Do I really have to exchange this 1911 barrel?

Conte said:
Hmmm. I wonder if this is a problem with bad fit to begin with, and a different barrel might fend better.

You guys figure Norc's are fitted ? They seem loose like they were built old school style, where all the parts are stacked in such a way to allow universal fit.
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If I had to guess, I would think there is no fitting, but probably several boxes of parts all lined up. The assembler grabs a sear and a hammer, if they click, great. If not, grab another sear.

Norincos are not well built guns, they're randomly built guns, on frames and slides machined from excellent forgings. If you're relying on the build quality of the factory for parts interface, you have to have either:

1) extremely low standards

or

2) a high tolerance for disappointment.


The upside is that they do build them according to a pretty old school "philosophy" if you can call it that. The guns are not tight. They aren't fitted at all; if anything they're clearanced. But 1911s don't need to be tight to run well. They can be loose as hell and work perfectly. Some types of sloppiness they will absolutely forgive.

However if the barrel link is too long...
 
I still say when you buy Nork you need to expect problems.....could be minor, could be major, but expect something to be "wrong" with it. If you get one that is perfect then you won the cheap gun lottery. There is little to no QC by the manufacturer, none by the distributor. CanAm had to proof test their last lot of shorty M14's ffs.....
 
For the price of a new barrel it's better to be safe than sorry. They can be had cheaper if you can look around a bit. Probably find a decent one on the EE for cheap-ish.
 
misanthropist said:
If I had to guess, I would think there is no fitting, but probably several boxes of parts all lined up. The assembler grabs a sear and a hammer, if they click, great. If not, grab another sear.

Norincos are not well built guns, they're randomly built guns, on frames and slides machined from excellent forgings. If you're relying on the build quality of the factory for parts interface, you have to have either:

1) extremely low standards

or

2) a high tolerance for disappointment.


The upside is that they do build them according to a pretty old school "philosophy" if you can call it that. The guns are not tight. They aren't fitted at all; if anything they're clearanced. But 1911s don't need to be tight to run well. They can be loose as hell and work perfectly. Some types of sloppiness they will absolutely forgive.

However if the barrel link is too long...
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Just like the old GI Colts and they have a pretty impressive scalp count.
 
This is how I look at it. New barrel + shipping + gunsmith + {shipping x 2} = 75% total gun value aka not worth it. Either replace barrel and sell to recoup some money or new paper weight or new hammer.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Just like the old GI Colts and they have a pretty impressive scalp count.
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Absolutely...I'm not much of a historian so I don't know what the assembly process they used was exactly but I am guessing they used drop-in gauges of some sort for checking the parts fit. NAA may have some insight in to this, he's far more informed on the history of the gun than I am.

It's a quick and dirty approach to fitting guns but it does work pretty well. Granted, the old GI Colts didn't have to stand up to the kind of round counts that people today demand - I'd be amazed if many of them saw a thousand rounds before being returned to the arsenal. But they were loose, rattly, RELIABLE guns.

If Norinco builds a jillion guns and some break barrel lugs...not very surprising IMO. Overall, if you want a workhorse 1911, built GI style, I think they're pretty good. The less they deviate from the A1 design, the better they tend to be (in my experience). The Sport and Police models I have seen more headaches with (although they have been relatively minor issues with sights etc. I still have not seen issues of the type I have seen with cheap American guns, which generally use an assembly method that is more like the modern "fitted" method...just with lousy fitting and poor frame geometry).
 
instead of paying $100 + for a new barrel, just get the can am combo. at $499 its hard to beat, and if you sell the ammo, the gun works out to be about $180. Then sell your old gun for parts minus barrel and you will probably recoup that $180 and have brand new gun. win win
 
luke s said:
instead of paying $100 + for a new barrel, just get the can am combo. at $499 its hard to beat, and if you sell the ammo, the gun works out to be about $180. Then sell your old gun for parts minus barrel and you will probably recoup that $180 and have brand new gun. win win
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And part-out the rest of the barrelless gun, to folks wanting to upgrade their Kimbers.
 
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Buy a new gun, its not worth the risk of just replacing the barrel. Guns are a lot more disposable than most guys realize. You got a bad one, might have better luck next time.
 
I would take the opportunity to seriously juice up your norc. I've been looking at a 6 inch bull barrel from brownells which would be a pretty sweet shooter i'd imagine, once you have your slide milled for the reverse plug. You'll have to replace it eventually, why not spend a couple extra bucks on a decent barrel instead of another norc one?
 
I also agree with buying another canam combo. And not because I bought one.
Over a decade ago I bought a new Remington 7400. The first hunting trip revealed a broken gas block on the barrel, and the gun was out of warranty at the time. Crap happens and you move on.
 
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