Full steel 9mm : Norinco vs SAM

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mrbishi

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Looking to buy my first centrefire pistol and have narrowed it down to either a Norinco NP29 or a SAM Commander 1911 9mm Enhanced. I just missed out on CanAm's .45 1911 & ammo deal and with the supposed end of Chinese .45 ammo importations I feel I should go with a 9mm, cheap ammo means more practice.

What are the pros and cons of either, the SAM comes fully loaded for want of a better word and I don't want to have to replace a ton of things on the Norinco just to bring it up to spec. I learned from having a 10/22 as my first gun that a combination of cheap & fully customizable is a false economy in reality.

I really wanted one of the FEG Hipower clones but didnt suite me at the time to buy and now I cant find one for less than $500.
 
SAM is much better made, fit-finish-tolerances are all very good. CNC machined vs shop high school shop class made Nork. Philippines have been making really decent 1911's for a long time.
 
Go with the Norc. I have a double stack NP28 that I have owned for years and it had been great. Goes bang every time you pull the trigger.
 
i have both (SAM in 45) and a norc NP22

your talking 2 totally different types of guns so hard really to compare them.
if you want a 1911 then go with the sam over the NORC 1911 as the fit and finish is much much better on the sam (i can post some pics comparing them if you want)

but if you want a 9mm and dont particularly care if its a 1911 or not then go with the NP29.
the fit and finish on the norc NP22/29s are very very good and much more versatile then the 1911's.
the fit and finish is night and day when your comparing sam to norc.... well there actually ISNT a comparison, sam wins every time.
BUT, that is only for 1911's.

the Norc NP22(and 29) are a different animal.

so long story short.
if your wanting a 1911 then go SAM.
if you want a 9mm then go Norc NP22/29, plus you'll save $150 that you can put towards ammo.
 
sorry, you know what, im thinking the wrong Norc.

for some reason i thought the Norc NP29 was the same as the NP22.
(1911 vs the Sig knock offs)

forget what i said, go with the SAM.
your looking for a 1911 9mm not just a 9mm.

i was thinking this (NP22)
NorincoNP221_zpsb2776366.jpg


not this (NP29)
NP29.jpg
 
Go with the SAM, and if you have the extra to spend, go with the SAM Omega 6 9mm. It is a nice gun and so far, after a year, not a problem. I bought a Norinco .45, and sold it 2 weeks later to a friend who could do all the work it needed to be a good shooter. Out of the box, it does not compare to the SAM. The 2 side by side, it's like a before and after the gunsmith picture.
 
A good friend of mine has an NP22 with an alloy frame that cracked after a few thousand rounds.

If that's really what you want, save up a little more and buy a used P226 off the EE. You won't regret it.
 
Facing the exact same question over the last few weeks I went with SAM.

Why? Because you never see the qualifier "But.." in a statement about the SAM guns. I have confidence that norinco makes some good guns, but I am less confident that I will receive one of those, and for the minor difference in cost I refuse to own a potential project that I'd have to sink more money into to make it proper.
 
For the same price as the SAM get a Girsan, fit and finish are awesome. I have never had an issue with mine, eats everything 2000 rounds and counting. In my opinion the best gun you could get for under $500.
 
I sold my Girsan because I couldn't make it work for me, but it is indeed a VERY nice pistol for about the same price as the SAM 9mm Enhanced 1911.

Nicely sorted piece of kit, and yet another option that's in the neighbourhood of $100 more than the norc.
 
I have a bunch of Noricos, including most of their 9mm models. The only ones that had problems were the recent batch of NP29s. Got 3 and all needed to be re-fitted with new barrels before they would group smaller than my hat.

Sounds like the SAM is a safer bet.
 
I guess that settles that then so, looks like I'll be getting the SAM, is there anything to look out for with the 9mm models?
I presume MEC-Gar etc will fit.

Thanks for the advice.
 
Ganderite said:
I have a bunch of Noricos, including most of their 9mm models. The only ones that had problems were the recent batch of NP29s. Got 3 and all needed to be re-fitted with new barrels before they would group smaller than my hat.

Sounds like the SAM is a safer bet.
Click to expand...

Is there anyway of knowing if you have an NP29 from that bad batch? I have one on hold for me right now and if it has to be rebarreled I won't bother buying it.
 
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