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seen a post on another forum and a few people were saying they had a bad rep, nothing in detail but what faults do they have?
I just put a bid on one and then i found that tread and now I am a bit worried.
From my understanding, they are USGI parts on a Chinese receiver. If that is true, china has very good steel in all of the arms they produce.
Google receiver rockwell hardness
M14 fanatics love the forged characteristics of the Chinese receivers, they were the only source commercially until very recently. The steel is good stuff. The bad rep comes from some issues that have occurred over the years w/ the bolts being soft, causing headspace issues over time. There is nothing wrong w/ Norinco/Poly rifles. Just know that you should have the headspace checked before shooting it, monitor it and that some of the threads are different than USGI stuff(castlenut on flash suppressor and possibly the gas cylinder plug threads) But ANY and ALL of it can be upgraded w/ USGI components when you lay into them and have the spare change to have it done right.... If I had a spare $700 in my pocket right now, I'd be picking that Poly up that is for sale in the classifieds right here...
If you haven't already, check out Fulton Armory. Look at their FAQs, scroll down for several entries on CHICOM M14s.
http://fulton-armory.com/
IIRC, they need money thown at them for long-term reliability. Years ago it was almost worth spending extra on the M1A. Maybe now, it's worth spending on a rebuild of a CHICOM "M14".
The Norinco M14/M1A receivers were made of the same steel they used for their 1911's - 5100 series carbon steel. ...which is better than ANY USofA made version/for both M14 and 1911). The bad thing is, the most of the rest of the parts were made of lessor steels - which suffer from peening and other wear issues against the harder made receiver.
I had one years ago and made the stupid mistake of selling it. ..dumb dumb dumb. I was smart enough though to keep my Norc 1911A1 though.
Seems like the rifle quality is spotty, but the receiver is a real gem (no sarcasm).Quote:
Originally Posted by nfafan
Takes a little looking, the article is here:
http://fulton-armory.com/M14S_Eval.htm
Interesting quote:
You might want to consider budgeting a rebuild if you end up with this rifle. Or lower your bid if that's a viable option.Quote:
A postscript from Kirk Hays: Having owned several of the Chinese M14S rifles, and having a set of M14 receiver gauges available to me, I have independently confirmed what Clint says about the receiver geometries. The Chinese receivers are dimensionally as good as TRW rifles in the collection of a friend. Period.
The finish on the Norinco receivers is rough on non-functional surfaces - they are ugly, and Polytech receivers are only slightly better.
John Kepler has inside information that the DCM was actually looking at using Chinese receivers for providing M14 rifles to Service Rifle competitors, and access to a steel analysis done on the recievers, showing it to be 5100 steel, which is a very good alloy for receivers, but a bit difficult to work.
I also had one and sold it when I needed cash. That was after throwing lot's o' money after it. Sent it to Fulton Armory and had them work it over. New USGI bolt, barrel, stock, and a real FH. It was tight!
Should have sold my pre-ban SA Inc. M1A instead...
Fulton Armory is overrated. I remember they used to praise the M14S and when Fulton began to offer their own receivers...they couldn't say anything good about the Chinese rifles. Guess that is what happens when you offer a receiver that competes with the Chinese forged receivers.
I had an M14S and sold it...I would buy one in a minute and have Warbird do the conversion. He is the man on the M14 forum.
http://www.warbirdscustomguns.com/
wow, his work is cheap, i marked him in my faovorites. as a bonus, he swears that you can keep your current barrel which saves you around $400. thanks for the link!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by aubie515
I sent that guy a messege but no reply yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxPower