I believe at one stage Highland Outdoors offered one, called the Puma, bundled up with a scope and moderator? Impure proportionsįor the purist’s, major differences are the detachable, 5-shot magazine (a la CZ), the clean receiver with integral 11mm dovetail and the 452-2E rotary, lever-type safety catch located on the top of the bolt shroud that swings forward for SAFE and reverses for FIRE. I have encountered these Norincos before over the years, badged up as something else and marketed as cheap rimfire sporters by various companies.
The JW-25A is in fact just one of a series of four models based on the same chassis, with other less martial variants available.
It occurred to me back in 2010, just when the 22 rimfire, semi-auto military-type look-alikes started appearing, that a bolt-action alternative might have an appeal over all the AR15 clones. However, Norinco have gone to some considerable lengths in terms of the furniture and fittings, to make it more than acceptable well, certainly to my eyes. OK, it’s not pure (exact in every detail), as the receiver and safety catch arrangement rather gives it away a little, as a CZ452 copy. Bruce Potts has already done a feature on the originals, but what I have here is a good look-a-like of the KKW, which to my mind is one of the cutest, military bolt-action copies ever! Not perfect I have seen example of the various types going for up to $2000. Historically, theses rifles are very collectable, with good condition examples commanding very high prices avid collectors are happy to pay. One was the limitation of fullbore ammunition production so, to get around this for training purposes, they designed a series of single-shot, 22 rimfire copies of the Mauser Kar 98K service rifle.Ĭalled the Kleinkaliber Wehrsportgewehr (small calibre military and sporting rifle) they were known generically as the KKW and produced by various manufactures up to 1939, when they were discontinued. So, good looking, but with none of the harsh recoil and expense of the fullbore original.Īnd it’s here the history lesson starts! After the end of WW1, the treaty of Versailles imposed severe restrictions and reductions on Germany’s military might. This co-joining of models has produced a unique firearm, that combines all the economy and ease of use of a 22 Long Rifle cartridge, built around a classic military bolt-action design. Second, the Mauser K98, Germany’s service rifle chambered in 7.92x57 IS (centrefire) in the Second World War. Also, one of, if not the most popular of its type in the UK. Made in China, the Norinco JW-25A or 33/40 is an unashamed copy of two famous rifles first, the Czech Republic’s CZ452, which in many ways is the quintessential 22 rimfire bolt-action and has been so for many years.
What turned up was a brand-new gun so obviously they are still available, hence the full test. I was looking for images and could not find any, so I asked the importer Henry Krank & Co Ltd, if they still had an example, as I thought they were no longer current. This review started off as a Rimfire Delights story, as I had tested this rifle back in 2010 and thought it would fit in with this occasional series that we run in the mag.