Advice on a Norinco M1A

[c-bag]

In the local trading paper there is a "Like New" Norinco M1A/M14 with 2 mags and 200 rounds for $550, non-negotiable.
From what I've read the only major issue with these is that the bolt hardness may not be to spec, and that the fit and finish will not be to American standards.
All I really care about is that it will be reliable and hold 2MOA or less.
In your opinion is this a decent deal, and are there any things I should check out on it if I go look at it.
If anyone has any experience with one of these I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.

 

[wally]

Price seems decent, but if its like mine 2 MOA is pure fantasy. The recievers are good and can be rebuilt. Price is worth it for the reciever alone.

I'd probably buy another at that price as long as it wouldn't close on a field reject gauge.

--wally.

 

[Bwana John]

Best reciever there is, worst everything else. Keep that field guage handy, I hear headspace on those things grows like weeds.

 

[30Cal]

You will probably never see another M14 clone for a price that low. For that price, I wouldn't really check for anything except for gross problems (receiver cracked in half, barrel split or other evidence that the rifle had been grossly misused).

FWIW, most stock M14's are going to shoot about 2-3 MoA. It's not very hard or expensive to tighten that up, but that's what you should expect out of the box.

Ty

 

[c-bag]

good info, thanks.
The more I look at this deal, the better it seems. If I do get it where can I order headspace gauges.

 

[30Cal]

The gage you need is the 1.6455" NATO field reject gage. The NoGo gage is used when installing a new barrel.