Serial numbers for Norinco M14 S bolt and hardness fix?

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Artie Fufkin

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Hello,

New to forum but not to M14's.

Does anyone know where the serial numbers start for Norinco M14 S where they have fixed the receiver hardness and bolt head-spacing issues?
I believe this has been within the last couple years?

Thank you and glad to be here.

Artie Fufkin
 
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check with Different's postings on one of the US M-14 forums.
I've had dozens of Canuck import Chinese M-14 rifles, and worked one dozens more, and in my experience, only about one in three of the Chinese M-14 rifles actually had a problem with BOTH soft bolts and improper bolt geometry.

The NEW Canuck imported 14s have better bolt geometry, and better consistency on the hardness, but headspace is often greater than .308 NO GO, even on the brand new guns, which ARE marked .308.
 
"different" has compiled a crap load of info on norc and polytech rifles.... and serial number dating going quite a ways back.... and he is always looking for info from guys who purchase new rifles to keep his records up to date and accurate. That man is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to anything m14.
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the info. Have already contacted Different and he was kind enough to send me a pdf of norc/poly sn's imported into Canada. However he wasn't aware of the 'cut off point' where the issues were essentially resolved.
Guess I just have to take my chances. Was hoping to pretty much leave it alone with exception of USGI fiberglass stock and rear sight. Didn't really want to have to get the bolt redone but I guess that comes with territory.

AF
 
if you have a newer m14s/m305 you should not have any problems. Over the past several years since these started coming in by the container.... I don't think i've ever seen or heard of a soft bolt issue... at least not on this site... headspace yes.... I'd think you'd be fine purchasing a new rifle from one of the outlets with them for sale right now. I've purchased and fired 6 in the past 3 years and all were great guns right outta the box and from what I can tell, not one of those 6 rifles has ever had any issues with the stock norinco parts failing for any reason, but one was over indexed so the sight was tilted ever so slightly to the left. That rifle a friend now owns and he has it scoped so indexing is moot..... he has over a 500 rounds of commercial 150 gr through his without a hiccup.

It's funny.... everyone who buys one of these rifles feels the need to replace parts because of some mystery issue. THESE GUNS ARE GOOD TO GO WITHOUT MODS OR UPGRADES...... just some of can't help but customize and tinker. They are fun rifles, both as out of the box shooters and as projects for those of us who like to burn our cash :D

as Hungry says, don't buy 1.... buy 2 or 3 ;)
 
You could always take your bolt to a machine shop and see if QC will ping test it for hardness. It's not always accurate because of the lack of mass but if it were held in a fixture, they could get an accurate reading of hardness. This of course is non-destructive testing. You may end up with a very tiny ping mark, but that is about it.

No matter where you live, you should be able to find a place that could do it. I'm just giving you an option where you can find out for certain whether your bolt is usable or not.
 
one of the ways would be to look for an angle grind at the scope mounting hole- although these issues like l2k says were 1/3 - the one i have is 17 years old and has the angle grind, but is fine in both departments- i've had it cked
 
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