M14
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That is much lower than I would have imagined, unless these are in bad condition. M-1s in good shape going for much more. (I am assuming this is a semi-auto or military conversion from selective fire to semi-auto).
I don't do Century directly, so any info as to when these were available from them and from where they came would be appreciated.
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That was my thought and reason for asking is this was some "fixed" M-14.
The fact that Vic noted an aftermarket build says all I need to know and now have no interest in this Century item.
There are a couple different types of Century marked M14's.
Some were complete Chinese made rifles (Polytech and Norinco) that were just marked Century. In that case they have excellent forged receivers. The Chinese rifles are bringing $800 and up now, and many are just being used for the receivers and upgraded with USGI parts.
Century also made up rifles using US made commercial Federal Ordnance receivers, which are cast and not near the quality of the Chinese receivers. The value would depend on the other parts on the rifle, more if they are USGI, less if Chinese. A Federal Ordnance receiver with Chinese parts would be the lowest value, but would still bring $600 to $700 pretty quick.
Cass
Some were complete Chinese made rifles (Polytech and Norinco) that were just marked Century. In that case they have excellent forged receivers. The Chinese rifles are bringing $800 and up now, and many are just being used for the receivers and upgraded with USGI parts.
Century also made up rifles using US made commercial Federal Ordnance receivers, which are cast and not near the quality of the Chinese receivers. The value would depend on the other parts on the rifle, more if they are USGI, less if Chinese. A Federal Ordnance receiver with Chinese parts would be the lowest value, but would still bring $600 to $700 pretty quick.
Cass
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If it has the flash suppressor or one of the fake flash suppressors (without the slots cut out), it will likely be a Chinese gun. The Chinese guns are a great value for the money. My Poly Tech runs like a clock and has many thousands of rounds thru it.
If there is no attempt at a flash suppressor, then it is likely a Century "put together" gun.
I'd avoid this as these as there were reports of spotty build quality (like many other Century put together and conversion guns). BeSwift
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See Chinese M14 Rifles by Clint McKee, at http://www.fulton-armory.com/M14S_Eval.htm for another view on the Chinese rifles.
I read a test of a Norinco M14 once that had some jams and a charred stock, didn't run nearly as well as a US made M14.
I read a test of a Norinco M14 once that had some jams and a charred stock, didn't run nearly as well as a US made M14.
Yeah, Clint does have a bit of a bias. I'm going by what several top M14 smiths are saying on the M14 Forums. They are building several thousand dollar match rifles on Chinese forged receivers because they are better than most US made receivers.
I also know the article you are mentioning and have a copy somewhere. It was written in about 1994. They main problem was that they did not remove the cosmoline from the Chinese rifle and it caught fire after intense shooting and cooked the springs.
I own several makes of US and Chinese commercial M14's and have had great luck with most of them. The only one that has given me any problem is a Springfield Armory, Inc. receiver that is so out of tolerence it won't fit in a USGI stock. The stock had to be custom fit to the receiver which caused complications with the trigger group alignment.
Obviously the USGI receivers are the best of all, but unfortunately they aren't available to us because of the once a michine gun always a machine gun rule.
Cass
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