What year is my M305?

Gallant0

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I just purchased an M305/M14, it has the black synthetic stock. The seriel number starts with 2009, does that mean it was manufactured in 2009?
 
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Yes it means it was manfactured in 2009

and that is a yes that it was

not a yes it wasn't

(good lucky finguring that out)

Let me get this straight. If his gun has 2009 stamped on it then from what you say it was made in 2009. I have an M14 that is stamped 2007, does that mean my guns was made in 2007 or could it just be a miss stamp and was really made in 2009 ?
 
Let me get this straight. If his gun has 2009 stamped on it then from what you say it was made in 2009. I have an M14 that is stamped 2007, does that mean my guns was made in 2007 or could it just be a miss stamp and was really made in 2009 ?

Your powers of deduction are shocking.
 
Let me get this straight. If his gun has 2009 stamped on it then from what you say it was made in 2009. I have an M14 that is stamped 2007, does that mean my guns was made in 2007 or could it just be a miss stamp and was really made in 2009 ?

You actually own and use firearms? :eek:

"Hey guys my M-305 is only stamped 7.62! I think they forgot to stamp the x39mm after it! Oh well Im just going to go out shooting now! Be back later!" :D
 
You actually own and use firearms? :eek:

"Hey guys my M-305 is only stamped 7.62! I think they forgot to stamp the x39mm after it! Oh well Im just going to go out shooting now! Be back later!" :D

@drache
yours is manufactured in the seventh month of 1962. If someone believes that he/she shouldn`t use firearms.
 
Let me get this straight. If his gun has 2009 stamped on it then from what you say it was made in 2009. I have an M14 that is stamped 2007, does that mean my guns was made in 2007 or could it just be a miss stamp and was really made in 2009 ?

Bravo sir.
 
You guys have managed to confuse me.... and I don't even OWN a 305.

Or do we mean the single-shot 305, made by Skoda back in 1911, tossed an 800-odd pound shell?

Did you know that if somebody offers you a 1926 Indian 37-cubic-inch Sport Scout and the serial starts with BG, they are scamming you? In 1926, the serials for 37-cubic-inch Sport Scouts started with AG!

Howzat for irrelevant?

Or are Norinco being optimistic.... and the rifle was made in 1989 and just took 20 years to get through all the importation BS?

I'm completely LOST, and so will proceed onwards, basing my thoughts upon the off-chance that 2009 actually means 2009 on the Christian calendar. But then, it could be on the Buddhist calendar... which would make the thing 532 years older, or....
 
There is no way AFAIK to check the year the receiver was made. The date of assembly would be 2009. Most of those receivers are 20+ years old.
 
There is no way AFAIK to check the year the receiver was made. The date of assembly would be 2009. Most of those receivers are 20+ years old.

Bingo

now, there is a seperate set of numbers on most norcs/polys that is on the left side, under the stock line. these numbers mean more than the date stamp of 2007..... 2009..... ect ...... but don't ask me what they mean..... i build em, tweak em and shoot em....... i'm not a historian hehehehe
"Different" may be able to clear up this confusion a couple of you have ;)
 
Bingo

now, there is a seperate set of numbers on most norcs/polys that is on the left side, under the stock line. these numbers mean more than the date stamp of 2007..... 2009.

The M14 rifles exported from China have receivers that were made during two time periods, the early 1960s and 1988 to 1994. If your receiver has a setscrew hole in the barrel ring, it was made during the second period. The Chinese M14 rifles with the "second period receivers" were assembled between 1988 and 2009.

I have a spreadsheet of over 130 Chinese M14 receiver serial numbers and "lotto numbers" (numbers under the stock line). The "lotto numbers" are a date code. By comparing the "lotto numbers" to when the rifles were imported and some insight from Smith Enterprise, I'm reasonably certain that we can date the receiver manufacture. If you supply the "lotto numbers" (and the receiver serial number helps confirm it), I can give you the year and month of receiver manufacture.
 
I've not seen as many examples as some folks have, but I can make some observations.

1) the Norinco's with the "00###X" serial numbers were among the first Marstar and Lever imported. They were assembled in 2000, though appear to have been imported in 2005-2006 or so. They are 1980's manufacture near as I can tell for the US market.

2) Later Norincos were marked with the import year separately. but were probably made around the same time.

3) The Bell/Polytechs I have seen had a rougher finish where the import markings are. I believe, though cannot prove, these receivers were likely also marked identically to the Norinco receivers but had those markings scrubbed and the Bell markings added. On the few examples I've seen there are clear signs of filing or grinding below the import marks, while the rest of the receiver(s) are much better finished.

Finally, for some reason, some of the Polytechs are finished in a dark almost black park that comes off too easily, while others have Norinco-type dark grey. I assume two or more different assembly batches are to blame.

Finally, the recent guns from Norinco and Poly seem to have engraved serial numbers on most major components despite the ugly dot-matrix import stamp on the poly's and electro-pencilled markings on the Norincos. Presumably the guns were serialized separately from when the import marks were applied.
 
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