Norinco AR vs Stag Arms AR

byastremski1987

byastremski1987

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Hey, I would just like to start off by saying I am in NO WAY an expert on firearms nor am i a gun smith or competitive shooter... and I am defiantly not a photographer :p

I'm sure there have been a few posts like this, tho i haven't really seen any, but i thought i would just share this little experience of mine.

The Stag was about $1600 and the Norinco was about $700. Defiantly a significant price difference. This is just to show you what you get for your dollar

So, to start. I am comparing a Stag Arms model 2 and a Norinco CQ.


Out comes the Norinco. Just looking at it, it seems fine looks like a typical AR. Once i pick it up i see lots of rough chattered surfaces, sharp edges and oil blotches. The first thing to catch my eye is the gaping space between the upper and lower receiver. I started to take it apart to see the inside. The take down pins were incredible hard to push in and then fully extend. The back end pulled and swivel up just fine but when i tried to separate the upper from the lower it took a good pull to get them apart. I took the cloth patches out of the bolt carrier and a few other places, gave it a good look in and out. Not to bad looking, nothing seems to be to bad about it. I pull the bolt carrier and charging handle out and take a better look. Not to bad for a $700 rifle. a few machined edges little rough here and there. took the bolt out removed the firing pin and what not. and as per usual sharp rough edges. The first annoying thing that happened was when i was trying to put the pin that holds the firing pin in the bolt and carrier (cant think of the name right now :p) back in. The damn thing would not slide into the 2nd hole. after a few minuets of playing with it, it finally went in. I put the AR back together and pulled the charging handle to see what it felt like. A bit stiff and rough.

After giving it a good clean and lube i took it to the range to sight it in.
Loaded the Mag that came with it with pretty basic American Eagle tactical 55gr ammo. Sliding the Mag into the AR felt very sloppy. The mag doesn't seem like it fits very well. It rocks back and forth and seems like you could almost grab it and just pull it out without pressing the release. The trigger was probably the stiffest I've ever had to deal with. After a bit of sighting in and shooting, the mag jammed up on me only took about 15 rounds. It failed to feed a round into the chamber. I gave the mag a good bump and pulled the charging handle and then away i went again.

Ive owned the Stag for several months now and have fire more than 1000 rounds through it. It has always functioned perfectly and i have had zero malfunctions. I have 4 different types of mags and they all work perfectly with it. I have upgraded lots of bits and pieces of it. it is still the stock upper, lower, trigger, buffer tube and springs. the only thing i have changed that would effect its function would be the gas block. It is a Dlask Arms low profile one. Works great.

After taking both rifles to the range today, First time for the Norinco, without a doubt the stag is a pleasure to shoot. after firing a hand full of 2 round groups at the targets i took a pic of the best group form the Stag and the best from the Norinco. I was 50 yards away and used a red dot sight for both rifles. The Norinco shot most groups around 1-1.5 inches and the stag all within .5 ich.

The Noricno's best 2 round group at 50 yards

Coryrifle.jpg


The Stags best 2 round group at 50 yards

brycerifle.jpg


All in all the Norinco is a decent rifle for the price. If your looking to just get an AR to fart around with and shoot cans or what ever nothing to serious its a great bang for your buck. I would like to get a CZ 858 to compare the two mainly because the prices are almost bang on. I took a few pics to show you a bit of what i was talking about.

Remember I am new to shooting and just got into the AR several months back. IM NO EXPERT NOR DO I THINK I AM. Im just sharing what i found.

Norinco CQ

corygun2.jpg

corygun3.jpg


This is a pic of the space between the upper and lower. I put a white piece of paper behind it to help show you the space

IMG00235-20110127-1528.jpg

IMG00241-20110127-1530.jpg


Norinco CQ

IMG00237-20110127-1529.jpg


Bolt carrier after shooting about 25-30 rounds before cleaning

IMG00245-20110127-1533.jpg

IMG00244-20110127-1533.jpg


here is a couple pics of the Stag just to compare a bit

IMG00248-20110127-1536.jpg

IMG00246-20110127-1535.jpg

IMG00250-20110127-1537.jpg


Anyways, hope this helps some of you decide weather its worth the price to pick up a Norinco or spend the $ on a better build AR :)

IF THIS POST IN ANYWAY SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PUT UP OR FOR SOME REASON I AM NOT ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE THIS PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I AM NEW TO POSTING THESE FORUMS


Cheers and happy shooting! :50cal:
 
Ya 2 rounds certainly doesn't count as a group to me. 10 round groups or even 5 round groups tell a better story than two round. Hell my old POS sks had a few one hole two shot groups at 100 yards before I sold it.
 
Nice post.:wave:

Good side by side comparison. Your upper/lower fit looks really bad, gap wise, and i would probaly return it if the seller would agree. You compared a broke in AR(Stag) that provaly has a much nicer trigger ,to a brand new norc for groups. The Norc with the trigger smoothed out and broken in will probaly be very similar in groups the the Stag. Those stock triggers need alot of work.

I'm glad the seller had mine all cleaned up for me when i picked it up.

:canadaFlag:
 
Interesting comparison, but a 2 round "group" doesn't tell you anything. You should be doing 5 round groups minimum... and do 5 or 6 of them... minimum.

10 rounds groups are preferable.
 
2 round group???

And seriously, you got a POS norc for some reason. Mine is 1000x better than that. No sharp edges, no malfunctions, no slop, excellent finish. Your 2x 50 yard group looks like my 5x 200 yard groups, serious, no e-brag. (handloads, not factory ammo)

That and the finish on mine looks better and I have 0 slop between receivers. Looks like yours was a lemon to me.
 
2 round groups??

Why not??

I have used 2 round groups for many years.

Most competitons I have taken part in require 2 rounds per target.

When I set up a rifle's sighting system I walk the rounds in 1 shot at a time and then shoot 2 round groups to fine tune.

I used to use 3 round groups but couldn't really see any advantage. My competiton guns shoot as accurately as anyone else's.

As far as hunting goes - same thing.
Probably 99+% of the game I have shot over the years has gone down at the first shot. Very rarely I need a second shot to finish the job. The most important consideration in a hunting rifle is where the first round out of a cold barrel hits.

That being said I am not a long range/precision shooter. I shot a lot of longer stuff in the CF but since then most of the rifle work I have done is 200 and under.

So to the OP - nice post and shoot 2 round groups if you like. The results are what counts not what someone else decides constitutes a proper 'group'.

John
 
The reason why i shot 2 at a time was to sight it in. this post wasn't meant to be an accuracy test. 50 yards is def not a distance to test accuracy. The Norc was picked up by a buddy of mine who just got his license. Its the first norc i have ever handled or seen. So if most of you have had them don't have the same type of gap or anything ill defiantly have to talk to the shop where he picked it up from.

thanks for the comments guys :)
 
My norinco m4 is nicer. Easily I can get 2 inch group at 100y with 55gr American Eagle ( 5 shoot). I installed accu-wedge, FF handguard, timney trigger and Leupold 3-9x40 telescope.
With reload, the groups are even smaller.
I bought mine from Ellwood Epps in last July for $720, came with only one 5 shot mag of Bushmaster.
 
WOW! you got a lemon, that gap between your upper and lower is huge, mine is extremely tight with no play at all. I would send it back for an exchange if possible, I know this doesn't help but I feel like I struck gold with mine
walleyelake011.jpg
 
RememberTheSomme said:
Nice post.:wave:

Good side by side comparison. Your upper/lower fit looks really bad, gap wise, and i would probaly return it if the seller would agree. You compared a broke in AR(Stag) that provaly has a much nicer trigger ,to a brand new norc for groups. The Norc with the trigger smoothed out and broken in will probaly be very similar in groups the the Stag. Those stock triggers need alot of work.

I'm glad the seller had mine all cleaned up for me when i picked it up.

:canadaFlag:
Click to expand...

I found my nork trigger extreamly bad when it first arrived but after working it its smothed out a tone, its still no timmy drop in but ive grown to like it
 
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