Norinco M334 Mauser-style Sporter Returns To Canada

Someone, somewhere dusted off a few crates of Norinco M334 rifles over in China, and after about a decade, they're being imported to Canada again. North Sylva is now distributing them to dealers, with a sticker price around $500 depending where you shop.

What's the M334? Good question—it's a bit of a different beast. It's a Mauser-style bolt action rifle with wood stock, a 22-inch barrel and open sights; the rifles coming into Canada are all chambered in .308. A matte finish is standard, and the latest imports appear to have a standard wood finish, unlike the green-painted stock that came on the previous imports.

These sound like features that many outdoorsmen would want. However, the rifle has some weirdo features; previous imports had metric threads for the scope mounts, and while this is a large-ring action, it's not a long action rifle. Internet forum gossip says you can get some standard scope bases to fit, but if you want to mount a scope, you might have to be clever and handy.

Should you do so, word on the street is that these rifles actually shoot fairly well. However, online forum gossip also says the ejector and other components are not always up to snuff. Previous imports had some quality control issues. Presumably some of those issues are sorted out now, but to be clear, do not expect a finely-made rifle here.

So, some finesse may be required after purchase, but these would not be the first $500ish rifles brought into Canada for shooters who wanted a project. Anyone remember the Zastava M85 mini Mausers that came in about 10 years back? Many of those needed some work too... although those Serbian-built guns were better-finished than these M334s, which appear to be even cruder in their manufacture.