Norinco Greatness

"If it's such a piece of crap, why would you not just have it destroyed,"
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You should be ashamed of yourself for ever making such a statement.

I would NEVER get rid of any gun by handing it in for destruction.
Even a Norinco deserves more respect than that.

At the very least; It's a nice decorative wall-hanger. Or maybe someone can rebuild it to work properly?
 
Dexter Morgan said:
You should be ashamed of yourself for ever making such a statement.

I would NEVER get rid of any gun by handing it in for destruction.
Even a Norinco deserves more respect than that.

At the very least; It's a nice decorative wall-hanger. Or maybe someone can rebuild it to work properly?
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What model? I don't see why any clone couldn't be rebuilt to work properly.
 
"What model? I don't see why any clone couldn't be rebuilt to work properly."
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It's one of their 1911s.

And being that it's a 1911;
I have no doubt that someone could replace enough parts, and tinker with it long enough that it would run.

Maybe it will be me. Or maybe I'll just sell it to a friend for $1 so they can try.
 
Dexter Morgan said:
It's one of their 1911s.

And being that it's a 1911;
I have no doubt that someone could replace enough parts, and tinker with it long enough that it would run.

Maybe it will be me. Or maybe I'll just sell it to a friend for $1 so they can try.
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Now this is to the point of unbelievable, if it's a 1911 then show it to us, generally if any 1911 has a problem, it is one thing and pretty much everything on it can be replaced, so you are saying your scrapping a 1911 due to 1 part!
I like norks, but they have made some duds for sure, so have most other manufacturers. I got a Norc 780 from sfrc, they sold them as needing a bit of tinkering! Yea, that wasn't true but buyer beware. It did have the best blueing I have seen in some time, but important parts were made of what folks call pot metal, either way, the parts were substandard and quite often broke! All my 1911's are rock solid and work like a 1911 should!
 
Have been happy with my Norinco experience...as stated before...my first pistols were Norinco 1911 and 226 clones..both ran without issue..I upgraded both eventually for more expensive ones..but regret neither..my commander length 1911 .45 was a particular favourite...kept that one for several years..would still have another if one came up on ee at a decent price...my only complaint if I had any..I wished the 'blueing' had been a little deeper...tried to improve the finish on one...nearly ruined it...jmho.
 
"so you are saying your scrapping a 1911 due to 1 part!"
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I said no such thing.
I would never send any gun to get scrapped.

But this gun jams badly. Every twenty rounds or so.
It jams so bad that you need tools to unjam it.

It seems like something is way out of spec.
Like the relationship between the barrel and slide is wrong somehow?
 
Dexter Morgan said:
I said no such thing.
I would never send any gun to get scrapped.

But this gun jams badly. Every twenty rounds or so.
It jams so bad that you need tools to unjam it.
I meant scrap as in getting rid of, giving up on! Still seems to be one thing, what is jamming? Round in chamber? Slide? Mag?
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Dexter Morgan said:
I said no such thing.
I would never send any gun to get scrapped.

But this gun jams badly. Every twenty rounds or so.
It jams so bad that you need tools to unjam it.

It seems like something is way out of spec.
Like the relationship between the barrel and slide is wrong somehow?
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Link lengths are something to look at.
 
Not sure about "Greatness" unless the OP means from a value proposition point of view. I've owned 3 Norkys that have served me very very well and I have put in THOUSANDS more in ammunition in them over their purchase price without any major issues,

1. AR15 Clone with 14.5" Barrel - was dead nuts reliable over it's ~21,000 round stay with me. The current owner still shoots it!
2. 1911 Clone Govt Model - Runs like a top after ~9000 rounds. Have sent it in for a full refinishing and overhaul as I feel it has earned it after a life of hard use.
3. 1911 Clone Sport Model - Recent acquisition and just turned over the 1000 round mark. Runs like a sewing machine and bloody accurate to boot.

FWIW - In my experience of shooting and collecting, the Norinco 1911s are fit just as well and are just as accurate as most of the other mainstream ~$1000 1911 brands with the same occasional issues as any other brand. They are a little rougher when new but smoothen out beautifully in a 100-200 rounds. Haven’t had to do anything beyond feed ammo to all of mine!

So my recommendation: Account for the cost of ammunition and if $350 is all you can afford for a pistol (or $600 for a rifle) to get into the sport, go for a Norinco. The brand may not have the ### appeal of an H&K but it won’t be the ONLY gun you ever buy and it gets you started in the sport right away!
 
redivivus said:
Not sure about "Greatness" unless the OP means from a value proposition point of view. I've owned 3 Norkys that have served me very very well and I have put in THOUSANDS more in ammunition in them over their purchase price without any major issues,

1. AR15 Clone with 14.5" Barrel - was dead nuts reliable over it's ~21,000 round stay with me. The current owner still shoots it!
2. 1911 Clone Govt Model - Runs like a top after ~9000 rounds. Have sent it in for a full refinishing and overhaul as I feel it has earned it after a life of hard use.
3. 1911 Clone Sport Model - Recent acquisition and just turned over the 1000 round mark. Runs like a sewing machine and bloody accurate to boot.

FWIW - In my experience of shooting and collecting, the Norinco 1911s are fit just as well and are just as accurate as most of the other mainstream ~$1000 1911 brands with the same occasional issues as any other brand. They are a little rougher when new but smoothen out beautifully in a 100-200 rounds. Haven’t had to do anything beyond feed ammo to all of mine!
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From what I read above, Norinco does qualify for "greatness", as in:

My Norinco 1911 is a great pistol because it "Runs like a top after ~9000 rounds". As well my other 1911 " just turned over the 1000 round mark. Runs like a sewing machine and bloody accurate to boot." I couldn't say the same about my stock 3 x MKIV Colts, before adding a $1K worth of parts and smithing to each of them.

Personally I haven't shot anywhere near 9K rounds (about 2K) through my remaining 1911 Sport, but it is giving no indication of faltering along its way to greatness.
 
A friend had a NP29 with the same issues.
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Yeah, that's what mine is.

I know 9mm 1911s tend to run poorly in general. But this thing is just embarrassing.

I will do some research on the "link length" thing.
 
redivivus said:
Not sure about "Greatness" unless the OP means from a value proposition point of view. I've owned 3 Norkys that have served me very very well and I have put in THOUSANDS more in ammunition in them over their purchase price without any major issues,

1. AR15 Clone with 14.5" Barrel - was dead nuts reliable over it's ~21,000 round stay with me. The current owner still shoots it!
2. 1911 Clone Govt Model - Runs like a top after ~9000 rounds. Have sent it in for a full refinishing and overhaul as I feel it has earned it after a life of hard use.
3. 1911 Clone Sport Model - Recent acquisition and just turned over the 1000 round mark. Runs like a sewing machine and bloody accurate to boot.

FWIW - In my experience of shooting and collecting, the Norinco 1911s are fit just as well and are just as accurate as most of the other mainstream ~$1000 1911 brands with the same occasional issues as any other brand. They are a little rougher when new but smoothen out beautifully in a 100-200 rounds. Haven’t had to do anything beyond feed ammo to all of mine!

So my recommendation: Account for the cost of ammunition and if $350 is all you can afford for a pistol (or $600 for a rifle) to get into the sport, go for a Norinco. The brand may not have the ### appeal of an H&K but it won’t be the ONLY gun you ever buy and it gets you started in the sport right away!
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Sounds Like Greatness to me.

I've owned 3 Norinco pistols. A 1911 in 45 acp. A 1911 in 9mm, and a NP22 9mm. All functioned very reliably and shot very accurately.
In contrast, last year in Novemeber, i purchased a 1911 9mm from a major US company at 4x the price of a Norinco and it couldn't make a group to save it's life. It has spent just as much time at the gunsmith awaiting a warranty barrel replacement as it has in my hands and i still don't have it back. I suspect this is not the norm for such a gun yet it still seems very strange because accurate Norincos at a fraction of the cost have been the norm for me. At $1350, (all my hard earned savings) i expected awesomeness! But instead i got a major disappointment and i'm still uncertain as to weather or not i'll keep it when it's returned to me. I do like owning nicely finished guns, but if it can't shoot, looks means nothing. It's just a 3 dressed up as a 9! So, from my perspective, the Norinco pistols qualify for greatness without a doubt. In my experience, A Norinco pistol is a 9 dressed up as a 3.
 
easyrider604 & thatmikeguy: I agree - they are outstanding pistols & rifles especially given the price. I prefer to be objective but find myself loving them for what they are - accurate, reliable and rugged firearms that are made well above their price point. It's just the finishing issues that truly hold them back from "greatness" in my opinion. But one has to be reasonable given the price and performance and I will stand by my assertion that one cannot get a better 1911 for unless you're looking to spend ~ $1000-$1500. These three are part of a very small and select club in my collection that I can truly call "fire and forget".

Have not tried their CZ and Sig clones - how are they ?
 
I've had 3 Norcs:
1-NP29 (1991 in 9mm): Shoots ok, had to file the inside of the slide a bit or it kept hanging. The finish was obviously really bad;
2-NP22 (imitation of SIG P226): Shoots ok, trigger isn't bad at all for a Norc. Actually, best Norc trigger of the 3. Pretty much as good as my real SIG P226;
3-NP27 (1911 commander length in 45acp): Shoots great, trigger totally sucks. Feels like I'm bending a metal rod when pressing the trigger.

For the money they cost me, they're good value. But none of them is anywhere near as good as my more expensive guns. My Shadow 1 blows them all out of the water, but, granted, with upgrades it cost as much as all 3 combined. The problem is once you get those more expensive, better guns, there's no reason you'd want to use the norcs.

Also, the NP22 is a hit or miss. I've tried one from someone else at the range, and his gun was so inaccurate it wasn't fun. If I had ended up with that gun as my first norc, I would have just given up on norc completely and sworn them as crap. Lots of youtube videos from people with low-accuracy NP22. QA must be deficient. I'm lucky I didn't get a bad one, but it does make me pause on buying other Norcs.

I guess I could change the trigger on the NP22 and end up with an a much better gun. But maybe I'd have to change the sear too. And this, and that, and finally you end up with 1000$ in parts in a Norc frame.
 
I've tried someone else's NP22 and I've owned one and both had excellent SA triggers and we're jaw dropping accurate. My own NP22 had tight rails and a tight barrel lockup. I was impressed. My dad has it now and I may buy it back yet.
 
redivivus said:
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Have not tried their CZ and Sig clones - how are they ?
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The NZ85 and the NP22 are the only two I can comment on from experience from shooting and both are excellent. With prices coming down on some of the CZ's on the used market and the recent availability of the used CZ85 Combats I suspect I would opt for the real deal used over the Norc CZ copy. The NP 22 - clone of the 226 is an excellent pistol. The trigger group might need a clean up but the frame, slide and barrel, in my opinion represent good value. The SIG 226 commands a pretty good price on the used market and if funds were tight I would go with a Norc copy of the 226 before I would go without. There were times in my earlier days when the Norc purchase would have been a no brainer.

Take Care

Bob
 
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