Considering a Norinco CQ-A AR-15. Can anyone tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly?

BENELLImFOUR

BENELLImFOUR

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Hey guys, as mentioned above I am interested in the Norinco CQ-A 14.5" barrel. I just want to know what's good, what's bad, what should be replaced etc. before I go spend some money. Thanks!



EDIT: Just want to thank everyone for the good responses!
 
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I put a rail and an optic on mine, the rest spent on ammo, fine the way it is IMO (some of the 10.5" used to have extractor issues, not sure if that's still ongoing)
IMO if you get one, change a few things and just have fun with it, if you want one to turn into a big project and pour a lot of time, money and accessories into it, get something else.

I got mine used (100% stock), but it was very lightly used, still looked new to me, it's only had about 3000 rounds through it from me, never a hiccup.

july217_zpsdd473241.jpg
 
My Norinco has 2000+ rounds through it and has never had a failure.

Only thing missing from this picture is my BUIS that had yet to be installed.
 
We ran several on the range for two years. One is still going. They see 20,000-30,000 rounds before major part failures and give good reliability. They are not Colt guns which I have had very good results with, but they are cheap.
 
This has been discussed all over CGN. You'll see good comments. I think I found two users that had bad comments. Some 10.5 had extractor issues.

My 10.5 has yet to fail me. 730 rounds and counting.
 
i got a 10.5 .... waiting for my long term ATT..... for $675..... thats why I got it.... I love DD but... for me any AR is better then no AR...
 
I've had my Norinco CQ-A for about 2 years now and it has been rock solid. It has not had any issues what so ever. It is definitely one of the top best buy's for us Canadian's when factoring in what you are getting for the price. Buy with confidence.
 
Stevo said:
I'd buy a Norinco long before I bought a DPMS.
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Same here. If you don't have an ethical issue buying a chinese gun (for whatever reason, I'm neither pro nor con and am not judging the ethics of this decision) then IMO they are the best bang-for-buck AR in existence. I don't shoot one myself but I wouldn't hesitate to do so. There are MANY US manufacturers of ARs that I think could learn something from Norinco. When people I like approach me to ask about cheap guns to use for defensive purposes, I often mention Norinco ARs.

I do think it's worth going through them and checking things over carefully and I don't have positive feelings about Norinco springs and would swap them out for Wolff etc if possible. Other than that if you can stand the finish, I'd say go for it.

In conclusion:

Overall they're good
Price is far from bad
Finish sometimes ugly
 
We have two of the M4 clones from Norinco with the 14.5 inch barrels, got them from Marstar with consecutive serials.

My wife & I have put lots of rounds downrange & had ZERO issues with the guns. I would buy them again IN A HEART BEAT!

Cheers
Jay
 
They are just as good as any other AR in its price range. Nothing about it compared to say, a DPMS as mentioned already is any worse. Some will even consider it superior.

It will go bang, be just as reliable as any AR in its category and you will have many years of enjoyment out of it.
 
There is no bad. The finish on my 14.5" wasn't terrible, but not great either. A Krylon camo job fixed that. I'm past 1500 rounds through it now with no problems whatsoever, shooting both brass and steel case ammo. Just feed it bullets and it will love you long time.
 
Worth every penny. Zero failures, 1200+/- rounds through it. It's the perfect intro to AR-15's. it's cheap, it's reliable, and if you scuff/scratch/dent/smash/(you get where I'm going), you won't cry about it.
 
Have one

put 150ish rounds through it then it stopped cycling properly

sent it off for warranty repair

they didn't say too much what they did, guy on the phone said something about one of the springs in the gas system missing (I hadn't even touched the gas system until it stopped working)?

Anyways got it back and it is back to working properly (nother 100 ish round through it)

Assuming it keeps performing properly now, it is a fun rifle to shoot

Everything else seems solid so far, decent accuracy too
 
I had one, it was the first batch made into Canada (the price tag was $899 but with poor black painted finish). Over the years, it ran like a champ, NEVER had any issues with it, (other than black paint peeling off since day 1 - not covered by the warranty as claimed by the importer 'l3v3r arms'). The newer batches were nicer as they don't paint the gun anymore. It is more milspec than some of the ARs I own, so replacement parts wouldn't be an issue,' if needed'. I sold it to a good friend of mine this year due to buying another gun (wife's rule - one in, one out as I have reached my max allowable limit). People will ask: why sell it if you like it so much? And the answer to that is: cq-a is reliable and solid, it depreciates the least among all my other ARs, and I sold it to a good friend, and I want him to have fun with a reliable AR (also his 1st AR.). Btw, we are still good friends :) and he is still happy with the norc AR.
 
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