norinco m14

[plausible deniability]

I know it's not an AK but I want to know you guy's opinion on this rifle. I just put one on lay-a-way. Can I use it as is? Or do I need to do as some say of putting a US Army bolt in it?
Thanks for your help!!
Tim

The Norinco rifle has soft parts. Receiver,bolt,op rod,etc. I would pass on this rifle.
My friend/dealer bought 2 of these rifles and had both returned by customers for excessive headspace. He sent them back to the distributor and received 2 of the Poly tech M-14s rifles. He has sold 8 of the Poly tech's and not one has been returned for any problem. All of this occured in the early and mid 90's.

[JamesB]

Check out the FAQ's on the Fulton Armory web page. They talk about some of the issues with these rifles.

The metal in them is not as bad as Springfield would have you believe, the main complaint is the fitting of the bolt. Swapping out to a GI bolt wouldn't help that situation since it wouldn't be fitted to the rifle properly either.

One thing to consider though, mags for M14's are getting very expensive. The cheapest I have seen recently is $25.00 for Chinese and $35.00 and up for US GI. The commercial junk out there is a waste of money.

Have you looked at the various FAL's and kits out there?

[Chester B-Wester]

I have one of those Poly Tech M14's. If there is something soft in that gun it is nowhere near any place that matters. A couple of years ago I and several friends managed to convince a buddy w/ an MG that it would be more fun to burn his surplus ammo out of my Poly Tech. Long story short, over the weekend we ran about 4500 rds through it(w/only four twenty round mags!) The headspace did not change then or since. No change in the bolt at all. Its rougher than a Springfield but tough enough for me!

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Dr.Um :)

[wtf]

The only thing soft about these gun is the spot in the springfield owners ego.I just shot a DCM tith mine and did VERY well.The headspace is better that my Fulton Armoury gun that I payed 3 times as much for.If you find a good deal this ones hard to beat...