The Norinco Type 86S is a bullpup assault rifle from The People's Republic of China.
History[]
The Type 86S was one of many semi-automatic firearms exported to the United States during the late 1980s by China Sports, the Sporting Goods division of NORINCO.
Assault Weapon Ban of 1989[]
On January 17, 1989 a mass shooting occured at a kindergarten in Stockton, California. A drifter armed with a semi-automatic NORINCO Type 56S rifle killed 5 children and wounded 29 more before taking his own life. This triggered a backlash of legislation. The Assault Weapon Control Act of 1989 was passed that February, banning the importation of the Kalashnikov rifle and UZI carbine by name and limiting magazine sizes to 10 rounds. The first Bush Administration selectively halted the importation of 43 models of "semi-automatic assault rifles" under a Presidential act in March. All importation of the selected weapons stopped by July, 1989. Several Kalashnikov-type rifles made by NORINCO were affected by the ban, with less than 2000 Type 86S rifles entering the United States.
Design Details[]
The Type 86S is derived from an AK-style design, but departs from the usual AK-style design in a few ways, such as the fire control group being housed in a section of the receiver behind the pistol grip. The selector switch is on the right side of the receiver and is thumb-shaped. The charging handle is located under the carrying handle, similar to the later QBZ and QBB-95s. The weapon has a folding foregrip, and the rear sight is a peep sight adjustable via a cam, which can be adjusted to 100-, 200- and 300-meter ranges via the turn of a knob. The front and rear sights are mounted on the weapon's combination gas tube, clamped tightly and secured onto the receiver. A cleaning kit was stored in a trap in the buttstock.
Shipping Box Contents[]
The packing box contained a manual, rifle sling, a knife bayonet with scabbard, two 30-round magazines, and a small oil bottle. Notable importers were Navy Arms and Keng Firearms Specialties (KFS). Boxes impounded between the BATF review introduced in March 1989 and before the full ban later on in July had the bayonet and scabbard removed and set aside. Strangely, the importers were still allowed to take possession of them as the items were not banned from importation separately.