This was the issue I had with an M305 build. After I installed the usgi barrel the problem was gone.
PSA re: bolt failures in recent import M-14 pattern rifles
- Thread starter m14medic.ca
- Start date
This was the issue I had with an M305 build. After I installed the usgi barrel the problem was gone.
Well I got my m305 last week that I ordered online , found all this MIM stuff after ordering , received it and it had a MIM bolt in it.
Looked at the options available, contacted M14 medic (he’s a very helpful and informative fella).
Also Went to local cabelas to look at the m305’s they had on the racks in the hope of trading off for a forged bolt version of they had one there ,but they were all MIM bolts as well.
The m305 is now up for sale “unfired brand new in box” and I ordered a Springfield M1A to replace it.
Problem solved.
Looked at the options available, contacted M14 medic (he’s a very helpful and informative fella).
Also Went to local cabelas to look at the m305’s they had on the racks in the hope of trading off for a forged bolt version of they had one there ,but they were all MIM bolts as well.
The m305 is now up for sale “unfired brand new in box” and I ordered a Springfield M1A to replace it.
Problem solved.
Be warned! in most cases, the receivers on the MIM guns are so out-of-spec that a forged bolt will not fit. Those of you thinking you can just get a forged bolt and drop it in could be disappointed. I'm not talking just a head-spacing issue, i'm talking wont go in battery kind of thing.
This thread makes me sad. It's busted open a myth I believed in. I feel like a kid who has just learned Santa Claus is a lie!
What I believed before I read this thread: M305's might have a rough finish, but they were built like a tank--with chrome barrels and forged parts, essentially milspec rifles that might have some ugly machine marks on them, but tough and reliable and that if you tinkered with them and upgraded them you could make them accurate to boot.
What I believe now: They are garbage.
The first gun I got after I got my PAL was an M305. Sold it years ago, but I have such good memories of that gun and all I learned about firearms from taking it apart, putting it back together, upgrading it with various parts. I really liked it and I liked the IDEA of it. Such a sad thing that the quality, if it was ever really there, is gone now. Also very sad that there are people who import and continue to sell what they must now realize is junk, and that somebody may get hurt as a result.
What I believed before I read this thread: M305's might have a rough finish, but they were built like a tank--with chrome barrels and forged parts, essentially milspec rifles that might have some ugly machine marks on them, but tough and reliable and that if you tinkered with them and upgraded them you could make them accurate to boot.
What I believe now: They are garbage.
The first gun I got after I got my PAL was an M305. Sold it years ago, but I have such good memories of that gun and all I learned about firearms from taking it apart, putting it back together, upgrading it with various parts. I really liked it and I liked the IDEA of it. Such a sad thing that the quality, if it was ever really there, is gone now. Also very sad that there are people who import and continue to sell what they must now realize is junk, and that somebody may get hurt as a result.
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M305's aren't garbage, and it's not true tat "most recent receivers won't take a GI bolt".
What is true:
The current bolts are unsafe and garbage. The current receivers are the same receivers used throughout production. The current Chinese BARRELS are often out of spec, possibly to make up for MIM bolts with short lugs. If you are rebarelling anyway, most receivers are fine.
If you want trouble-free - look for a 2013 or earlier rifle with a forged bolt. It will work fine and will likely take GI parts without complaint.
What is true:
The current bolts are unsafe and garbage. The current receivers are the same receivers used throughout production. The current Chinese BARRELS are often out of spec, possibly to make up for MIM bolts with short lugs. If you are rebarelling anyway, most receivers are fine.
If you want trouble-free - look for a 2013 or earlier rifle with a forged bolt. It will work fine and will likely take GI parts without complaint.
notsorichguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- The city that rhymes with fun
Of the new cast receivers I have seen, approximately 25ish, about 50% will not accept a Chinese forged or USGI bolt....
Ymmv
Sorry, I meant the FORGED receivers. The cast receivers are also junk.
Chris Dingell
Member
- Location
- West of Windsor, Ont.
I have one of the M14S rifles made in 1993, with a forged receiver, and a USGI bolt would not drop into it either. I had to send it off to a gunsmith that did some grinding on the receiver. He rebarreled and refinished it at the same time, so I don't know where he ground on it.
sooo without reading all this, has anything happened with these in the supplyers are stepping up and fixing them? replacement bolts? had a friend bring me one today. same deal 30 rounds fired, MIN bolt lug and roller sheered off
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just wondering if there is any recourse for him
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just wondering if there is any recourse for him
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seriously, someone needs to get a lawyer involved and force a mandatory recall and full compensation of all these new Chinese m14 type rifles with their cast components.
I would be contacting an official consumer protection agency over this. Someone is going to get seriously hurt if they haven't already.
I would be contacting an official consumer protection agency over this. Someone is going to get seriously hurt if they haven't already.
I think someone did earlier in the year when these started blowing up, threads got locked and deleted in NS forum. They do not take this stuff seriously...which is odd, because they could lose their whole business over this if someone got seriously injured.
Tarrantula
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Parts unknown
Lol that was fast
