Norinco M14

[Mick]

I had a table at a gunshow recently next to a bloke who was selling Chinese M14's. He fancied a Sten and I fancied an M14 so we did a deal.
I bought a Bushnell elite mildot fixed 10X scope to top it off, and sighted it in today. I was on the paper straight away at 50yds and dialed it in with off the shelf winchester 150grn ammo which I bought for the brass, just five shots and it was on target giving very nice groups. I then swung about and aimed at a 1' gong I have at 200 yds and sent that swinging with a nice solid hit in the centre. At first I thought this was a fluke but I did the same thing with the next five shots.

Bloody marvelous rifle straight from the box and with factory ammo.

[VAMPIRE V12]

Nice one mick.

Got a awesome rifle there an awesome package all around

Alex

[Mick]

They sell here for just $400, a hell of a lot of rifle for the money. I would have bought one even without the deal. they are being dumped here, the Chinese can't sell them in the US any more.

I mailed you the pics you asked for.

[sitges1990]

Hi Mick,

Great rifle. I've got a Norinco SKS and have put over 1000 rounds through it without a problem. Is it a .308? There's tons of chinese 30-06 ammo out there, so I didn't know if they were still making those or not. I've always wanted an M-14. Thanks for sharing.

Jay

[Adrian Stevenson]

Never knew the Chinese made a copy of the M14. Does it still take the same size mag as the original?

Cheers, Ade.

[Mick]

Hi Mick,

Great rifle. I've got a Norinco SKS and have put over 1000 rounds through it without a problem. Is it a .308? There's tons of chinese 30-06 ammo out there, so I didn't know if they were still making those or not. I've always wanted an M-14. Thanks for sharing.

Jay

Though I must admit to initially having doubts about the quality of Chinese firearms I can now say without doubt that there is nothing wrong with them at all, in fact I would now be more likely to question the quality of claimed top class guns. The only hand gun I own is a Norinco 45, it came with all the bells and whistles and it shoots better than my friends .45 Glock. I have replaced the grip pannels but apart from that it's standard.
Like you I also have a Norinco SKS, mine is the D model that takes AK mags. I have a Russian one too ( supposedly one of the best you can get ) but it does not come anywhere close to the Chinese one.

The M14 is .308, did they make them in 3006 ?

[Mick]

Ade, yes they take the original mags. They sell them In Canada with short five round ones which are a pain in the arse as there is nothing to grab hold of when pulling them out.

[PMKS]

I've heard some bad things about the Chinese M14 clones:

1. The locking lug helix (surface contour) of the Chinese bolt does not agree/match the locking lug helix of the receiver. Thus, the bolt locking lug surfaces only partially contact the receiver locking lug surfaces. As you fire the rifle, the bolt will "collapse" back onto the locking lugs of the receiver until "enough" surface contact is engaged to stop the rearward force caused by the 50,000 PSI or so that is produced on each firing. As the bolt moves rearward, headspace is lost. Often/mostly/always massive headspace loss occurs. I have seen Chinese bolts that close & move back & forth with a field gauge. I have witnessed headspace readings estimated (no gauge long enough to be certain) at greater than 20 thous. beyond Go. G.I. bolt's will also "collapse" when receiver locking lugs are not correct (commercial receivers sometimes have poor locking lug surfaces which is why we at Fulton Armory always hand lap every bolt to every commercial receiver to ensure excellent engagement before we install/set headspace), though they move rearward more slowly due to better heat treat & steel. The fact that the Chinese bolts are very soft, amplifies the problem. BTW, the locking lug helix of the Chinese receiver does agree/match the helix of the G.I. M14 bolts quite nicely. I have never had to hand lap a G.I. bolt for more than say, 15-20 minutes to get a beautiful engagement. It's quite odd. It's as though someone ground on the Chinese bolt lugs with a handtool.

2. The Chinese bolt is "too long" as it relates to the firing pin bridge of the receiver, which retracts the firing pin on loading. As the Chinese bolt moves reward, the firing pin tail also moves reward. So much so that the firing pin bridge does not effectively/at all retract the firing pin! I have seen Chinese rifles where the firing pin did not retract at all. This is quite dangerous. Add to this bolt "geometry" problem the fact that the trigger & sears, & hammers are also way too soft (hammer fall will occur) one can see the train wreck ahead.

The problem seems to be in the bolt, not the receiver. Receivers have been tested and the steel was found to be just as hard as U.S. Made M14's.

[sitges1990]

Mick, I really don't know if they made 30-06's or not. One thing I do know is the Chinese are smart and they have millions of 30-06 rounds left from Korea. They dump it here in the states every now and then. My WWII Garand won't cycle very well on it. But I figured they might make the 30-06 to make more of a market to sell their ammo. Mick, I can't tell you how many of my buddies tell me the Norinco is junk, but they have never had one or shot one. I've had mine for about six or seven years and I'm happy as a lark with it. Fantastic trade my friend!

Take care,
Jay

[Mick]

I've heard some bad things about the Chinese M14 clones:



The problem seems to be in the bolt, not the receiver. Receivers have been tested and the steel was found to be just as hard as U.S. Made M14's.

I have read similar things myself. I'm not 100% sure but I think the problems you quoted applied to the early imports into the US, maybe here as well. I know that nowadays at least they have a good reputation in Canada.