Hi all. This blog is dedicated to the accurizing of a brand spanking new Norinco JW-103 in 7.62×39 bolt action rifle.
I already own an SKS and really like this little cartridge.
For the past few years I hunted in the hills in tussock – long range glassing and many kilometres of walking which required something different in terms of calibre – a 6.5×55 Swedish. But I will be moving away to new hunting grounds dominated by bush and shots mostly less than 100 metres which is where the 7.62 comes in.
I currently restore old military rifles into sporters or more often than not, old sporters back into functioning weapons of beauty.
My avatar is a Winchester Model 70 that I restocked, rejeweled the bolt, reblued and handpainted camo on. It also needed some trigger work but came out shooting cloverleafs at 50 yards from a rifle that had a broken stock, rust and looked generally bad.
Back to the Norinco. This will be getting the full treatment before ever being fired. Glass bedding and perhaps pillar bedding also, floating the barrel and working the trigger. It will have a standard Simmons Prosport 3-9×40 mounted on it which is what I used on my Winchester with great success. I find these to have great clarity and hold zero well – not that it will be much of an issue with the low recoil.
The main point I suppose is the cost. In light of the scope which some will say is cheap, I argue it is effective and robust. Scopes that are expensive are better – but I want a scope that is adequate and fits the project. The rifle cost NZ$350 new, the scope NZ$50 and Simmo
ns rings wereNZ$20.
NZ$420 all up isnt bad for something that has a reputation for accuracy and reliability. I couldnt give a rats about the cheap finish/fit of the stock etc as all this will be tinkered with anyway. If anyone questions the relibility of the Norinco I can tell you for a fact that a local tourist range that uses these in .22 have rifles still happily shooting after 1,500,000 rounds.
I will update this as I do different things but havent found anything like this on the web yet dedicated solely to this rifle and calibre so thought it would be interesting.
I know all the ballistics well and realise this probably wont be used at distances of over 200 metres ever – but as we all know ballistics on paper and the field are two different things. There will be people that say this round cant be used (or isnt humane) at ranges over 250 metres but there will also be others like myself who have seen this round poleaxe large goats at 400 metres during culls.
15/04/2011
Well its been a while I know but all is good on the rifle front.
I was asked to build a cheap .303 sporter for a mate of mine but ran into a few bargains on the way so have been distracted from this project.
I also took the opportunity to buy another 6.5×55 M38 Husqvarna at a steal – I had all the steel sights removed, shortened 1 inch or so, and a recessed 11 degree target crown added. It has what looks like a Leupold one piece windage base and I have a Tasco World Class 3-9×50 Mildot scope to mount on it…when I find time. Its already pillared, glass bedded and has a barrel floated about 1/8th inch off the stock (too much bedding compound, but its staright).
But back to the rifle at hand.
In short the first Norinco rifle I got had a really cruddy bore – I mean it looked like it had been left out in the jungle for a year! So that one went back and was replaced with a shiny, perfect bored rifle that I was more than happy with.
I mounted the Simmons scope on Tasco rings in the end and she shot 2 MOA once zeroed.
I havent had any time to fine tune, bed or anything but she did shoot a nice hind the other day in a standing snap shot with a spotlight at 70 metres or so. I was aiming for centre mass of front chest but my mate also fired with his 7mm08 which I did not expect – in the end he hit the chest and in my reaction to his close quarters shot I pulled up and left and hit the deer in the head! Hey, venison is venison.
Out in the field this rifle is just awesome – I am in New Zealand and am now more than familiar with the mixture of dense and scrubby bush that inhabits Southland.
This rifle is light, short and accurate with Sellier and Bellot ammunition – I was really surprised by the scope; it gathers light much better than I expected. Side by side with my mates Bushnell Legend it is on a par with shots still able to be taken right on dark. I felt a bit bad for the guy who sold it to me online as I did not know these are now made in China under licence – my last Simmons 8-Point looked higher quality we will say, and I gave him some rubbish feedback how it wasn’t genuine then had to eat my words. Sorry mate the scope is actually really good.
I guess I will update this over winter once I tinker with the rifles bedding and pillars. They will be thin walled steel tubes not alloy, as weight is no issue, and the bedding will be steel wool fibre reinforced builders bog – trust me, it sets fast and fully cures after 2 hours, and has never failed me yet. Once I set up my Mauser I will attack the Norinco as I always like to have one shooter ready to go.
In short, I’m not selling these rifles but in summary for now I would say they are well suited for New Zealand bush, will take down most game and are just really good value for money.
Maybe I should change this to “The Chinese 7.62×39 Rifle”.
http://blogtown.co.nz/members/superrob/
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article