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Posted: 11/28/2010 9:36:37 AM EDT
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Have a Colt HBAR Match Target in 20" barrel that I might be looking at trading for an M1A/M14S.
I have 2 other AR15's that I shoot and don't really want one to sit in the safe (the Colt is pretty mint). I guess from a price/collectibility standpoint they would be about the same? Really no idea. |
| I have not kept up on the current value of the Polys but I am not sure if I would trade a Colt for a Poly. I will say though that I have a Poly Tech and it is a very good rifle. If I just did not want my Colt I would only trade if the Poly has had a G.I. parts make over. |
Poly in like new or with GI parts already 900-1000 is depending. If its bolt has been swapped to gi more depending on if you can confirm that someone who knew what hey are doing did the mod. Bubba the gunsmith doesnt count. 
There are different polys out there. Side stamp, heal stamp, Dont buy a norinco IMHO if you going ot go forgin then go poly. This is my buy price range IMHO and areas will vary but not by much. I will go poly before I go new springfield IMHO. Better gun for the money hands down. Which is quite sad BTW. Old springfield IE before 1994 are pretty nice guns. The earlier the better IMHO. New top shelf springers are nice but you are not getting what you pay for IMHO. You could also have a very nice custom built up off a poly for less and it would likely be a better rifle really in every aspect. Do some homework first. |
I got a Norinco for Christmas ......My father in law got a new Springer and I got his old Norinco. He paid 450 bucks for it new in 1994. And it went 15,000 rounds +. Stock. Only change was a new GI glass stock. It digested every conceivable kind of surplus ammo without a hiccup. Right after dad gave it to me I cleaned it up. Put it in the Springfield fat stock and shot Hi Power with it. Got my best scores with it. Finally approaching the 16k mark accuracy started to go away and off it went to Warbirds. For a USGI bolt. And op rod tab weld and fit. He also put on a Chi com barrel I got from a guy who swapped for a USGI barrel. New gas cylinder from SEI and a mint USGI gas piston. Plus a few other USGI parts. Paying a grand for one of these rifle's is a great deal. 1500 not so much. Remember my standard line though............Chi com Rifles are Junk I will give you 200 dollars for it to save you the embarrassment of owning one
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| Oh and to the poster who said don't buy a Norinco...........Poly and Norinco. Are the exact same rifle. Made in the exact same plants Poly technology's and Norinco are the same company. They do things differently in china. Polys due tend to have better park though. Mine got reparked with bolt and barrel swap though. When it come to these rifles do your homework. There are a lot of "experts" out there that are really just spreading myths. |
| You can pull the action out of the stock and use the number code under the stock line to figure that out. The serial numbers are not a good indicator. Hell mine does not even have one. Or any markings other than the below the stock code. There is no specific "problem" years that I'm aware of. They were all only imported for a finite time and they all seem to be of pretty much the same quality. |
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Take a good look at the front sight to be sure it isn't canted. I've handled two side-stamped Poly's that had undertimed barrels. The front sight was leaning to the right on both, 16,XXX and 17,XXX SN's.
Both also closed on a .308 Field HS gauge. No, not a 7.62 gauge. One was approximately four thousandths, the other about five thou, from closing on a Forster 7.62 NATO Max HS gauge. That gauge is 1.6455" vs. a .308 Field which is 1.638". |
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Quoted:
Take a good look at the front sight to be sure it isn't canted. I've handled two side-stamped Poly's that had undertimed barrels. The front sight was leaning to the right on both, 16,XXX and 17,XXX SN's. Both also closed on a .308 Field HS gauge. No, not a 7.62 gauge. One was approximately four thousandths, the other about five thou, from closing on a Forster 7.62 NATO Max HS gauge. That gauge is 1.6455" vs. a .308 Field which is 1.638". In english?
I'm planning on taking it to a gunsmith to get the head space checked before the possible trade. |
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Quoted:
Take a good look at the front sight to be sure it isn't canted. I've handled two side-stamped Poly's that had undertimed barrels. The front sight was leaning to the right on both, 16,XXX and 17,XXX SN's. Both also closed on a .308 Field HS gauge. No, not a 7.62 gauge. One was approximately four thousandths, the other about five thou, from closing on a Forster 7.62 NATO Max HS gauge. That gauge is 1.6455" vs. a .308 Field which is 1.638". In english?
I'm planning on taking it to a gunsmith to get the head space checked before the possible trade. The detail stuff was to prevent the responses about using NATO gauges vs SAAMI. If the headspace is less than 1.6405" (7.62 NATO Field) it's safe with surplus ammo, in my opinion. |
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What about .308 stuff off the shelf? I'd like to use this as a deer rifle next year. Be careful. An M1A is gas operated and as such needs powders of an appropriate burn rate. Not all off the shelf .308 ammo uses the correct powders. You can contact the company's and ask |
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Judging by the prices I see on Gunbroker, your rifle would be worth between $800 - $1100. Prices of Polytechs/Norincos have realy gpne up the past few years. It might be worth more if some one has already put in a USGI bolt. You can tell that very easy by looking at the bolt. USGI bolts will have their manufacturor's initiials and a series of lerters and numbers on the top, Chinese made bolts will be blank. Norinocs are made in the same factory as the Polytechs, but may not be finished quie as well, and usually don't have the fake flash hider as most were made after the Federal ban on AWs.
Here are some thoughts or comments on the Chinese M-14s. Just because they are mentioned does not mean your rifle will have this problem, but it is something to be aware of. Almost all of these potential "fixes" are very easily done. I am not criticising the Chinese made M-14s. I have 3, which I got after I sold my Springfield M1A. If you are truly interested in a Polytech or Norinco(same gun, different finish), here are some things for you. As stated before the receivers are forged. They tend to be a little softer than USGI, but not enough to cause any problems. Some gunsmiths want them reheat treated if they work on them or do a rebuild. But, there are thousands out there that have never had that done, and are doing just fine. Potential problem areas for the M14S are these. Potential because not all of them have problems, but you can expect them. #1. Sight knobs may be soft, and won't hold zero. Fix: Replace. You can replace with USGI M14 or M1A knobs, or with USGI Garand knobs. Difference between M14/M1A knobs and Garand knobs are that M14 knobs are in meters and Garand knobs are in yards. Note also, that ALL Chinese made knobs are marked WCE. But not all WCE marked knobs are Chinese. When the Chinese reverse engineered the M14, the copied the knob markings as well. You don't want to spend the money to replace your Chinese WCE knobs with other Chinese made WCE knobs. I did use one WCE knob on mine, but it is marked in Yards(Garand) so it is okay. BM59 sight knobs will work also. #2. Trigger and hammer may be soft. Fix: Replace with USGI M14 or commerical M1A, or with USGI Garand parts. Garand sear is shaped differently, as the M14S uses the sear designed for full auto use. But the Garand unit works just fine. #3. Replace the op rod recoil spring. Chinese made units tend to be a bit smaller in diameter and slightly shorter in length. #4. Stock. Stock is made from some ugly Chinese wood called "chu" wood. Only advantage is resistance to mildew. But they are soft. Fix: Replace with USGI or Commercial. However, if you do, check the connector lock pin(holds the op rod spring guide in place). USGI stocks are cut for the disconnector lever and the longer USGI pin. Many Chinese pins are shorter, and with the length difference there is a gap that allows them to work/walk out. Which can cause malfunctions. Fix: Put some form of epoxy release on the pin and the receiver and but a dab of epoxy on the inside of the stock where the pin is at. That will prevent the pin from walking out. The CMP is selling surplus USGI M14 stocks now at a decent price, and you can usually find them all over eBay. See pics below. If the pin is flush with the receiver, you will have problems with a USGI stock. As for the muzzle threads. When you change the flash hider, you don't have to change any parts, but the FH itself. The muzzle threads are metric, but you will be reusing the castle nut anyway, so there is not need to change that. Reportedly, a USGI castle nut will work. threads are close enough that a USGI will thread on if done slowly, and it will act as a thread chaser and reform the threads to USGI. I haven't tried this, so I cannot comment on how well it works. Just reuse your old castle nut. As for the bolt. Chinese guns tend to run long in headspace. They are actually set to NATO specs which is longer than commercial SAAMI specs. The bolts can be soft, but they are usually still hard enough to function properly. Their biggest problem is the lugs are miss machined to the wrong geometry. This can cause increased wear. A bolt change is not hard, but you have to know what you are doing. HRA and Win made bolts tend to be easier to install than TRW made bolts. Having said that, many, many people have Polys and Norincos with the original bolts and they have no problems with them. But stick with Mil Surp ammo and you should be good to go. Though using brand new commercial ammo will probably be ok. Reloading commercial brass fired in a Poly with a long chamber may cause problems. If you can get a Poly or Norinco for $1000 or less, the parts mention(less the bolt) will cost you $100 - $150 and you can install them your self. That sure beats $1500. Leaves a lot left for an ammo purchase. One note on the Norincos. A lot of them have the fake flash suppresor cut off, and the FH base/ring is spot welded on. A bit of a pain to remove, but it can be done, then you can install either a fake flash hider or a muzzle brake. I prefer some thing on the end of the barrel, I think the rifle looks naked without something. Chinese barrels are good quality and also chrome lined for added life, something the M1A does not have. 
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