Norinco/DA AR-15 Problems

Have you had problems with your Norinco/DA AR-15?

  • I had a Norinco/DA AR-15 and it never had any problems

    Votes: 132 79.5%
  • I had a Norinco/DA AR-15 and it had minor problems

    Votes: 15 9.0%
  • I had a Norinco/DA AR-15 and it had major problems

    Votes: 6 3.6%
  • I personally handled a Norinco AR-15 that had problems. I did not own this Norinco/DA AR-15.

    Votes: 13 7.8%

  • Total voters
    166
That's a good TWO DAYS for some people, dude.

Yeah, anyone who shoots 800 rounds in 2 days is going to get a nicer gun. I love my Norinco , but if I was a "serious" shooter, I'd spring the cash for a DD or some other domestic AR. I only stress how good these are when $$ is concerned. There IS NO BETTER GUN ON THE MARKET for a price/quality point . There are lots of better guns, but they cost more than an average economy rifle. I just meant that I shot 800s round without any cleaning of the gun and it still ran like a top. No FTF/FTE etc.
 
What's the fit and finish like in comparison to the AR?

I could go into detail, but EVERY SINGLE SCREW on the gun was loose, like not a few of them, 100%
The stock was force fed to the receiver, it was too shallow on one side, stuck out on the other.
The fore end piece wiggles like it wants to party. Exceptionally loose.
The gun doesn't like to open after it's fired, everything jams up good. 2xx with low brass but that's somewhat common with low brass. My buddy bought one as well and we open them by breaking their backs across our knee.
Oil leaks out from the seam between the receiver and the barrels for, well let's just say forever. Almost invisible seam, but there must be a void in there somewhere for oil to continue to come out (1 year later).
Safety likes to go "unsafe" when you squeeze the trigger. Interesting feature, I've considered it more of a decorative piece.


That said, it's a $300 shotty. It is what it is. I still stand by my barrel of monkeys statement :)
 
I don't have the Coach Gun, but I picked up the Outlaw and the finish on that was pretty nice, even nicer than my AR, but maybe I got lucky? Beautiful wood, nice bluing on the steel, and no burrs or visible machine marks.

You honestly should strip it down and check the screw tightness just for safety. It's a fairly common complaint that the norinco factory uses dried fish scales taped to chopsticks instead of screwdrivers.
The wood finish actually is fairly nice, and don't get me wrong, I like mine, but if I'd paid $1000 for it I never would have bought it :)


Oh and I meant the outlaw, but I have always called these things coach guns, regardless of length I think.
 
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You honestly should strip it down and check the screw tightness just for safety. It's a fairly common complaint that the norinco factory uses dried fish scales taped to chopsticks instead of screwdrivers.
The wood finish actually is fairly nice, and don't get me wrong, I like mine, but if I'd paid $1000 for it I never would have bought it :)


Oh and I meant the outlaw, but I have always called these things coach guns, regardless of length I think.

Haha, I definitely checked every screw, mine was tight. Paid $210 when they were on sale, hard to go wrong with that price.

Now, looking at this thread compared to the NEA thread:

NEA: 108 people who've had no issues whatsoever versus 60 who had major issues and 52 with minor issues.
Norinco: 77 people who've had no issues whatsoever versus 3 who've had major issues, and 8 with minor issues.

Might be a little too early to say the stats speak for themselves, but we're kind of getting an idea of which way it's headed?
 
I luv my Norinco CQ-A (AR15) I've never had a mechanical problem ever!
The biggest problem I find is getting my hands on reasonably priced accessories...
Amazon.com is full of free float hand guards, grips, buttstocks etc at great prices but it seems that they can't or won't ship these items to Canada.
Suggestions?
 
NEA: 108 people who've had no issues whatsoever versus 60 who had major issues and 52 with minor issues.
Norinco: 77 people who've had no issues whatsoever versus 3 who've had major issues, and 8 with minor issues.

Might be a little too early to say the stats speak for themselves, but we're kind of getting an idea of which way it's headed?

I kind of expected Norinco would fare better - but this is a blowout.
 
I luv my Norinco CQ-A (AR15) I've never had a mechanical problem ever!
The biggest problem I find is getting my hands on reasonably priced accessories...
Amazon.com is full of free float hand guards, grips, buttstocks etc at great prices but it seems that they can't or won't ship these items to Canada.
Suggestions?

Also, keep your eye on the EE. Some people tend to 'go another direction' with their builds so you can pick up new parts for (hopefully but not always) less than retail.
 
I'm curious: how well to the norinco parts integrate with US-made stuff? In particular, how well to Norinco lowers fit on US-uppers and vice versa?

I had an Armalite lower that I'd built with a Stag LPK sitting around and wanted to play commandos so I put a 10.5 Norc upper on it - the fit of the upper to lower was absolutely perfect, not "hammer it in" tight and not "sloppy seconds" loose - no play and no wobble. I did a quick and dirty bolt "rebuild" before I shot a round and didn't have any issues. I ended up selling it to my local gunsmith, he loves it. Norc barrels appear to last around 10K which really doesn't matter to the average shooter, but even if you're a heavily addicted shooter, you can always fit another barrel if yours goes south after 10K and be ahead on cost.
 
It seems Norinco won from NEA.right?

NEA had an absolute crapload of issues in the beginning, there are less issues now, but I'd really only get an NEA if I was going to replace the BCG/FH and probably trigger group. So in essence I'd be buying an upper/lower/barrel combo and putting my own stuff in from there. If you're not up for that, get a Norc and shoot it like a btch.
 
NEA had an absolute crapload of issues in the beginning, there are less issues now, but I'd really only get an NEA if I was going to replace the BCG/FH and probably trigger group. So in essence I'd be buying an upper/lower/barrel combo and putting my own stuff in from there. If you're not up for that, get a Norc and shoot it like a btch.

Actually there are a lot of complaints I found about the barrels too. I have an NEA upper/lower and have been looking at how to complete it, and it seems those are the only parts that really can't screw up from NEA :)
 
I'm curious: how well to the norinco parts integrate with US-made stuff? In particular, how well to Norinco lowers fit on US-uppers and vice versa?

I had a 10.5in Upper on my LE6920 lower, fit nice and tight. Nothing wrong with it at all, just sold it to finance a CC IUR.
 
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