Is the Norinco 1911 as good as it looks?

[kjohn]

To the OP, gun snobs can thank companies like Marstar for bringing in Norinco, which has made shooting pistol affordable. I never would have been able to afford to get into restricted firearms without Norinco(my first pistol was a 1911a1). They are good pistols for the money, and you dont have to spend 2000 on it. I have fired many, yet to see a lemon. If you really had to buy 4 of them to get one that works, companies like Marstar(which offer a warranty on their Norc pisols) would be out of business!

^^ Well said.

 

[gnmontey]

just waiting on some parts to smooth it all out

Send it to Gunnar! You will NOT be disappointed.

 

[geologist]

I have an NP-29 and it has been great out of the box. It shoots jhps without a hitch and has been as reliable as my G17. Mine came from Marstar so it was a safe buy as they support their products.

 

[nelly]

I had a Norc 1911, and was very disappointed. I gave it to my wife, she traded it towards an XD9, and is now very happy. I think my signature line sums it up for my opinion...

 

[Can-down]

As good as it looks......some of them are better then they look.
They can be a little rough around the edges in the looks department although the newer ones have improved in the fit and finish.
All mine needed a bit of de-horning of sharp edges in order to feel good.

 

[easyrider604]

NAA is the MAN!!! Agree 100% If I add another word, it can get real nasty

An interesting point of view.... I do wonder if this is based on having owned Norinco 1911's, based on having owned just one that turned out to be a lemon, or having owned none & just conjecture?

Anyway, I will preface my remarks by saying I have been "into" 1911's for ~ 30 years now. I have easily owned dozens of different ones in that time. In the early years it was mostly Colt 1911/1911A1's or USGI 1911A1's as that was what there was. As the years have gone by and more makers have jumped on the 1911 bandwagon I have had others as well, including several Norinco 1911's. However, I still do have yet to own a Kimber.

Of those Norinco 1911's that I have owned I personally have yet to get a lemon amongst them. I currently have 5 Norinco 1911's, a mid series Norinco compact [commander]; an older full size 1911A1, two NP-29's [the full size 1911A1 single stack chambered in 9mm] and a custom built up on an armacoated full size Norinco 1911A1 frame with other maker internal parts in the frame and a Colt Series 70 top-end with Wilson combat sites. Not an issue amongst them.

Are they Kimbers? No. Are they Colts? No. But, if you want a decent economical single stack 1911A1 then I say they are decent value for the money. Personally, if I was just starting out I'd opt for a new or used Norinco 1911A1 or compact [commander model] via site sponsor, Armco. What you will get is a nicely smoothed out 1911A1 that will come with a 1 year warranty. IMHO, it doesn't get much better than that.

http://www.armco-guns.com/Used%20Guns%20For%20Sale.htm

My 02.....

NAA.

 

[mikeyb]

I gotta admit, the Nork doesn't look that good. In fact, the finish leaves something to be desired. So "as good as it looks" can be misleading, since they are generally good plinkers and a perfect introduction to 1911's, something cheap you won't be afraid to tinker with a bit and fully upgradeable, but not exactly the ###iest thing on the shelves.

EDIT: I'd also suggest looking into a pre-tuned Nork from Armco... Just leave some for me.

 

[Wendell]

From the thread Which 1911 in 45ACP to get.... what sights to get? :

People recommend the spartan because it has all the bells and whistles at a low price point. If you were to buy a norinco and build it with the same bells and whistles of the spartan you will end up spending more money.

Naturally, I'm biased and I totally agree with Jason's comment only adding - ...in the end - you'll either have a very usable gun with a lifetime warranty backed by one of the Worlds best 1911 manufacturers or a hyundai accent that's driven through the accessories section of Canadian Tire - (psst...it's still an Accent)

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2594075&postcount=16

And the Norinco cannot be taken to the United States.

 

[lil_juiced_coupe]

Good lord people, its a freaking 350 dollar gun! If people are happy with it then thats fantastic, I wish I could find a gun I liked for that money!Personally Norcs are not for me, handled one hated it, felt cheap then thought to myself well what more could you expect from a gun in that price range? People comparing kimbers, colts etc to a 350 dollar gun are coocoo imo. I will admit I have been spoiled by owning a Sig 1911 commander in ss.

 

[NAA]

I gotta admit, the Nork doesn't look that good. In fact, the finish leaves something to be desired.

I dunno.... here's an older one I scored off the EE very reasonably awhile back.... I thought it 'cleaned up' quite nice after I added some new grips from the parts box.....

NAA.

 

[Shalimar]

NAA;
I could not have said it better myself, thank you....

It is quite amazing how many expert opinions we have here.... I find it quite interesting that we sell thousands of Norinco pistols every year, which we fully garantee under our no BS warranty policy, we have very few problems, very few issues....

BTW, since you already own several, have a look at our latest >>>> http://www.marstar.ca/gf-norinco/1911A1-Sport-TT.shtm

John

Indeed this one looks very nice... too bad you don't have the same done in 9mm (single or dbl stack)

Value wise though no one can really argue it's an excellent bang for your buck.. pardon the pun.

 

[Shalimar]

I dunno.... here's an older one I scored off the EE very reasonably awhile back.... I thought it 'cleaned up' quite nice after I added some new grips from the parts box.....

NAA.

Nuthin wrong with that IMO

 

[mikeyb]

I dunno.... here's an older one I scored off the EE very reasonably awhile back.... I thought it 'cleaned up' quite nice after I added some new grips from the parts box.....

NAA.

Oh yeah, those grips really do the gun a favor. Much nicer!

 

[Farmboy]

Ran my brand new Norc 1911 on a pistol course this weekend. Never fired before the course.

About 400 rounds downrange and the only issue was one failure to feed. Put some gunzilla on it right after that, and a few more times during the day. No other issues.


I have shot two brand new Para's out of the box which had failure to feed problems, quite often.

My though on the Para's was tighter chambers. Maybe, maybe not. However my Norc had less problems right off the bat. What the future holds, well, we'll see.

 

[Shazam]

ChipMcCormick Lipstick on my Chinese pigs

worth every penny ... I"ve Duracoated, re-blued and lightened the triggers, as well as tweeked the frames and springs etc ... they are great guns (run smooth - given the time in on them). But out of the box they are rough ... USGI or ChipMcCormick mags ONLY! The Norinco mags suck.

 

[gnmontey]

So how does one close this case without smirshing the two guns together?

 

[Until the Angels Fall]

Get a tuned one from Armco and some good mags and your set.

 

[gnmontey]

Get a tuned one from Armco and some good mags and your set.

Amen! And pass the ammo.

 

[jennis]

My brother has the 'commander' model and has beat the literal piss out of it with nary a hiccup , as far as firearms and torture testing his job classification has him in the 'know' and he whole heartedly recommends them with 0 qualms

 

[BP7]

Based on owning just one and taking it completely apart: decent on the outside and rough and ugly on the inside. Trigger sucks unless it gets tweaked, sights on new Commander are UGLY and huge, and the grip panels are probably old bicycle tires. But it's a cheap gun to screw around with and immediately turn into a tinker piece and to practice some gunsmithing & refinishing. I wouldn't make it my MAIN gun, though.