or Marlin .22 can be had for not much more than a Norinco. I got a used Lakefield Mk.2 ( Same thing as a Savage Mk.2) off the EE for 125 bucks shipped in MINT condition. I would take it anyday over a brand new Norinco which would cost 50 bucks more.

Father said:
Well, your theory is flawed.
10/22s have an awesome resale value and anyone who has owned one knows how crappy they are. They do go "bang" in a cool kind of way though.
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I take it your not one of those that has owned one then. Everyone I know that owns one (or more) loves it. The reliability, accuracy and sheer amount of mods for it is why its probably the most popular semi auto .22. Theres a reason why the purchase a resale value are a little higher than most .22 semis.
 
Gents,

Please don't take me for a rookie.

I own and have owned many examples of each of the brands we are discussing. You can insert bold letters and say what you like about my dad to try and draw credit to your point of view. It makes no difference to me at all as the original poster asked for opinions in general and not just yours.

I was just stating my opinion.
 
OP, I own a JW 15A. Personaly, I like the rifle. Bought it second hand for $150.00. It's nice enough that I bought a JW 103 Bushranger, convinced that "if my Norinco .22 is okay, the Bushranger should be too." NOT!!!!

I wouldn't have to think twice if it came to making the decision of making a head shot on a grouse with the .22, though. During one range session, I put 50 rounds in a one inch circle at 50 yards with it.
 
Father said:
you win.
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OP - I have a jw 15 and a jw 14. Both are more accurate than I am generally capable of shooting.

With both of them I can happily bounce shotgun shells/bits of previously shot up clay birds, fragments of other peoples target backers, etc. up and over the berm at 100 metres. The jw 15 will consistently score first round hits on clay birds at 200 metres. I've shot it into half an inch at 50 metres on a number of occasions, and can shoot them into a quarter inch when I'm having a really good day (not often that I have those days though).

I haven't tried the jw 14 at more than 100 metres (I should also say up front that the jw 14 is awful to re-assemble after stripping, particularly re-setting the trigger sear). Luckily both rifles show a preference Highland and PMX ammunition, which are basically the cheapest .22 ammunition available in NZ.

If it helps for comparison purposes, the Norinco's are both more accurate than my krico bolt-action, and my no8 enfield trainer, both of which are pretty good rifles in their own right.

In NZ the jw15 is probably the most sold .22 in the country, and the majority of people who have them rate them really highly.
 
Interesting....hmmm....Ive actually just come across the savage mk 2. Accutrigger with semi decent sights seems appealing to me. TBH I think Im gonna be shooting this rifle a TON since its so cheap so Im thinking about throwing a couple more bucks towards it than the norinco. Thats good to hear NZ loves them though-Id love to go hunting down there one day damn.
 
Hey GunNewb~you're in Alberta...look around...LOADS of hunting opportunities. Other than the pissing match in this thread, I enjoy any discussion on affordable, bolt-action rimfires. In terms of what you should, shouldn't get, it's worth taking the time to save for one that "feels" right, or that you really have the drive to own. When you asked about the Norinco, you got answers about the Norinco. There are plenty of "what .22lr should I buy" threads here too, and I've probably mentioned "buy Savage" in a number of them. When I bought my Norinco Backpacker (see pic below :) ) I had an Anschutz .22lr bolt action, a Savage .22WMR bolt action, and a CZ 452 .17HMR in the safe...and I STILL bought the Norinco. Does it come close to the build quality of any of them? No it does not. Does it shoot, and is it accurate~yes it is. I don't abuse any of my guns, but the Norinco sees the hardest use/worst weather...and I don't mind subjecting it to the nasty stuff. It just keeps on ticking.

Norinco2.jpg


Were I to recommend a .22lr bolt action for someone on a tight budget, I'd say "how tight?" If a Savage is within reach, I'd say wait and get IT instead, especially for a full-size .22lr. If you plan on hunting with your .22lr, be mindful of the .22lr's limitations. .22WMR and .17HMR are often better choices for anything bigger than a squirrel/rabbit.

Just took a peek on the EE~there is a Toz-built, Winchester Wildcat on there. I've never shot one, but they're supposed to be really accurate. Wouldn't mind having one myself!
 
The savage is a good gun and the cz even better, but there is one norinco that easily stands up to both, the EM332. There's a reason they almost never show up on the EE...because no one who has one is willing to part with it. Not all norincos are of dubious pedigrees.
 
.22LRGUY said:
Hey GunNewb~you're in Alberta...look around...LOADS of hunting opportunities. Other than the pissing match in this thread, I enjoy any discussion on affordable, bolt-action rimfires. In terms of what you should, shouldn't get, it's worth taking the time to save for one that "feels" right, or that you really have the drive to own. When you asked about the Norinco, you got answers about the Norinco. There are plenty of "what .22lr should I buy" threads here too, and I've probably mentioned "buy Savage" in a number of them. When I bought my Norinco Backpacker (see pic below :) ) I had an Anschutz .22lr bolt action, a Savage .22WMR bolt action, and a CZ 452 .17HMR in the safe...and I STILL bought the Norinco. Does it come close to the build quality of any of them? No it does not. Does it shoot, and is it accurate~yes it is. I don't abuse any of my guns, but the Norinco sees the hardest use/worst weather...and I don't mind subjecting it to the nasty stuff. It just keeps on ticking.

Norinco2.jpg


Were I to recommend a .22lr bolt action for someone on a tight budget, I'd say "how tight?" If a Savage is within reach, I'd say wait and get IT instead, especially for a full-size .22lr. If you plan on hunting with your .22lr, be mindful of the .22lr's limitations. .22WMR and .17HMR are often better choices for anything bigger than a squirrel/rabbit.

Just took a peek on the EE~there is a Toz-built, Winchester Wildcat on there. I've never shot one, but they're supposed to be really accurate. Wouldn't mind having one myself!
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Hey thanks thats informative/encouraging and positive unlike some people heheheh! I like that philosophy and I'll probably stick to that. I now have a nice 22LR CZ fullstock en route to me- super excited to get that out and TBH since its the only gun I dont reload for besides shotgun i think I'm gonna shoot it the most so I didnt want to cheap out. Now whether or not Im gonna have the heart to take that thing out into a snowy, damp woods, lean it against trees, etc etc is yet to be seen. more likely that next year Ill have a bit more time to get educated/certified and out there to do some hunting. By then I might pick up a cheap norinco but probably a savage since theyre supposed to have comparable accuracy.

22lr should be great for rabbits, pheasants, all things of that size <100yards right? What would 22wmr and .17HMR be good for, coyote but not deer?
 
GunNewb said:
22lr should be great for rabbits, pheasants, all things of that size <100yards right? What would 22wmr and .17HMR be good for, coyote but not deer?
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First-off, rimfire rifles and deer do not belong in the same sentence, unless that sentence reads like "I put my .22lr back in the safe, and grabbed my high-power rifle/shotgun to go deer hunting" :) So no, deer are a no-go with any rimfire.

.22lr/rabbits~I don't hunt rabbits, but I have shot .22s forever..and a 100 yard hunting shot on rabbit is probably too far. I don't know how much energy a .22lr round has once it reaches 100 yards, so I'll let other's chime-in. Were I guessing, I'd say 1/2 that distance would be better...providing your shot placement was perfect. .22lr is still shooting pretty flatly at that range=more predictable POI.

.17HMR/.22WMR/coyotes~I hunt coyotes (no luck so far) but with a .223. Anybody who looks around YouTube..and the internet in general, might be left with the impression that these 2 rimfire rounds are good choices. They're not. I've spoken to hunters who've taken coyotes with an HMR, but they were not targeting them WITH that rifle...rather..an opportunity presented itself. .17HMR and .22WMR get compared allot, but the more I shoot them, the more I see how different they are. To me, HMR is for long-range on small varmints (gophers)..maybe head shots on rabbits you plan on eating. .22WMR has the most rimfire "punch" on small-medium-sized critters, but 75-100 yard shots.

These are my opinions, but you'll hear others. Loving rimfires like I do, I've always been keen on seeing how "much" you could do with the most modest amount of power. I've evolved in the last couple of years. Now, I want the right tool for the job, biases/preferences aside.
 
I bought a Norc JW15a synthetic a few months ago. I recrowned the muzzle with a target crown, floated the barrel, and did a trigger job on it (to about .5kg). After about 200 rnds, it now shoots sub-.5" at 50 meters consistently, down to .2" occasionally, and this is with Blazer bulk ammo. The more I shoot the norc, the more often it outshoots my savage. May be because I'm getting used to the gun, but I don't care. It shoots all out of proportion to its cost and it's built like a brick house. I like that.
 
I have an older BRNO [shoots like a dream] and I later picked up a Norinco .22 magnum.The main diference is the finishing-but thats about it.I paid about $100 for it from SIR.The Norinco stock is some kind of softwood-and the finish looks like it was dipped in thick varnish.As already stated, the metal work finish is strictly utilitarian-but thats all I wanted
 
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