Norinco M14S

About the Norinco M14S

The Norinco M14S is a Chinese-made semi-automatic rifle that copies the American M14 battle rifle, chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. Manufactured by Norinco (China North Industries Corporation) at State Arsenal 356 and exported through Norinco and Poly Technologies, it is a gas-operated, rotating-bolt design fed from a detachable box magazine. Sold on the commercial market as the M14S (Sporter) and under the M305 designation, it became especially popular among sport and hunting shooters in Canada in both the original 22-inch and shortened 18.5-inch barrel lengths.

Norinco is reported to have produced M14 rifles by the early 1970s, reverse-engineered from captured specimens or built using acquired technical data, originally intended to arm communist rebels abroad. To disguise their origin, early rifles copied U.S.-made M14s down to their markings before the design was revived as a commercial export product.

Norinco M14S specifications

Importation into the United States began in 1988 but the M14S was among 43 models named in the March 1989 import ban, and a May 1994 executive order halted all Chinese firearm imports. The rifle remained widely available in Canada. Commonly marketed under the M305 model name.