Norinco 1911 Round Count

I don't want to get into the mine is bigger than yours crap but I have 3 --1911's. Two Colts (one made in 1914, 2nd made in 1945) and I have a Norc that I picked up in a swap a couple yrs ago. Both Colts have been shot almost every weekend for the past 25 years and have uncountable rounds thru them and I and my son still use them for IPSC competition, (stock) . The Norc shoots as well as the Colts and when I get around to doing a little more work on it to smooth it out, I may retire my oldest Colt. Is a Norc a good firearm ----IMHO yes......... Is a Colt 1911a1 the best handgun in the world --- yes --- IMHO.

Dave
 
Norc - Good Value for a 1911 Pistol

Bookworm said:
I don't want to get into the mine is bigger than yours crap but I have 3 --1911's. Two Colts (one made in 1914, 2nd made in 1945) and I have a Norc that I picked up in a swap a couple yrs ago. Both Colts have been shot almost every weekend for the past 25 years and have uncountable rounds thru them and I and my son still use them for IPSC competition, (stock) . The Norc shoots as well as the Colts and when I get around to doing a little more work on it to smooth it out, I may retire my oldest Colt. Is a Norc a good firearm ----IMHO yes......... Is a Colt 1911a1 the best handgun in the world --- yes --- IMHO.

Dave
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What Dave says has merit. I've owned a lot of 1911's over the years. A lot of them have been Colts...

I also owned a Norc 1911A-1 compact for awhile. I wouldn't hesitate to own another Norc 1911A-1 pistol. If I did though, I'd spend the extra $$ and get a 'tuned' one from Armco. :cool:
 
I have banged out 150 from my new Commander quite happy with it.

I think I will get him to massage my NZ-85b once my wife has forgotten how much I have spent on my guns lately.
 
capp325 said:
Canuck44,

Hardness and quality are two completely different things. Steel that is overly hard is brittle and prone to cracking. If what you're saying about Norinco steel is true, it is an indication of improper heat treating, not superior metallurgy.
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Not true, at leat entirely true.

I have taken a course in metallurgy as part of my degree. This course involved observing failed parts to determine what type of failure occurred, alloys, as well as changing metal properties through heat-treating.

If the proper alloy is used the metal can be heated to extremely high temperatures and then cooled rapidly (perhaps an oil bath) to induce high tensile carbon strength, but it will still be brittle.

To make the metal less brittle but still hard, the metal then needs to be heated again and cooled more slowly to give it a less brittle characteristic.

While taking this class all students made tool punches of high carbon steel, to go through the process. Punches not properly heat treated (annealing) would fracture on impact with a hammer.

Hard metal is not necessarily brittle.

Proper heat treating is a science that takes into account the alloy of the metal and its practical purpose.

P.S. I have a Norinco 1911 and it is great with lots of round through it and no failures.
 
Unregistered said:
Just how durable / rugged are these Norincos anyway? I dropped mine from 4 feet in the gun cabinet.
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And it should have been fine afterwards - was it? Maybe some blueing nicks or scratches at most?
 
Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd revive this old one if possible.

I just want to read more answers to the OP's original questions:

how many rounds have you put through your Norinco 1911???
How is that barrel and frame holding up?
Anything need replacing?
Thanx to all with good info with respect to this topic.
 
I have something around 3K rnds on my 1911 Nork Commander with NO failure at all.
changed the original recoil spring after 1.5K rnds with a Wolff 18lbs
very accurate and reliable, a very good gun !
 
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Well slap my *ss and call me stupid! I have been a fan of Colt for a number of years, my father had two and we shot those things until we smelled like ...ummm...smokey. well over 20,000 rounds in total. Over the years I hit a few indoor ranges and shot some pretty beat up Kimbers and such and was mildly impressed. Those things had to have at least 50,000 plus as well, maybe more.

Went south and visited a buddy. He had a Norky 1911 and, of all things a Remy 1911. They both shot very well. Yup, both are modestly priced and I favoured the Remy for two reasons.

1) The pointed hand guard thingy.
2) The safety lever on both sides.

They both went bang every time we pulled the triggers and we shot about 300 rounds (leads) each.

I have a Poly M14 and may just yet get the Norky GI, but from what I saw, I think I will buy the Remy.

Hee Hee!...Now call me stupid and slap me silly! :runaway: :HR:
 
Update on mine: ~8.5k on each. Both running flawlessly without any major issues or replacements. Some of the bluing is starting to wear (faintly) but cosmetically and functionally sound. No rust or pitting anywhere. Accuracy has actually improved over time, but I suppose the operator may have something to do with that! Replacement wood grips were starting to look worn so swapped back the original plastics.

Note that they are used heavily and not given any special treatment in comparision to their stablemates, but are *not* abused either.
 
1500 rounds of fairly hot lead reloads. Cleaned once when I got it to get the gunk out and then maybe twice after that. ONE stovepipe so far, that's the ONLY failure I've had.
 
7000 rounds through my Norc Compact (Commander) Zero failures, bought from Armco with Novak sights and an extended (tacticool) thumb safety plus the usual Armco goodness. I changed all the springs at 3500 rounds for Wolffe's factory springs, I won't change anything again for another 5,000 or so, and then just the recoil spring. There is barely any visible wear on the pistol, some on the breach face and some very slight wear around the grip. No wear visible on the rails and barely any on the barrel hood. This is a very capable pistol, it will dump a full mag into one ragged hole in the head of a B27 target at 25 yards. One reason for this is the Armco trigger job, it really is worth having, 3-1/2 lbs clean with minimal take up and a near perfect break.

PS Holy Thread Revival, Batman - this ones nearly undead!
 
I've put about a K in my new to me 1911c since I got it in February, I've had a few failures to go into battery but I think its the fault of the ultra crappy mags. I plan on getting some Mec-Gar's soon.
 
Ok, I'll play too. I'm up to a wopping 200 rounds :eek:. I bought it last week and only had it out once. It had a couple feed problems in the first 30 or 40 rounds but none after that. It's my first 1911 and my first .45, I think I'll keep it. :D
 
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