Good news everyone! I finally had time to do a shooting test. Best part is, I did not die and/or get severely injured.
The Norinco 780, bottom line, shoots. While I did not have the time and resources to make a video of me speaking in a Russian accent and blowing up my only car, I did snap some pictures. Enjoy.
In total, around 30 shots were fired during this session with the 780. These two first pictures show the rounds I tried out. In order:
-Remington 2 3/4 inch Magnum 00 Buckshot
-Federal Classic 2 3/4 inch #2 Steel Shot
-Winchester X Super 2 3/4 inch #4 Lead Shot
-Winchester Xpert High Velocity 3 inch #2 Lead Shot
-(Second Picture) Unknown make, ''Challenger", Magnum, 2 3/4 inch (Found this at the last minute in one of the shell boxes)
The first rounds fired were the Winchester 2 3/4 inch. I started by putting just one in the chamber. The result of the first shot was this (at around 5 yards, maybe a bit more):
As you can see, it fired just fine. Thing is, when came the time to rack the slide, it just didn't feel like it.
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't rack the slide. So I decided to do the next best thing. Which is, holding it by the slide and slamming it stock first into the ground. This made the round come out without any side effects. Being a firm believer that you must always be given a second chance, I decided to try again. This time, I put 3 rounds in the tube and then racked the slide, which made it 2+1. I fired once again with success. Again, the slide just wouldn't let it slide. So I did ''the trick" again, with success. I chambered and fired the second shot. Did "the trick" again. This time, I got the slide open, but...
...I had to extract it manually with the help of a knife.
So then, all good. I tried to chamber the last round, but a little problem came up. The shell didn't want to come out of the tube. Furiously racking the slide fixed the problem in the end. All parts of this "sequence" were perfectly replicated with both Winchesters and the Remington. Also, sometimes the shell just wouldn't fit into the tube. This it because the 2 shell grabbing arms things (pardon my language) around the tube sometimes did not open up. The Winchester 3 inch, as an example, did this when I first attempted to insert one in the tube:
The problem was once again fixed by furiously racking the slide, eventually making the 2 parts open wide.
(Before continuing, here is a picture of the shot pattern of the Remington Buckshot at 20 yards. The bead sight on this is somewhat off, which resulted in me missing my target.)
The last 2 types of shells, the Federal and Blue Magnums/Unknowns, were a completely different story. They functioned just fine. I was able to insert the shells, cycle, fire, and eject without fault. In fact, I fired all that remained of the Federal ammunition. Why does the gun not like the other types of shell? I haven't a clue. Best thing to do would be to go to Canadian Tire and get one box of each type of 12 Gauge they have, testing each one to see if they work, then see if the "approved" shells have anything in common... but as they say, ain't nobody got time (or money) for that.
After shooting what was left of the Federal, I decided to try the 3 inch Winchester again. Two in the tube, one in the chamber. First shot fired, then I attempted "the trick". The shell failed to eject, and this happened:
This pretty much paralyzed the gun, since shells jammed every available opening. Long story short, I ended having to field strip the gun completely to get the shells out of the tube and was then allowed to rack the slide to get the spent shell out.
I decided to load the exact same rounds again, in the exact same configuration. I payed for my repeated insolence. When racking the slide back into the closed position, this happened:
And after a little push...
After that, I decided to let go of the 12 Gauge and shot some x39 out of my SKS. Once back at home, I tried fixing the problem, once again. When field stripping however, this happened:
Might I point out this is not supposed to happen. Basically, the welds just fell apart in these two spots. Because I had exhausted all my welding supplies and would not have felt like welding at 22:00 anyways, I applied a liberal amount of contact glue and let it sit all night. In the morning, I was able to put the gun back together and rack the slide like nothing ever happened. Don't know how long it will last, but next time I'll do a proper welding job.
In conclusion, can the Norinco 780 shoot? Yes, yes it can. Can it completely function without any problems? No, no it can't, unless you feed it Federal and mysterious blue magnum shells. It shoots relatively well, and it is fun. It's a 14 inch barreled shotgun, so it has a healthy amount of recoil. This recoil is manageable and comfortable, probably due to the well made butt-pad. For $99, why not? If you find the right ammo and don't decide to ignore warning signs like I did, might work for a while. Just be aware that some tinkering knowledge WILL be required. This is not a shotgun I would hand down to my child as his or her first gun. Whatever you do, it will act weird at some point.
I will continue to use mine until it breaks in a manner that is not repairable without spare parts. Again, if anybody has any parts or ammo they want me to test on it, I'm up for it. Just send me a PM or give this thread a reply.
Finally, fellow Nutz...
Happy and safe shooting.