What condition did YOUR Marstar M14 arrive in?

[manbearpig]

there seems to be a lot of confusion as to what to expect from the Marstar Norinco M14s, with a lot of fear of badly indexed barrels, soft stocks, etc. so i am starting this thread as a sortof 'archive'. if everyone posts honestly then it will give people a clearer idea of what to expect from these rifles, and also of how lucky or unlucky they were with theirs
please post the condition of your Marstar M305.


mine:
-barrel seems indexed properly, although if it is off by 1-2 degrees there is no way i can tell by eye.

-op-rod guide and everything else seems very solid. letting the action slam into battery produces a nice clear ringing sound.

-seemed a bit roughly machined, which i thought was normal but comparing it to a US-made M14 its a pretty big difference. not such a big deal, just aesthetics. *pic below.

-my fibreglass handguard is slightly too long, im guessing by 1 millimeter or so. it was force-fit upon assembly and the rear corner was broken off. it is hidden by the op-rod/charging handle in battery but when the action is open it shows.

-stock is better than i expected. it is hard, i can barely make a mark with my fingernail by pressing hard, and inletting/fitting of the liner is very solid. looks quite decent. the action fits nice and tight, but i havent had a chance to fire a few hundred rounds through the gun to see how it holds up. i will definitely keep the stock, if not for range use then as a spare. the pics below show it installed in a USGI fibreglass stock (currently unmodified, havent filled in selector cutout or bedded it yet). the USGI stock fit it like a glove, so no issues there.

-rear sight seems pretty roughly machined. elevation is clicky and feels precise, windage feels mushy and like theres sand or grit in it. the aperture is off centre and low. i intend to dremel it out to ghost-ring proportions since it is much too small for hunting and plinking use, but if you are going to be doing any target shooting with these then it seems like an upgrade to a surplus M1 rear sight is a good idea. *pic below

overall i am pretty happy with it. unless you are an accuracy nut the factory Norinco stock seems like it would serve you for a couple of years so wait until you receive your rifle and fire a few hundred rounds through it before rushing out and buying a USGI fibreglass stock like i did.

 

[manbearpig]

you can tell by the pics that i havent cleaned out all the cosmo yet. waiting for a nicer day and ill just pressure-wash the #%@$ out of it then wipe it down with a thin coat of gun oil. apart from cleaning off the huge gobs of cosmo i havent felt inclined to scrub out every nook of the gun yet.
there was some hardened gobs of what i assume to be cosmoline on the side of the stock and receiver as it sat in the box... they took awhile to scrub off with turpentine. perhaps turp isnt an ideal solvent but its all i had. the stock is well saturated with cosmo so that also needs a thorough degreasing or i assume eventually the cosmo will soften it further.

i forgot to mention that overall i am very pleased with the gun. $400 does not get you much these days, so this was IMO a great deal especially with the 3 mags, sling and cleaning kit.

the 20 round mag was not riveted. the plastic bag it came in was slit open, whereas every other bag was sealed, so i assume that there was some internal modification made to the mag before they were shipped to Canada.

also, for the record, the USGI fibreglass stock is not heavier than the Norinco wood stock. they are about the same (with cleaning kits removed). of course that may change after i leech all the cosmo out of my wood stock.

 

[#1bcshooter]

I've herd these rifles were made up of all the leftover parts in china . Looks like they were all the reject parts from previous production .

 

[Katana]

I got mine from Dark and my 20 round mag was also not pinned but there was something done internally cause it only takes 5 rounds...

 

[tiriaq]

The magazines are manufactured in such a manner that it would be necessary to cut steel to alter them. Superior to a quick and dirty pop rivet.

 

[manbearpig]

The magazines are manufactured in such a manner that it would be necessary to cut steel to alter them. Superior to a quick and dirty pop rivet.

that depends
aesthetically superior, yes. but during the inevitable zombocalypse people could restore their common riveted mags to full capacity. with factory altered mags you are SOOL and would be forced to fend off zombies 5 at a time

im curious as to the finish of your rifles. are they all machined like mine was?

 

[Canuck223]

Mine came from Marstar with a loose op-rod guide. Indexing was fine. The stock would have been serviceable, but I choose to replace it anyway. The sights were fairly well regulated.

 

[damndirtyape]

Barrel over indexed. Soft stock. Rear sight hole is off center. Op-rod seems OK, but I'm no expert. Haven't checked headspace yet.

 

[tiriaq]

Just a comment about the softness of the stocks - look at it as a great opportunity to learn how to glass bed the rifle. Pick up a JB Weld pack, some paste wax, and have at it. With solid synthetic bedding, compression of the wood is no longer an issue.

 

[bear.23]

Mine were just perfect... all three of them.. however I wasn't wearing my glases and have checked anything except headspace... after cleaning, changing stocks and cleaning again they still all went bang... Next on the list a hungry course to learn what I don't know...

 

[manbearpig]

did all of yours arrive with similarly machined receivers?

the rear sight on mine is super rough but i dont really care as eventually it will be replaced with an M1 sight, so this just needs to survive for a year.

when you guys say 'rear aperture is off centre' do you mean low, like mine, or off to one side? im wondering if they are all drilled low.

 

[pontcanna]

As for soft stocks - when I got my M305 (about a year ago) I was cleaning it up around the magazine area, I slipped a bit and my fingernail removed a good sized sliver of mystery wood...value dropped before I'd even shot it...but it is a shooter after all, so didn't lose too much sleep.

 

[manbearpig]

quick question:
just completely disassembled mine.

is the gas cylinder socket for the gas piston supposed to be slightly offset to the side, or should it be dead centre? mine isnt even close to centred, viewing the rifle from the top its to the left of centre.

 

[bear.23]

did all of yours arrive with similarly machined receivers?

the rear sight on mine is super rough but i dont really care as eventually it will be replaced with an M1 sight, so this just needs to survive for a year.

when you guys say 'rear aperture is off centre' do you mean low, like mine, or off to one side? im wondering if they are all drilled low.

Actually my receivers were in better shape then that I as recall.. will probably have to look..
and as for the question about the gas system...
the system should be centered but I don't think it matters where the bolt is as long as it's stopping the gas!

 

[manbearpig]

looked it up, and on the USGI ones its supposed to be centred.
im really upset about this. i understood that a bit rough finish and machining is to be expected on these but this is beyond unacceptable.
are the guys working in the Chinese factories retarded?

strangely upon reassembly it almost seems like this offset piston is required, or deliberate, because the operating rod is not centred either:

i marked the piston and op rod so theyre easier to make out in the image, my camera isnt so great.

Hungry here:

Manbearpig... Thanks for posting those pics. That entire gas cylinder assembly and slight missalignment (real or perceived) is just fine. I would not worry about it. Just get out and practice with your M14 and them come and shoot my matches.

 

[Rfn]

Same here. I just checked my other Norc I bought 6 months ago (No 2007 markings), same thing but to a lesser degree. I guess we will see how this affects long term wear...?

 

[manbearpig]

smith enterprise sells stainless gas cylinders for ~$90. anyone know if they ship these to Canada or if there are others selling similar?

i figure worst case if there are reliability or wear issues down the road i can just swap one of those in and be one step closer to a better rifle. i realise that the rifle will probably work fine like this, but it still drives me nuts knowing everything is this much out of alignment

Hungry here:

Letting this issue drive you nuts will cause yer #### to fall off. Relax and just shoot the rifle. I've seen worse ones in real USGI M14's. We are making a big issue out of nothing.

 

[millwright]

Well what about using Marstars warranty program? Shouldn't you take it up with them before changing anything and loosing their one year warranty? Or have you gone too far with your mods? So many questions sorry.

Hungry here:

This ain't a warranty issue. And nope, Johnone at Marstar ain't paying me to say this. Everyone, just relax and don't look for stuff (American USGI or aftermarket parts) to spend yer money on. Okay, if that money is burning a hole in yer pocket, then spend it on practice ammo, a 2nd or 3rd Norinco M14, then a membership at your Provincial Rifle Association or Operational Shooting Assoc. Or just come out to my Service Rifle Matches.

 

[Winz]

smith enterprise sells stainless gas cylinders for ~$90. anyone know if they ship these to Canada or if there are others selling similar?

i figure worst case if there are reliability or wear issues down the road i can just swap one of those in and be one step closer to a better rifle. i realise that the rifle will probably work fine like this, but it still drives me nuts knowing everything is this much out of alignment

FYI- You will need the entire gas assembly and american threaded barrel if you go that route.

 

[Hungry]

Everyone settle down....

Manbearpig... Thanks for posting those pics. That entire gas cylinder assembly and slight missalignment (real or perceived) is just fine. I would not worry about it. Just get out and practice with your M14 and them come and shoot my matches.

All of you:

Relax. That is perfectly normal. Man, I've owned 4 M14's and all of them from each and every one of the 4 manufacturers of the M14 (real USGI) rifles. The gas cylinders were all out of perfect alignment and concentricity. As a matter of fact, these Norcs are a tad better IMHO that the alignment coming outta the real M14's returning from Israel.

Almost every one of the Norinco-Stinko M14 gas cylinders I have examined at the last 6 clinics (I think I lost count ) had much tighter gas cylinder assy's found on the USGI M14's.

No, don't let the alignment or misalignment mess you up. They are actually better than the USGI M14's. Nobody rush out and get yer panties in a knot. Your dicks will not fall off due to gas cylinder mis-alignment (real or perceived). The engineers at Springfield Armory (Massachusetts) did a great job. Remember , these rifles are BATTLE Rifles (not sniper rigs) so live with it.

Everyone settle down and put away that welding torch. I can hear the Norinco bashers now... those naysayers will remind you, "Yer #### will fall off if you buy a Norinco!"

Peace B 2 Journey
Barney