New 1911 Mags from Marstar problems with Norincos?

harbl_the_cat

harbl_the_cat

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Hey all,

I just bought 5 mags from Marstar for my Nork 1911 Government.

I figure to try them out so I slap one of the mags in (empty) #### it and my slide stop doesn't catch.

I take the slide off and it looks like the part of the magazine follower that's supposed to engage the slide stop is too short - it slips past the slide stop catch and doesn't activate it.

Should I buy a new slide stop or are the magazines moot?

Thanks!
 
What brand are the mags? Mecgar or Nork brand?

I bought norc mags for my NP-30 nickel, only 3 work right. As soon as I find my reciept im going to contact marstar to try and exchange. 1 of them only holds 9 rounds instead of 10, the other 2 fail to feed on the 10th round.
 
Norinco...When it absolutely has to fail...

It amazes me why anyone would continue to buy their products when the list of issues is never ending.

TDC
 
I only bought the 7 rounders. I think they're the American made ones - on the bottom it says "Colt 45 Auto" on them and I read somewhere that only the American ones have that stamp on it.

It's funny because when I first bought the 1911, I bought 5 mags that I presume are the Norinco ones (they smelled like it and had nothing stamped on them) and I have had zero problems with them.
 
harbl_the_cat said:
Hey all,

I just bought 5 mags from Marstar for my Nork 1911 Government.

I figure to try them out so I slap one of the mags in (empty) #### it and my slide stop doesn't catch.

I take the slide off and it looks like the part of the magazine follower that's supposed to engage the slide stop is too short - it slips past the slide stop catch and doesn't activate it.

Should I buy a new slide stop or are the magazines moot?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I would try replacing the spring from a mag you have that works.
 
The Cocker said:
What brand are the mags? Mecgar or Nork brand?

I bought norc mags for my NP-30 nickel, only 3 work right. As soon as I find my reciept im going to contact marstar to try and exchange. 1 of them only holds 9 rounds instead of 10, the other 2 fail to feed on the 10th round.
Click to expand...

My friend has a 30. He uses a mag loader of a sort. Press down hard with an empty .40 brass. But 1/5 did not function at all. It seemed to be too narrow up front.
 
Are the mag bodies smooth and relatively shiney? Is the mag follower rounded or flat on top?

The Norinco mags are usually a matte on the bodies with grinding lines evident under the finish. The followers are flat and often coarse looking. They seem to function poorly and were prone to not tripping the hold open.

The aftermarket USGI ones that they had the last time were nice and shiney with rounded followers and work well.

harbl_the_cat said:
I only bought the 7 rounders. I think they're the American made ones - on the bottom it says "Colt 45 Auto" on them and I read somewhere that only the American ones have that stamp on it.

It's funny because when I first bought the 1911, I bought 5 mags that I presume are the Norinco ones (they smelled like it and had nothing stamped on them) and I have had zero problems with them.
Click to expand...
 
I have not had a problem with Nork 7 round mags but I did have to replace the follower in a Metalform 8 rounder with one from a Norinco to get it to hold back on the last round.....
 
Marstar is very good about backing what they sell. Just call them and arrange to send back the ones that don't work. That's what I'm going to do. They are always more than willing to make stuff right. Also found Armco to be really good about backing their stuff too.
 
TDC said:
Norinco...When it absolutely has to fail...

It amazes me why anyone would continue to buy their products when the list of issues is never ending.

TDC
Click to expand...

I have a spankin new Norinco compact .45ACP 1911 that came with two of their cheap looking mags. Both work flawlessly, as does the pistol. Even feeds factory Fiocchi 230 gr JHP like there's no tomorrow..... :cool:

Go figure! :eek:
 
Last edited:
harbl_the_cat said:
I take the slide off and it looks like the part of the magazine follower that's supposed to engage the slide stop is too short - it slips past the slide stop catch and doesn't activate it.

Should I buy a new slide stop or are the magazines moot?
Click to expand...

harbl_the_cat said:
I only bought the 7 rounders. I think they're the American made ones - on the bottom it says "Colt 45 Auto" on them and I read somewhere that only the American ones have that stamp on it.

It's funny because when I first bought the 1911, I bought 5 mags that I presume are the Norinco ones (they smelled like it and had nothing stamped on them) and I have had zero problems with them.
Click to expand...

The problem with those 'generic' Colt marked .45 Mags likely lies with the mag follower. You have already identified that the part that is supposed to engage the slide stop when the last round has been fired to lock the slide open is too short & does not do the job. Likely if you replace the followers in the mags with correct ones they will work fine. Or live with the problem that your slide doesn't lock back when the mags are empty. No need for a new slide stop at this point, though.
 
The Cocker said:
Marstar is very good about backing what they sell. Just call them and arrange to send back the ones that don't work. That's what I'm going to do. They are always more than willing to make stuff right. Also found Armco to be really good about backing their stuff too.
Click to expand...

best to call them,...they don't respond to emails...at all.
I'm still waiting for some stuff from them,...but the stuff did get was as advertised.
 
I read somewhere that the nork slide stops are slightly shorter than most 1911 clones. It is quite evident with the new mags that it's just slightly short to engage the follower. I think that being the case - getting a new slide stop might be the key.

spi, the mags I have that work appear to be the Norinco ones (a matte on the bodies with grinding lines evident under the finish. The followers are flat and often coarse looking.)

The new ones I bought appear to be the aftermarket USGI ones you described.

I don't want to send my gun back to marstar if the problem is just the slide stop (which I believe it is). I'll post a picture to show what I mean.
 
Hmm, don't know what to tell you then. The aftermarket USGI ones that I got from Marstar function well in my Norinco, it's the actual Norinco mags that I have had issues with.


harbl_the_cat said:
I read somewhere that the nork slide stops are slightly shorter than most 1911 clones. It is quite evident with the new mags that it's just slightly short to engage the follower. I think that being the case - getting a new slide stop might be the key.

spi, the mags I have that work appear to be the Norinco ones (a matte on the bodies with grinding lines evident under the finish. The followers are flat and often coarse looking.)

The new ones I bought appear to be the aftermarket USGI ones you described.

I don't want to send my gun back to marstar if the problem is just the slide stop (which I believe it is). I'll post a picture to show what I mean.
Click to expand...
 
I thought I'd bump this.

I got a call from Marstar - they said the USGI mags causing the problem were defective and they had this problem in the past.

Problem was the mags - not the Nork.

Don't blame the gun when it's the mags fault!
 
Funny it's been the other way with me, both colt and McCormick mags do not work in my Nork, but the cheap mags just keep working and working. The angle of the 8rd Mccormick mag follower seemed to be the problem.
 
I went out and bought some spiffy stainless/competition follower/Wolffe Springed mags for my Norc - won't do that again :redface: Mec Gars are OK, a little flimsy maybe and pretty spendy. The butt ugly, poorly finished, grind marks everywhere Norc mags - brilliant. Absolutely zero problems in 1500+ rounds, drop 'em, stand on 'em (oops) generally abuse them and they keep on working. I'll take junk like that any day.
 
highlander said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by TDC View Post
Norinco...When it absolutely has to fail...

It amazes me why anyone would continue to buy their products when the list of issues is never ending.

TDC

I couldn't agree more; there is truth to the saying " you get what you pay for "
Click to expand...

Since as opposed to few folks here, not everyone is sitting on a pile of cash to afford super duper handguns. At the same time, they want to keep shooting and contribute to the sport. Please stop Norinco bashing.
 
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