CZ 75 recoil spring in a Norinco NP40

[yidava25]

Thought I’d post this so someone googling this question gets an answer.
I’m not a big handgun guy, got a few cheapos just before the wall went up, including a secondhand NP40. Don’t think I’ve ever been able to run a full mag through it without at least one stoppage. It always felt like it had an excessively heavy recoil spring. Not much out there for Norinco parts so I figured I’d take a chance and try a lighter CZ75 spring. Ordered an 11 lb Eeman Tech spring, and it dropped right in. It’s probably a little too light, because now there’s occasionally a noticeable delay/hesitation before the slide fully locks on the next round, but no more jams with Federal 155 gr. Still getting a few with CCI Blazer aluminum case stuff but not nearly as many as before. Also a lot easier to rack the slide now which is nice.
Think I read that a stock spring in a cz is 16 lbs, so I might try a 13 lb yet and see if that speeds up the cycle but still doesn’t jam.
Hope this helps someone someday, there was very little info out there when I tried to research whether the NP40 is a true enough clone that some parts are interchangeable.

 

[Meroh]

40 S&W is a hotter, more powerful round than 9mm. I'm running a CZ 11 lb spring in my NZ 85B with loads reduced a bit below minimum. With a spring that light in a .40, I expect that it will hammer itself to pieces over time.

Yes, most of the internal parts are interchangable, maybe even the slide. Norks slides have more of a "Tanfoglio"; which is for the most part a CZ clone as is the Sphinx and the Jericho.

If you want to make it into a real shooter, get a pair of CZ overfolded rubber grips (you will need to ream the holes slightly as Nork uses slightly larger grip screws than CZ, but the fit right on) and reduce the weight of the hammer spring to as low as you can go without have light strikes. It will really help the already factory good trigger. My NZ has been bullet proof, and holds it's own with handguns of all kinds; including the 75's and Shadows. I owned a lot of different Nork pistols, and it is the NZ and the 1911 with the target sights that I have kept, and I still love them both.