Happy New Year 2020! Norinco 1897 Trench gun Back in Stock! Only 299

Axelord said:
Just got my 1897 in the mail, so here's a preliminary review
Action and loading was initially janky but a few dozen passes of snappies turned everything smooth. Smoother, I mean. It's still Chinese. You can't help but squint when you look at it. That's how scrappy it is.
Didn't come with any sort of manual, or even a warning label. Just the gun in a plastic bag with a very light film of what might have been cosmoline, or not. Stuff behaved the similarly to old, gunky cosmoline but it didn't have that distinct smell.
Only definite bad mark is that the stock is damaged. It obviously chipped at some point, and then they glued the bit back on. It's not a functional problem, but it's kinda flagrant and hard to not look at. Not the best $300 I ever spent, but not the worst by a long shot.
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Ouch! That stock looks fugly.
I imagine you could exchange it. Hope mine doesn't arrive like that.
 
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I ordered one in the combo and that was on the 7th. Still haven't seen any progress with Canpar on the shipping. Is it just because Canpar has a terrible tracking system? Or a failure to pick up the package?
 
Very weird then, given that Canpar shows pickup on their end on the 10th.

Does Canpar do pickup on certain days of the week only?

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Packed in a oiled plastic bag, loose in a thin cardboard box with no interior support.... that's a lot of faith in Canada Post!

Some crumpled newspaper or and extra layer of cardboard, plastic air bags..... take your pick couldn't hurt..... :)
 
Can-down said:
Packed in a oiled plastic bag, loose in a thin cardboard box with no interior support.... that's a lot of faith in Canada Post!

Some crumpled newspaper or and extra layer of cardboard, plastic air bags..... take your pick couldn't hurt..... :)
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Mine was rattling around the box too.

I thought that’d it’d be damaged when I opened it.

Thankfully it wasn’t damaged and looks really good. They do wrap the box in black plastic and I think that helped as the cardboard had a hole in it but not the plastic.
 
JeffMan said:
Mine was rattling around the box too.

I thought that’d it’d be damaged when I opened it.

Thankfully it wasn’t damaged and looks really good. They do wrap the box in black plastic and I think that helped as the cardboard had a hole in it but not the plastic.
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Not cool. Hopefully the buyers paid extra for the insurance...
 
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Just got mine safe and sound. tried to tighten any screws I see on the action and almost locked it up. Be careful not to screw in the screw under the extractor too tight. You might lock up the action.
 
bleaches said:
Just got mine safe and sound. tried to tighten any screws I see on the action and almost locked it up. Be careful not to screw in the screw under the extractor too tight. You might lock up the action.
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Do the screws need loctite?

Any 1979 experts out there who can tell us what to watch out for on these shotguns.

It sure is a ###y gun.
 
All the screws on mine were fine but the pin at the back of the bolt holding the firing pin in slipped out and dented the receiver on closing :( luckily it did it once on each side so yay symmetry?
 
Just got mine today..And yes.. It does SLAM FIRE... cycling dry
Seems to be OK cycles as it should ..no damage in shipping even though the hammer had worn through the cardboard
 
GUB said:
Just got mine today..And yes.. It does SLAM FIRE... cycling dry
Seems to be OK cycles as it should ..no damage in shipping even though the hammer had worn through the cardboard
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I've decided to order one myself, just for the giggles, as I had not so great experience with Norinco products in the past (I own however an exceptional SKS by Norinco). Just so I can comment on quality and overall execution.
Came today, exactly like yours. Hammer went through the box, but the layers of the plastic wrap saved the day.
Actually pretty good machining. Very nice wood with the polymer like finish. Action is far from smooth, but it's going to get better.
Hammer has a different shape than the original.
Cycling fine, the trigger pull is heavy, but smooth.
Very few things that did catch my attention:
- small dent in the wood,
- not ideally round muzzle end, as there is a slight machining mark or dent on the outside (pretty damn close to perfect O though),
- on the empty chamber the forend doesn't need to move/notch forward first, I can cycle it right away (with the hammer back the lock-up is solid though),
- there is a dimple missing in front of the forend (present on the original) as the tube is smooth all around,
- blueing is nice and even,
- bead sight is slightly bigger than on the original (better IMO),
- the side buttons release the shells from the magazine with even more authority than on the original E series (they flying),
- there is a bit more play with the forend than on the original 97,
- bottom of the bolt isn't razor sharp (nice surprise), but it can still damage one's hand,
- all screws appear to be of good quality to my eye, but there will be more to follow.
Overall I can see some potential. It may be a fun project...but will require some work.
 
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Pretty satisfied with mine, only thing that jumps out at me is how wobbly the forend is.

A nice walnut forend and stock would really round this out.
 
GUB said:
^^^SAME.. But my wood is near perfect
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The dent I mentioned about is very small, so mine is also "near" perfect with very nice grain around the grip area.
One thing that I forgot to mention - the pommel grip promotes the gripping technique that is nearly forgotten, but may be necessary with 1897.
With the thumb along the grip, not around it.
 
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