I like the Norinco 1911 so much I bought a second one. They are the best bang for the buck, but I love my Colt too.
You might consider purchacing from Armco. His tightening, lightening & smoothing is worth the little extra,....believe me!
I am of the exact same opinion!
Last year I ordered my Norinco on-line and while I was waiting for it, I came across and purchased a new Colt Series 70 Repro - an extremely beautiful unit! It made me think I should not have bothered with the Norinco - but it was too late.
When the Norc arrived, I was very disappointed, BUT NOT for the reason you might think - it was because the Norinco was of far, far better quality than I had imagined. The 800 dollar price difference did not really seem justified. In fact, I started to think, if I had it to do all over again, I would not have purchased the Colt. Mind you, I did get over that thought, and resigned myself to the fact that I now had TWO great guns.
As an aside; I had even found myself taking the Norinco to the range and leaving the Colt home in the safe; thinking I was saving the Colt from unnecessary wear and tear. After a while, I came to the conclusion that the real reason was, I just plain liked using the Norinco!
In my opinion, you will never go wrong with the Norc. And as has been said, I will always love my Colt, but given the availability Norinco's, the "The Rush to Colt" can be notched down a little.