I have both.
I have smoothed out both and actually did a rebuild on the Commander. It is NOT necessary to send a pistol out to a "smith". Anyone who has basic manual skills, can do a 1911 trigger job. That being said:
The NP-40 is a more accurate pistol and is 1/2 the price of its CZ counterpart. The only $ I spent on that one was fiber optic sights from LPA.
The commander, I spent $125 in replacement parts, trigger, beavertail, springs, ambi-safety... it now has a very smooth trigger pull at about 3.5lbs. I do not like the tiny narrow rear sights, but one must ermember that it is a "combat" pistol and not designed for the Olympics.
Both are fun to shoot. If your interest is mainly target shooting, I would go with the NP-40. If you are a plinker, either one is good.
One consideration is that ammo is forseen to possibly TRIPLE in cost over the next year or two. Serious shooters will have to consider getting into reloading which offers considerable savings.
Someone mentioned problems finding holsters... hogwash! I have two 1911 holsters which fit my Norc like a glove. I also have a Fobus CZ holster which fits my NP-40 as well as my NZ-85 (Yes, I own 3 Norc pistols + an SKS-D).
I have shot the CZ-75B and SP-01, and YES, they are MUCH nicer out of the box and shoot very well. But for the same amount of money, I can buy two Norcs for the price of one, which suits my purposes very well.
Yes, there exists a price quality issue. Usually, when you pay more, the quality is superior, not many will dispute that fact. However, for blasting away at paper 5, 10 or 15 yards away, do I need the higher quality item?
I do a lot of defensive shooting (Self Defence), at 5 or 10 yards, my $300 Norc will stop the threat equally as well as my $1000 1911.
Don't let yourself get swayed by all the inherant Norc bashing that is done here on CGN. It's a pile of bull$hit gun snobbery most of the time and those who partake have usually never even seen or held a Norinco in their hands.
Not everyone has the means to afford a $3500 race gun. Enjoy whatever you decide to buy.
