New Chinese Threat

[Skylerbone]

I’m not talking about an imminent invasion, more of a now banned foreign rifle that’s found a permanent home and will soon head to the woods for prolific squirrel gettin.

While perusing tables at a local gun show I ran across this Norinco 22 ATD for a reasonable negotiated sum. The next order of business was scoping the little guy to give my aging eyes a fighting chance at hitting where I aimed. To that end, Mr Potterfield obliged and sent me a Leupold Dovetail base and rings- and I must note my disdain for this set-up but at less than 1/2 the price of a Browning base and rings I stifled the vomit and affixed things in place.

That left only a scope to add which resulted in my removing a plain Jane Leupold from a brother-in-law muzzleloader (my second back-up) and accepting its awkward size and mismatched parallax while I ponder better options.

All in all I am rather pleased with it, despite the dubious nature of it being a copy from China. I can still rest easy knowing any profit made by them was made well before I happened by. Tree rats take heed! Pictures below.

 

[sarduy]

It looks in amazing conditions.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

I bought a new Miroku-made one last year. The dam thing would not hold the barrel tight after firing about 50 rounds through it. Tried everything to fix it and apparantly Browning knows the issue is common but does not/cannot fix the guns that have it.

I wanted to love love that gun. It handled great. Let us know if your Chinese version has this loosening issue, as many Mirokus do. Apparantly the old Belgian originals did not have this problem.

 

[LoonWulf]

https://www.grubee.net/collections/riflescope

smol scope 4 smol rifel.......

I like the way those rifles look, shot a few and they are just too damn small for me to really LOVE.....but man are they handy.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

https://www.grubee.net/collections/riflescope

smol scope 4 smol rifel.......

I like the way those rifles look, shoot a few and they are just too damn small for me to really LOVE.....but man are they handy.

Very good scope. I got it sitting on my Henry right now since ditching the wobbly Browning.

 

[1948CJ2A]

My dad bought one of those for me back in the late 80s for my birthday from Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, it would not reliably feed any ammunition we tried to feed it and the safety broke. It went back to Wal-Mart and was exchanged for a Ruger 10/22. Too bad cause I did like the idea of a cheaper version of the beloved little Browning. Good luck with yours!

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Nice find.

I have a Norinco ATD. I got it at the end of 2012 after Sarco found a few in their warehouse. Mine was the last one. I haven't shot it in awhile but IIRC it was reliable with CCI Mini Mags. I have a Bushnell TRS-25 mounted on it using one of those cantilever mounts but I don't think I ever zeroed it. I really need to fix that.

 

[usaral63]

I also picked one up at Wally world in the late 80's...........I'd owned and enjoyed a couple of JB's and somehow found myself less a .22 auto...& for a C note it was an easy choice. Had a large batch of .22 shorts at that time & picked up the necessary parts to do a conversion from Numrich........... dropped in with no fitment issue at all, thing worked like a charm, mounted one of TC's old red dots to it and it remains on the rifle to this day. Course the shorts ran out and new stuff got so expensive I just did a re convert.....That gun is a really good copy of the BSA, & as far as I know all parts will interchange. The accuracy as best I can recall is equal to my old guns......course the wood and engraving are somewhat lacking, but for a hundred bucks I consider it one hulluva deal. Don't have any idea just what the round count is, but it is as tight as when I bought it.!

 

[Skylerbone]

I wanted to love love that gun. It handled great. Let us know if your Chinese version has this loosening issue, as many Mirokus do. Apparantly the old Belgian originals did not have this problem

While I don’t anticipate take down for anything beyond cleaning, I did check tightness when I bought it and after a quick 100 round range session. My mother owns a Miroku, had it 30+ years without issue so I’ve not witnessed a trouble child version up close. Of note, this was a private sale at that gun show and was purchased from the original owner who had a good many rimfires on his table.

I like the way those rifles look, shot a few and they are just too damn small for me to really LOVE.....but man are they handy.

I feel your pain, Wulf! My goal is to be back down to 205 by summer but at 6’2” with monkey arms the rifle won’t ever be a great fit. I’ve got kids though so if one takes a shine to it I’ll happily share.

It went back to Wal-Mart and was exchanged for a Ruger 10/22.

I was working back-to-back on scoping the Norinco and swapping a trigger return spring on a 10/22 Sporter the ex never warmed up to. I’m sure that Ruger will see a good bit of woods time as well.

 

[jar]

I have an old Remington 241 "Speed Master" from 1949. Browning licensed Remington to build the rifle (Model 24) in the US while FN held the license for the European Market. The 241 is a slightly larger version than the 24/FN Browning/modern Browning but the same bottom eject and breakdown.

My 241 fits me better than the modern Browning even though the modern furniture does look beautiful.

 

[Speedo66]

I have an old Remington 241 "Speed Master" from 1949. Browning licensed Remington to build the rifle (Model 24) in the US while FN held the license for the European Market. The 241 is a slightly larger version than the 24/FN Browning/modern Browning but the same bottom eject and breakdown.

My 241 fits me better than the modern Browning even though the modern furniture does look beautiful.

View attachment 1061332 View attachment 1061333

The shooting gallery in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn used to use those Remingtons when I was a kid in the 50's.

Probably the first real gun I ever shot. Believe it or not, there was also another shooting gallery using .22's in Times Square in Manhattan at that time.

Whoever chooses the guns for the Chinese to copy certainly knows what they're doing. This Browning .22, 1911, Winchester '97 riot gun, they even copied the M-14 in semi auto.

OP: Good luck with your new gun!

 

[nofendertom]

I knew a young lady whose dad had one of those galleries. She told me her dad used to "adjust" the sights so as not to give away as many prizes.
I believe he used .22shorts in his rifles.

 

[Speedo66]

I knew a young lady whose dad had one of those galleries. She told me her dad used to "adjust" the sights so as not to give away as many prizes.
I believe he used .22shorts in his rifles.

Yeah, the gallery guns in NY were all .22 shorts. They even had special "gallery" ammo that splattered rather than flattened to prevent ricochets, the big name ammo manufacturers used to make it.

 

[jar]

I knew a young lady whose dad had one of those galleries. She told me her dad used to "adjust" the sights so as not to give away as many prizes.
I believe he used .22shorts in his rifles.

The Remington 24 and FN Browning were available as either 22 or 22LR. The 22LR will not feed the 22 reliably. The 22 version held 15 rounds while the 22LR only ten rounds.

 

[jmars]

I purchased a Norinco ATD in the '90's on sale at Service Merchandise for $100.

It shoots 10 shot 50 yard groups of about an inch with low cost ammo.

I installed a Weaver scope base backwards, and mounted a 1.5X, 3/4" tube pistol scope "scout" style.

Some of these rifles came with a padded two compartment camo case that carried
the rifle broken down; I found and purchased one at a gun show.

It's a shame that Norinco guns are no longer sold in the USA.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Whoever chooses the guns for the Chinese to copy certainly knows what they're doing. This Browning .22, 1911, Winchester '97 riot gun, they even copied the M-14 in semi auto.

Walther TT Olympia, Brno 2/ CZ .22, SKS, AK, Makarov, Tokarev, and UZI too, probably some others Im forgetting.

 

[Remington1911]

If you where not around way back when Norinco was really around you might not know they are darn good guns. I would stack them up against anything and would be shocked if you had issues.

The chinese are many things, one thing they are not is stupid. They will build anything to any standard or quality level you ask for. So much is garbage as that is what the buyer wants. In things like these guns they know the american bun buying public and know what they want. They will and did build a good product, knowing it would mean more money for them down the road.

Don't blame "the chinese" for the cheap crap, blame the walmarts of the world and the general american public that wants cheap crap.