Norinco M-93 Woodsman .22 Pistol

Mine finally arrived in the mail last night! The fit and finish is impressive, not up to par with my wifes Buckmark but certainly much better than I expected. Hopefully I'll get some time to take it and the Buckmark to the range to see how it performs in comparison, if its at least half as good as the $300 Browning I'll be a Norinco convert.
 
Other than the SPORTSMAN stamping, any discernible difference (fit, finish, etc) between the two?

yes, that one with SPORTSMAN has better finish inside and out, no tools marking inside at all, but it has horrible trigger pull compare to my old one (no sportsman marking). The back strap is the issue where is the main spring is located. I tried swap back strap (main spring housing) from the old one to "SPORTSMAN" so it does not feet right. I mean you can use it but it's sticking out, meaning that frame shape is also little different.
 
yes, that one with SPORTSMAN has better finish inside and out, no tools marking inside at all, but it has horrible trigger pull compare to my old one (no sportsman marking). The back strap is the issue where is the main spring is located. I tried swap back strap (main spring housing) from the old one to "SPORTSMAN" so it does not feet right. I mean you can use it but it's sticking out, meaning that frame shape is also little different.

So who is selling which these days? The 93s from Badger the same as those sold by Marstar?
 
M-93 range report

I took my M-93 to the range today along with my wife's Buckmark Camper, I wanted to see if a new $300 gun was twice as good as a new $150 gun.
First thing I noticed was that there was a big difference in charging the mags. The Buckmark mag is easy to load, just like a Ruger, the rounds slide in nicely and easily with the help of the button on the side. The Norc mag was of a similar design but charging it was a more clicky and pinchy experience that took some getting used to, it had some sharpish edges too that cut my fingers and chipped my wife's nails.
We were using mostly cheap Remington Thunderbolts ammo and there were no fail to load or fail to fires with the Norc. In fact one round that misfired twice in the Buckmark fired first time in the Norc. Accuracy wise there was no difference between the Norc and the Buckmark at 25 yards that I could see, I did equally well (or poorly) on both.
The trigger on the Norc still feels brand new, there is some take up and the break is slightly unpredictable. The trigger pull on the Buckmark is nice, if a bit light for my taste.
I did have some issues with the Norc mag release not working but that could be down to it still having some residual Cosmolene that needs to be cleaned out, or it may work itself out over time.
The M-93 is a more basic design than the Browning, and fit and finish isn't as good, but for half the price I cant see how you could go wrong.
 
"and the break is slightly unpredictable"

My experience as well. At least one round in a mag full is going to feel like the break point changed. Have not tracked it to see if it is the same round every time or not, but find it a very predictable behavior.

As I recollect my NP28 AND NP22 did the same thing.

"The Norc mag........ took some getting used to"

Yup, it does, as does the mag release and slide lock.
 
Got my 93

Ive had my 93 that i got from marstar for about a week now..
So far so good. When it arrived i eagerly opened the very small box it came in and looked inside. Well the box looked like it was 20 years old and everything stunk like cosmolone. I opened the baggie the pistol was in to find a brown rough looking piece. So i took the grips off and coated it in penetrant oil for an hour. Then i came back and with steel wool and cloth and 20 minutes it changed everything. I was quite surprised at the deep dark blueing and the smooth edges and quality of build. Much better than the 100 dollar norinco 213 i bought and quickly sold. The first time i cocked the slide on it i let it go and removed my fingerprints from the sharp edges...lol. Well back to the M93.

The next day i took it to the range and was able to get pretty reasonable groups with it at 20 yrds. About as good as any other 22 ive owned. With only one ftf which i attribute to the .22 thunderbolts.
I took it out again and ran into more or less the same thing, decent accuracy, reliability but am finding it shoots about 4 inches low. I think i will look into an adjustable back site versus filing down the front blade.
Any suggestions?
For accuracy and quality i am blown away by this $150 pistol. Also i think its really a great looking piece. Here are some pics ive added the trigger shoe and piece of bycicle tube to the grip. Gotta love that box.
IanC

MyM93.jpg

MyM93box.jpg
 
IanC: I thought your pistol looked different than mine, but I missed the trigger shoe part in your post which thru me off... still there is something different.

Can you post a pic (both sides) without the rubber and trigger shoe please.

Want larger grips? Try these... they are nice....w w w.grips4u.net/images/C%20woodsman%201st%20large.jpg
 
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I recieved mine Friday and am happy with it! The only thing is, there are some markings that seem to be etched in the finish from being packed in the heavy grease. It's from where the plastic bag was in contact with the gun:

VEKuo.jpg


Any idea how to get that out?


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I noticed a few posts about the rear sight comes loose over time. There is a set screw that locks the sight. If you do not use some type of thread locker such as "Locktite" you will loose this screw.
 
I noticed a few posts about the rear sight comes loose over time. There is a set screw that locks the sight. If you do not use some type of thread locker such as "Locktite" you will loose this screw.

Yes, they will get loose after a few mags. I have 2 of this and my buddy has one. All 3 have the same issue with rear sight getting loose.
 
I got 2 of him, one just M93 the second has "sportsman" on it, and horrible trigger pull, harder then Glock NY trigger spring #2 :)

I'm surprised Rodger would ship one in that condition. Mine came to me cleaned and test fired.
 
IanC: Is the area I have arrowed raised for flat? The impression of raised and the trigger shoe thru me.

m93.bmp


Apart from that, and the Sportsman stamping it looks like a clone of my 93 for sure.
 
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