Evening chaps, I have a 7.62x39 Norinco Bush-ranger, a JW103. Surprisingly the barrel is actually pretty good Its brand new with only 50 odd shots through it. The rest however is crap, crap action, crap stock, crap adjustable trigger, even so with an 11 degree crown and proper bedding it manages MOA groups with Federal SP loads. I wanna keep the light profile 21" barrel and ditch the rest. The actions of the JW103 (7.62x39) and JW105 (.223) are rear locking scaled up versions of a basic rimfire action, like I said, Crap!

Sooooo any suggestions of actions suitable for a conversion. I was thinking of perhaps a good .223 action as the overall length is similar. A Brno Mini Mauser would be ideal, however they are getting rarer and more valuable and I trying to do this as cheaply as I can.

Regards

Andy boy

We built ours on a Remington 700 action, and it worked great.

AR 7.62x39 Russian

Thanks
What calibre was that action first intended for Saeed?

I think the action is a copy of a Sportco or a Gevarm or both can't remember for sure , but it is in the back of my mind some where !

quote:

Originally posted by Sarg:
I think the action is a copy of a Sportco or a Gevarm or both can't remember for sure , but it is in the back of my mind some where !

That sounds right. Its weak and sloppy. Not one of Norinco's finer products. Its actually manufactured by Bisley Small Arms China. It seems silly to produce a perfectly good barrel and such a poor action. Guess you get what you pay for.
I had thought about using a No4 Mk1 Action as I have a soft spot for Lee-Enfields and have a Long Branch No4 and an Early No1 Mk3. 7.62x39 Enfield conversions are becoming quite popular using a modified AK magazine.

Baby Sako, a wonderful platform for the 7.62 x 39.

Use it as is , and save your pesos for a decent action to build a custom rifle on.

That Bisley will always be a bottom-of-the-range rifle so why waste any money on it ? And if you were building a custom rifle why not use a better calibre as well ?

Costs as much to build a "real" rifle as a mediocre calibered one .....

quote:

Originally posted by Andyroo:
Thanks
What calibre was that action first intended for Saeed?

223. We opened the bold face a bit to fit the new head size.

According to Owen guns the action is a copy of a Gevarm. Several very famous rifle actions are rear lockers so don't knock them just for that. SMLE, Rem 788, S&L spring to mind.

I have one in 223 and I wouldn't call it sloppy. Mine is very very tight and more than adequate for the purpose assuming the steel is OK. Being Chinese one has to wonder though.

However for the new price (half of anything else) it is great value for a knockabout rifle.

Yes the stock is crap, externally OK but the inletting is the worst I have ever seem, probably done by an 8 year old indentured worker. Still shoots better than MOA though without bedding.

What I don't understand is how and why you would would bother taking the barrel off with all the attendant problems of the likely odd barrel threads and putting it on a different action.

Economically it doesn't make sense.

Given that calibre of Norinco is no longer being imported into Australia (and possibly NZ), you are better off selling it and either buying a barrel from MAB or Sprinter etc or a complete new rifle.

308Sako , Sako looks great I have wanted one for a long time in 7.62X39 , but it looked like it would not fit the mag box , the ones I have seen have been single shots , I think it might fit the S491 but the bolt makes it a bit heavy again , a Mini Mauser Mark X in that cailber would be cool I think if you got a good one !
Does the one in the photo feed well with factory lenght shells ? Thanks for posting .

Sell it. Make up a 300 whisper on a sako action. Shoot 125gr nosler ballistic tips in it. Don't have to fiddle with mag or alter bolt face just shoot it.

quote:

Originally posted by Sarg:
308Sako , Sako looks great I have wanted one for a long time in 7.62X39 , but it looked like it would not fit the mag box , the ones I have seen have been single shots , I think it might fit the S491 but the bolt makes it a bit heavy again , a Mini Mauser Mark X in that cailber would be cool I think if you got a good one !
Does the one in the photo feed well with factory lenght shells ? Thanks for posting .

Functions fine with three down and one up.

Anyone bringing the Zastava Mini Mauser rifles/actions into NZ currently? That would be the go.

They're in the news a bit here at the moment, because Beretta Australia is about to commence distribution. And pricing looks very keen.
For example, for the M85 action only, one shop is quoting AU$362. And AU$589 for the LK M85 rifles. Doesn't look like there are any 7.62x39's in the first shipment though.

Wow. I love that this Idea of mine has engendered so many opinions, that's exactly what I wanted to happen. I respect all opinions, we are all free to hold and express those. Opinions don't hold a lot weight really as they so often change as we grow in knowledge and understanding and experience. Case in point, not long ago I would have agreed with Muzzaman that the 7.62x39 is a mediocre calibre. However have used it an played around with it my opinion has changed. Frankly I have a great fondness it, probably because it is slammed so often. Popularity bores me, I like to challenge the norm go against the grain as it were. Not that I don't respect and take on board the opinions and points of view of others. I digress here but it all shows why this particular project interested me, because I knew it would be less than popular with most. And that's fine, call it silly, impractical, economically senseless. That's the beauty of free thinking, so much variety is created, how boring would life be if we all only did what was popular, what is deemed a good idea? Since when has any custom toy whether it be a car or a firearm made economic sense. Following a particular pattern or formula when it comes to building anything custom, for me, spoils the very essence of customizing.
Anyway, I know what I mean, even if no one else does and that's fine.

Its only my opinion, and that is the whole point, any of my own projects only have to make sense to me.

As I say this was only an idea I had and wanted the point of view of you good people, thank you for offering such.

What I will probably end up doing is converting a P14 or no4 Mk1 or no5 to 7.62x39 and using their respective barrels.

quote:

Originally posted by Ozzie:
According to Owen guns the action is a copy of a Gevarm. Several very famous rifle actions are rear lockers so don't knock them just for that. SMLE, Rem 788, S&L spring to mind.

I have one in 223 and I wouldn't call it sloppy. Mine is very very tight and more than adequate for the purpose assuming the steel is OK. Being Chinese one has to wonder though.

However for the new price (half of anything else) it is great value for a knockabout rifle.

Yes the stock is crap, externally OK but the inletting is the worst I have ever seem, probably done by an 8 year old indentured worker. Still shoots better than MOA though without bedding.

What I don't understand is how and why you would would bother taking the barrel off with all the attendant problems of the likely odd barrel threads and putting it on a different action.

Economically it doesn't make sense.

Given that calibre of Norinco is no longer being imported into Australia (and possibly NZ), you are better off selling it and either buying a barrel from MAB or Sprinter etc or a complete new rifle.

I respect your opinion bud, truly. I can't speak for you particular example of JW105, only those I have seen and used. As I said earlier I have a great fondness for Lee-Enfield actions and so too other rear locking actions, they are well designed and function well. I can't say the same for the Bushrangers I have experience with. Its also no slight against Norinco either as I currently own and have a fair bit of experience with other Norinco rifles and they, particularly for their price, perform very well. As an example, I currently have a cheap as chips Norinco EM322 .22lr. Now, snobbed by many because of its perceived value or perhaps because it is of Chinese design and manufacture, it is seen by the general shooting public as cheap trash. The reality is that in a direct comparison with the USA designed and manufactured rimfires I own, which cost 2 times as much, It leaves them for dead in both design, functionality and finish.

I judge any product on its own particular merits, not because of where it is made or its type.

Kind Regards

Andy

The Zastava mini mauser is being imported by Beretta Australia. Price is $362 action only.