better buy expensive 1911 to begin with or upgrade cheap one?

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urlong

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Hi,
I'm just curious before start saving money for it.
I wonder it is better to get norc 1911 and work on it or buy better one with that price?

It seems like many people build their norc 1911 since it is cheap system to begin with and sound's like they are spending approximately $600 top of norc 1911 or total after finished build.
In other hand, ruger sr1911 costs $699 without any additional parts.

there will be difference in quality and accuracy?
Other then studying its system, which choice is better overall and worth?



p/s:I don't have membership at range yet since I haven't found 'the' range I like to settle with, but there are good deals on restricted firearms and I like to get my hands on them before deal is gone; such as CanAm's 1000 ammo deal. Is it possible able to acquire restricted firearm without any registered range?
 
What do you want to do with your 1911? What features do you want to have on it?

From that, look at the ones in your budget range & save for that one.

:canadaFlag:
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NAA.
 
Always better off buying good to begin with. Especially if you are the type where you will want to upgrade in a few months. I always buy what I like the first time, even if I have to save up because I know if I cheap out I will want to upgrade real soon anyways.
 
NAA said:
What do you want to do with your 1911? What features do you want to have on it?

From that, look at the ones in your budget range & save for that one.

:canadaFlag:
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NAA.
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Well of course nice grouping holes at my target and able to hit what I want to hit since I can't just wield hand gun around bush in Canada.
Plus I'll be handling it a lot in my basement like girls playing with their barbie dolls, hehe.
 
norcs are cheap and if you scratch them up you wont care.

but once you start dropping 700 + on a gun you will start to care about scratches and such.

i have both, love my norcs, the work horse of the 1911's here in canada.
but i also have a SR1911 and i can tell you that it is night and day difference between them.
the SR1911 has all the add on's that youd put on a norc to make it better.

if i was new to 1911's id go Norc first.
for the price of them if you dont like it you can use them as a novelty or a paper weight.
but if you start dropping 700 + and dont like them.... well that starts to hurt a bit.

but the SR1911 is a much better gun.
easily 2 to 3 times the gun.
then kimber is 2 to 3 times the SR1911.

the more money the nicer the fit and finish.

i guess if you had a little extra money you could get a norc and test it out, then upgrade to a SR1911 or a Remmy.

but if you just wanted to buy once and wanted to know if you should go with a norc and upgrade or a SR or Remmy instead.... id go with the SR1911 or Remmy. its nice to have everything on the gun right out of the box and it looks hella nice!

005_zps9078d45d.jpg

(L->R Norc, Norc, Norc, SR1911, Kimber)
 
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If you want to work on a gun the Norinco is the way to go, if you want to shoot an accurate and well finished 1911 then you need to spend more money. There are a lot of 1911's that are finished far better than the Norinco's ie: all of them....but are they more reliable?
 
A norc with good parts is still just a norc. I worked my way up to a STI, having wasted money on the way there when I should have just gone quality in the first place. One the other hand, if you want to tinker and learn a little then go for it. If you are already thinking of upgrades then you probably won't be satisfied with a low end 1911.
 
I bang my head against the wall when I see people drop $500-700 in a Norc. It's still a Norc. You'll always lose money selling it and always be tinkering with it.

It's similar to buying a Chevy Cavalier and putting $20k into it. Upgrading the exhaust + body molds and gull wing doors (I saw this car locally yesterday). Just buy the damn Monte Carlo or whatever sports car you like and afford to keep it in decent shape.

But yeah, Norc's have their place. If you're looking for a first 1911 to disassemble / learn and out right abuse, then it's a fine gun for that. Save your pennies for a Kimber/STI/Ruger (whatever) if you're going to drop in a whack of parts before you even hit the range.
 
i bought a mid-level 1911 (sti spartan 9mm and i LOVE it) to start off. its great, 1500+ rounds and never an issue. THEN i bought a norc later on to tinker with to become better acquainted with the 1911. if you buy a norc, rip it apart, alter it and then realize you dont like 1911's you will have wasted a bunch of money that you wont get back if you sell it. if you buy a decent 1911 you'll get a proper impression of what a 1911 is (you wont with a stock norc) and you wont need to alter it very much at all. if you dont like it you can sell it and probably not take such a loss.

i recommend the STI's for a first 1911 but the SR 1911 isnt a bad option either...
 
It depends on your budget, if you can afford a Colt or other higher priced one that what I'd go with. If you just want to get started and are not sure, try a Norc.
 
If you have never owned or shot a 1911, then get the Norc. You don't have to do anything to them, they work right out of the box.
Don't go spend 2K on a high end match grade 1911 until you know what you want out of a 1911. You may not even like them, who knows?
 
mattf87 said:
Always better off buying good to begin with. Especially if you are the type where you will want to upgrade in a few months. I always buy what I like the first time, even if I have to save up because I know if I cheap out I will want to upgrade real soon anyways.
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Wait and buy both lol.. one to shoot and one to play with
 
My first 1911 was a Norc Government model. Fit and finish was ok but it ran with no issues.
Ended up selling it and buying a Sig1911 which was noticeably made with attention to detail but @ 3x the cost.
Didn't shoot it much cause I found other platforms I enjoyed shooting more than the 1911.

IMO...buy a Norc from the EE (without the Chinese markings). They can be had for ~$300. You should be able to sell it for about the same $$ when you're done with it. Besides, if you're new to 1911's you will probably end up scratching the frame with the frame pin when re-assembling it. You don't want to learn that on a nice expensive 1911!
 
I liked the SR because it was stainless (I have a bit of a stainless fetish) plus it had the extras I wanted, skelatonized trigger and hammer and the beaver tail
 
You get what you pay for. If you like tinkering and replacing almost everything... giver. If you don't mind fixing problems ...giver. If you want something to bash around ...giver.

I ended up paying a large amount for my IPSC 1911 and I run it hard and often. Keep in mind this doesn't mean treating it like a carpentry hammer ;)
And the money spent was well worth it. Sure stuff breaks but I don't have to spend all my time upgrading or fixing sub-par junk. Just shoot, clean and repeat.

It depends on what you are going to do with it... and how often you are going to do it :)
 
The SR1911 is a great value. Much better quality overall than the norc (ive owned both). I spent a couple extra bucks on some wilson combat oarts for mine and it shoots like a dream now.

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SDC11363_zps7680d868.jpg
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A good rule of thumb:
Always buy the best you can afford. If a Norc is what you can afford then get it. But if saving for a little while longer gets you into something in the STI price ranges, it's a whole different types world of gun.
 
spitfirefan said:
i bought a mid-level 1911 (sti spartan 9mm and i LOVE it) to start off. its great, 1500+ rounds and never an issue. THEN i bought a norc later on to tinker with to become better acquainted with the 1911. if you buy a norc, rip it apart, alter it and then realize you dont like 1911's you will have wasted a bunch of money that you wont get back if you sell it. if you buy a decent 1911 you'll get a proper impression of what a 1911 is (you wont with a stock norc) and you wont need to alter it very much at all. if you dont like it you can sell it and probably not take such a loss.

i recommend the STI's for a first 1911 but the SR 1911 isnt a bad option either...
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Have you even shot a 1911? I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ but the reason I ask is that some people love 'em (like me) and some hate 'em. It can be a pretty expensive experiment if you drop $1200 on a Kimber or Sig because you want to buy quality and then find out you don't like the platform and take a couple hundred dollar loss to unload it. If you're not sure you're sold on the 1911 then I suggest the Norc until you've decided if the 1911 is for you. Norcs are unique in that they are one of the few guns that never seem to go below a certain price (around $300) despite only being worth slightly more than that new.

If you have tried a 1911 & know it's for you then I agree that you skip the Norc and buy the best you can afford.

spitfirefan said:
if you buy a decent 1911 you'll get a proper impression of what a 1911 is (you wont with a stock norc)
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Aside from fit & finish aren't all 1911s the same mechanically?
 
ted_dent said:
Aside from fit & finish aren't all 1911s the same mechanically?
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In the same way that internal combustion engines are all the same mechanically. A poorly fitted 1911 with junk internals will feel like a completely different gun from a well turned out example. I've worked on a bunch of them so I'm not speaking without some background here.

But I do get what you say about not sinking a ton of money into a platform you aren't sure about. To that I would offer:
There are more 1911 owners out there than you can imagine. Pretty much all of them would let you try their guns out, for free or just the cost of the ammo. If you try a few out and find you don't really like them generally then save your money. But I guarantee that when you try one that is properly set up you will be hooked.
 
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