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  • Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    With all the talk I've been seeing around about FEG possibly building some SVD's and the C&R thread on this forum, I decided to break out my NDM today for some pictures and range time. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to make it to the range but I did get some decent pictures to share. While I was at it, I decided to throw in some of the glass I've collected too. When I got it all laid out, it occurred to me how much junk I've hoarded over the years. I gotta' stop buying stuff because it won't be too long before it's time to start getting rid of it all. This is just the rifle and scopes. The accessories and scope cans is another mess altogether. I think half the fun of having these rifles is all the crap you can buy for it:

    PaOJEEgl.jpg




    Here's just the rifle with the scope that it left the factory with:
    aJuE22bl.jpg


    hRCxieVl.jpg



    Exploded view:
    hsc7VFbl.jpg



    I always liked the way it looked like a cutaway with one handguard removed:
    10QwgTgl.jpg



    The scope number is stamped into the stock:
    hdsg8vXl.jpg



    Scope number:
    XcRbkgPl.jpg



    The abbreviated serial number is all over the place on these rifles. Here, we see it on the bottom of the cheek rest:
    j97b9DDl.jpg

    Notice that, while Chinese, this is not the proper cheek rest. It's long gone unfortunately. The rest of the parts are matching though.



    Trigger group and safety lever:
    nOl79r3l.jpg



    It's hard to read but it's electro-penciled on the push rod:
    LYDY97xl.jpg



    Inside both handguards:
    UM32P4Kl.jpg



    On the gas cylinder:
    BihJXUBl.jpg



    Bolt carrier:
    Edt2wO0l.jpg




    Bolt (ignore the Swiss grease please):
    XvAOZ5ul.jpg



    Underneath the rear sight leaf:
    xgKmk10l.jpg



    On the barrel:
    J6JtX5yl.jpg



    At the back of the top cover:
    3JqyH1cl.jpg



    And, of course, on the receiver where we also see the year of production, the arsenal marking and the whole serial number:
    YVbtcjwl.jpg
     

    Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    In my limited experience, I've found that Chinese firearms are almost devoid of proof marks and this NDM-86 is no exception. It does seem to have a few more extraneous marks than I am used to seeing but they are pretty sparse.
    Here, we see a couple of......something on the side of the receiver:
    v2qDgxRl.jpg



    And a couple more marks on top the receiver that are normally covered by the top cover:
    p40mhO7l.jpg



    A barrel alignment mark that doesn't seem to align with anything:
    e0rdLScl.jpg



    The rest of the marks seem to be nothing more than a random single digit here and there. I'm sure they mean something but we'll never know.
    A "4" at the rear of the receiver:
    nDhTMOxl.jpg



    A "5" on the side of the barrel:
    8ZM4Hsll.jpg



    Another "5" on the bottom of the flash hider. It's hard to read because of the thick shiny paint they used on these rifles:
    7dWmIXwl.jpg

    That's about it for obvious markings.
     

    Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    One of the things that's always amazed me about the SVD is how crudely it appears to be made. The Chinese ones look even more crude than the Soviet ones although I think some of that is attributable to the funky gloss paint they use. It just makes them look cheap. But even it you stripped them to bare metal, they would still appear to be rough. I keep saying "appear" because it's all an illusion. Where it counts, they are quite well finished. No, they are still not up to western standards but there is plenty of care put into the important bits. Let's look at some of the rough bits first.

    Notice the machining marks behind the breach:
    zP6ZD7kl.jpg

    But also notice the finely turned threads on the barrel and the precision cutting at the rear of the barrel.


    The scope rail and lightening cut on the right side of the receiver is nothing to look at:
    36YqQbUl.jpg


    N8eYHZGl.jpg

    But it's perfectly dimensioned and every optic I've ever tried slides on smooth as glass no matter what Warsaw Pact country it was made in. Of course, this included the scope that came with the rifle.



    The flash hider looks like a teenager's high school shop project:
    XemKi5rl.jpg

    MOsfTdYl.jpg



    But the front sight is perfectly fitted to its dovetail:
    UQzPLAul.jpg



    Here is the ejector and bolt hold open area:
    cDAlXwsl.jpg

    It's as rough as a cobb yet the bolt slides along as if SIG made it. I don't understand that one!



    A lot of work went into the bolt and carrier though. They are VERY well executed. Again, ignore the grease in these shots. This is just a quick and fun write-up. If it were intended to be one of my "in-detail" write-ups that would have been wiped off, and I'd be going into a lot more detail:

    Edt2wO0l.jpg


    bEXRieml.jpg


    w6qcuGjl.jpg


    w04uVFyl.jpg


    GivfGJql.jpg


    LHdQl9Ul.jpg


    BBylzxRl.jpg
     

    Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    No short cuts with the gas piston:
    9yiWli3l.jpg



    The gas cylinder is well made where it needs to be too:
    lUNQz4Ul.jpg


    When you fit them together there is about as much play as you will find in the gas chamber of an HK P7:
    c2QC9Htl.jpg



    The trigger group looks like a cobbled together stamped steel contraption:
    37UTqRwl.jpg



    But the mating surfaces of the sear and hammer are buttery smooth which creates a wonderful trigger pull:
    lYsfExel.jpg


    hgK3SbGl.jpg


    E48YA86l.jpg



    This last picture always gives me a chuckle. The Chinese so closely copied the Soviet rear sight leaf that they even reproduced the Cyrillic character for the 300m battle setting:
    fzhLfhNl.jpg



    That's it for this. Normally, if I were doing one of my usual "in-detail" write-ups, I would go MUCH more in-depth and discuss every little thing, pointing out details and explaining (to the best of my ability and understanding) what everything is and does. But that wasn't the purpose here. My intention was stated at the beginning of this.....I had it out and I took some pictures to share.
    Eventually though, I do plan on doing an in-depth look at this rifle. Anyone who recognizes me knows that I've been doing this for at leastt ten years now. I've done a bunch of in-detail essays and they've gotten buried in forum content over the years. But I've been told by enough people over the years (by both readers and people who have contributed firearms for study) that my work is useful and has some minimal Quality too it; enough that I've been convinced that it should be easily accessible and preserved. To that end, I've seriously considered creating a website for my past and future work. Doing this will incur some monetary expense and a considerable time expenditure. Of course, I would need to produce a more polished product than I have to this point. It would be similar but would need to address the large number of grammatical errors usually present.

    But, just like you, I have a career, family, house and all the responsibilities that go along with those things. SO, if I do create a website, I'll be creating a Patreon (or similar) account too. If I can get some support, I can make a website fly. I want your honesty. Assuming I produce on a regular (roughly monthly) basis, are my write-ups worth a buck or two a month to you guys? Again, this thread should not be used as an example. You all know how in-depth I usually go and it's much deeper than shown here. My typical essays take me about a week from start of photography to typing the last word. I'm asking....is my work worth any monetary support? If I get enough of you guys saying "I'm interested", I'll get to work on a website this fall. In fact, I already have a name but I'm keeping that to myself for the time being. SO tell me, interested or waste of time. Thank you in advance for your consideration!
     

    h2u

    Village Idiot
    Jul 8, 2007
    6,693
    South County
    Gorgeous rifle, sir!!! Yet another rifle that’s out of my price range :D

    Question - as I’ve never seen this type of rifle in person, please forgive me if this observation is off. In your barrel picture, you say the mark isn’t aligned with anything. I’ve (very) crudely marked your picture to point out what appear to be two aligned marks. Is it the same piece with a continuation of the same line?

    Again, sorry if I’m off base.
     

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    Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    That's a tab in the handguard retainer that helps stabilize the two halves of the handguard. It might be have something to do with the alignment mark on the barrel but I don't know.
     

    firemn260

    Active Member
    Sep 15, 2015
    354
    Harford County
    Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate you taking the time to break it down and explain it to us. I very much enjoy reading this kind of stuff about firearms I can only dream about owning at this point in my life. Your collection of glass is very interesting also.

    I would of definitely assumed a Chinese copy of this rifle Would of been put together crudely, but your review shows otherwise. I’m thinking anybody going up against this weapon in the hands of a skilled individual at a distance, would definitely be in trouble.

    I was wondering, is the gas system adjustable?
     

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    Wasn't there a issue with the bolt/firing pin leading to out of battery.
    This was so long ago and I believe there was a spring installed.
    I could be wrong.
     

    Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    I'm sure it's great for real world use but, and I assume you know how it works, it's pretty crappy for range use. I just cranked it up to 9 and zeroed it at 100 yards. But 9 power is pretty ridiculous at 100 yards so now it's just a neat looking accessory. For its time, it was nothing short of amazing. The optics are very clear but there are some dust specks which is considered normal for these. It's built like a tank and what it lacks in sophistication it more than makes up for in durability. Hell, it'll probably outlast a Zeiss! I have Soviet cameras going back to the thirties and the lenses are still perfectly clear. I would expect the same out of the 1P21.


    Would you like me to take some close-ups?
     

    Combloc

    Stop Negassing me!!!!!
    Nov 10, 2010
    7,212
    In a House
    Here are a few pictures of the various NV scopes attached to show you just how crazy large they are. They are listed in order of appearance.


    Gen 0 NSP-2:
    P1130137_zpsbzqoj3yh.jpg

    This one requires a battery pack that is worn on the belt so that you are literally tethered to the rifle! It's also the only one that requires an active infrared source to function. This particular unit was Czech made but Soviet designed. Some of the parts actually have Cyrillic writing on them.


    Gen 1 NSP-3:
    P1130135_zpsqcoljrnw.jpg

    Polish made. Another Soviet design and I would not be surprised if many of the parts were supplied by Russia as well.


    Gen 1 1PN34:
    P1130136_zpsmzdikr3k.jpg

    Soviet made.


    Gen 1 1PN58:
    P1130134_zpsreogst2q.jpg

    Soviet made.


    Gen 2 1PN51:
    P1130133_zps5mbtabci.jpg

    Soviet/Russian made.
     

    Robert2888

    Active Member
    Nov 5, 2013
    896
    Westmoreland,VA
    You never fail to impress. You keep talking about the future shedding of some of the collection, I sure hope you put it up here first as I’ve been stacking the shekels since you first started talking about it.
     

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