Is the DA556 reliable?

I had one of those 20" A1-style DA556s with a 1:9 twist barrel. Accuracy was on par with a Colt SP1 (Which is to say, very good) and I cannot recall ever having a single stoppage.
 
I've got a couple of the 20" ones, with about 400 rounds through each. No failures of any kind with either, and they're both decently accurate with ball ammo. They could definitely use better triggers though.
 
I have never had a problem with Norc AR's.
I owned a CQA back when they first came out. Treated it like utter s**t and shot thousands of rounds of hot loaded Norc 5.56mm FMJ through it it.
I never even cleaned it. Would literally just squirt oil onto the bolt through ejection port.
Between the two cases I put through it I think I field stripped, wiped off the crud that would come off and put her back together. It never had a stoppage. Very reliable.
I now have a brand new DA556 1:12 pencil barrel on my M16A1 clone. It's very accurate. The rest of my rifle is one of the old Marstar USGI parts kit incl the A1 upper. Barrel mounted to it just fine, and it's shooting lazers with a couple hundred rounds through and no stoppages of any kind.
You can find the DA556 20" on the EE for under $500 sometimes. Very good bang for buck IMO.
Those crazy communists sure have their problems over there but cloning unlicensed, reliable AR's is not one of them.
 
Turkinator said:

Rod seems to approve of them
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I love Rod's vids but the one above, why'd he say the upper was dead? A barrel is considered a wearable part in any firearm. All he needed was to replace the barrel with a cheap NEA or cheap surplus DA barrel and he'd be back in action. BUT it does make for a great excuse to buy a new one. :)
 
I've never heard of reliability issues with them but for the cost of a S&W these days I'd go US built.
The only problem I've heard of with the Norinco is guys having trouble installing mil-spec parts. This isn't a problem if you just want to buy it and shoot it as is but for an extra couple hundred bucks I'd get one built in the USA with a warranty and parts compatibility.
 
Is it reliable, sure as a paper puncher. But are you willing to over look fit and finish when much much better products are available at the same relative price point?

DA/Norinco AR's were awesome, 4-5 years ago when you could not get a bare bones US made AR for under $1000. Today, I could not imagine spending retail dollars on these firearms when such good deals are floating around; S&W, Bushmaster, PSA, etc. We are, for once, in a flooded AR market, take advantage of this.

Even as a used pickup in the $400-$450 range, I wouldn't touch these right now..
 
While I love the Norc - I had one from the first batch, and one from a later batch, if you're not stuck on a particular barrel length that is shorter than 16 inches, IRG has PSA's for $479 US - with proper quality and materials control. Do the math and you'll see that it's an amazing price.
 
Trinimon said:
I love Rod's vids but the one above, why'd he say the upper was dead? A barrel is considered a wearable part in any firearm. All he needed was to replace the barrel with a cheap NEA or cheap surplus DA barrel and he'd be back in action. BUT it does make for a great excuse to buy a new one. :)
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Maybe Rod doesn't know how to change an AR barrel.
 
enefgee said:
While I love the Norc - I had one from the first batch, and one from a later batch, if you're not stuck on a particular barrel length that is shorter than 16 inches, IRG has PSA's for $479 US - with proper quality and materials control. Do the math and you'll see that it's an amazing price.
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The drop in US AR15 pricing has taken a lot of the attraction away from the Norc rifles. There were S&W MP15s selling for close to the same price as the DA556 not long ago.
 
cr5 said:
I've never heard of reliability issues with them but for the cost of a S&W these days I'd go US built.
The only problem I've heard of with the Norinco is guys having trouble installing mil-spec parts. This isn't a problem if you just want to buy it and shoot it as is but for an extra couple hundred bucks I'd get one built in the USA with a warranty and parts compatibility.
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Shin_Gunto said:
Is it reliable, sure as a paper puncher. But are you willing to over look fit and finish when much much better products are available at the same relative price point?

DA/Norinco AR's were awesome, 4-5 years ago when you could not get a bare bones US made AR for under $1000. Today, I could not imagine spending retail dollars on these firearms when such good deals are floating around; S&W, Bushmaster, PSA, etc. We are, for once, in a flooded AR market, take advantage of this.

Even as a used pickup in the $400-$450 range, I wouldn't touch these right now..
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It's hard to argue with this logic right now. I bought 2new S&W M&P rifles for the same as new CQA rifles. The S& W lack the ambi controls that the Norincos have but they are nicer firearms, a little more accurate, have a nicer finish and hopefully are as reliable as the Chinese guns.
 
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