Norinco M4... Worth it?

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Exercitus

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Hey folks,

Haven't posted for awhile and looked around for a thread detailing the lowdown on the Norinco's M4 but didn't really find anything but picture #### threads.

I once owned an Armalite M15A4 and sold it to fund another project (worst decision ever)... Anyways, I'm in the market for an AR and would love another Armalite but can't help but look at Norinco's M4's for 1/2 the price of an Armalite

Is the quality, materials, fit and finish comparable to Armalite? How's the reliability, tightness of the specs, etc...

Cheers,

Hugues
 
There are lots of threads man, lots!

Anyways, its a great package. Reliability is not an issue.

Fit and finish are less than armalites but not bad in reality. Normally your get what you pay for, in this instance you are not getting 1/2 the rifle but maybe 3/4.

Does that even make sense?
 
Yah, makes total sense, that's what I was looking for. A comparison of overall quality compared to what I know as a benchmark, in this case, an Armalite M15A4. Cheers man!
 
Yea, they shoot fairly reliably my buddy's got one and he's shot a couple of thousand rounds through it with out issues... again, some minor fit and finish if you don't mind... they are coming out with a 14.5" and a 10.5" versions soon (very soon!!) so it could be worth the wait... ever thought about the Questar-15, NEA-15, or the One Shot Tactical custom AR? They're all really good for less than 1000$, and with those you'll probably find them just as reliable as your Armalite.

Just a note of caution with the Questar-15, pay the extra 100$ for the RRA lower, I didn't and regret it slightly
 
quality is not the same as a civy colt, but i think at par with a service rifle.

out of the box, will function same as the rifle your issued off the rack. at 200m, a average rifleman should expect at least 8" and below grouping. the norinco, stock no mods, can do that and better. with mods, bob's your uncle and fanny is your aunt.

don't want to start preaching... i had a chance to get a norinco m14 years ago. "no way in hell i'm going to buy commie crap", i said. bought a springer m1a, nice rifle. exspensive, but holds it value. long story short, i heard alot about norinco 45's. bought one, great pistol. took a chance bought a norinco m14. changed the rear sight (crap), but the rest of the rifle was great. since then bought a norinco m97 shotgun, norinco m4, norinco ithica m37, norinco remington 870 and another norinco m14. all great. i've had to sell some but not because of dislike.

i'm a convert, if you like military style grade firearms look no further.

basicly i think norinco weapons are military grade. if your looking for the fancy finish perfect rifle it isn't it that, but works when the trigger is pulled and can always be upgraded.

just my 2 cents, hope i don't trip as i'm stepping off my soap box. lol
 
Everyone who has bought a norc m4 seems to be very happy with it. Just look at the number of views on the norc m4 #### thread to see how popular they are.

NEA has recently announced a Lifetime Warranty on all of their rifles (even the barrels)
"If you can shoot out one of our barrels, we`ll replace it"
It`s 200-300 bucks more but you`ll get much more than 200-300 bucks worth of upgrades over the Norinco.
 
bought norc m4 because i wasnt sure about the ar platform if i would like it or not so bought the norc. figure for the price i wouldnt worry about it and just shoot the h*ll out of it. will agree fit and finish isnt the same as some of the more expensive rifles i have handled but so far i haven't sold it or felt the need to upgrade it. great bang for the buck, the NEA carbine sounds interesting warranty wise though. if you not sure pick up a used one and if you dont like it i am sure you could easily get your money back.
 
When time permits I work as an RO at my range and subsequently have the opportunity to play with many many toys. Now, I'm a quality over quantity guy. When I first handled the rinco Ar's I thought yuck, what a pile. But, after firing a few I have to say they're not bad. They're as accurate as most run of the mill Ar's; the finish isn't great but it seems durable; the trigger is horrendous (I'm used to JP) but easily modded/replaced (best first mod in my book). For the money they're a decent buy. And, if you don't like it, there can't be a lot of depreciation given the low buy in.
 
Hank Hill said:
support a Canadian manufacturer and buy an NEA for a couple hundred bucks more.
Click to expand...

This is the only real competition for the Norcs now. Punkrockboy bought a Norc, just because it's cheap, and he's satisfied with his far as I know.

My next AR will definetly be Canadian made.

Does anyone know if NEA has or will have a left handed upper any time soon????
 
Petrock said:
This is the only real competition for the Norcs now. Punkrockboy bought a Norc, just because it's cheap, and he's satisfied with his far as I know.

My next AR will definetly be Canadian made.

Does anyone know if NEA has or will have a left handed upper any time soon????
Click to expand...

We'll look into it and give it a fair shake, but no plans as of now to say "yes".
 
Being "worth it" really depends on your point of view. For me, personally, it has been a tremendous value simply due to the fact that it has fired just a hair over 9700 rounds (~4300 in the last year alone) and has been absolutely flawless so far.

The fit is top notch, quite comparable to my LMT, with no wiggles, misalignments or rattles, but the finish leaves a little to be desired with the odd rough machine mark in some of the 'curvy' areas. The coating too has held up surprisingly well with my strictly range use.

Accuracy has been a little behind that of the LMT - but not by much and the trigger has been buttery smooth after the first couple of hundred rounds. Reliability, with the Magpul mags, has been respectable; the only blemishes being a couple of feed and ejection failures I had when the gun was new. The rails are straight and true and the stock iron sights are bang on.

Given it's price point, I did not feel the need to tack on mods, so am unqualified to offer an opinion if the the standard jewellery fits. I imagine it should, given that all dimensions are milspec. In saying so, the plastic bits on it from the factory are just fine and don't 'need' to be replaced for the rifle to be useable.

NEA's new AR15 introduction looks to be quite interesting as well. My only reservation would be their deviation in using a different alloy than all the regular manufacturers. Haven't thought too deeply into the matter yet, but I'm sure they have before making their decision. I do suspect tho, that their quality will be top notch, but the proof would be, as they say, in the pudding once the rifle gets fielded and tested.

In short, if I was spending upto a 1000, I'd get a Norc M4 and a case of ammo. If I was spending over a 1000, and using the same logic as presented in this thread, I would get an LMT (given their new lower prices).

Best of luck in your decision and do post pix when you get your new rifle!
 
those 10.5's sound like sweetness.

norc's love them or hate them, their value is undeniable. not too much you can get, that is actually reliable and solid for the prices they fetch.

buy lots of ammo :D
 
About the "don't give your money to China" argument, didn't the Chinese get all the money they are going to from a Norinco purchase when the gun store bought the inventory from them?

Its not like the guns are on consignment and my cash goes back to China in an envelope when I buy one. My $700 goes to the local gun store and its staff, a sale they would not have made if they stocked only the more expensive models.
 
No complaints here. It is what it is. A less expensive m4 clone. It is accurate to the distances I expected it to be. It won't compete with my supped up savage but it is a fun plinker.
 
My opinion...for what it's worth...is to wait and see what the NEA's are like (or even Wanstall's Core-15's). I got a Norc M4 due to price (and to let the kids learn on it, so they don't beat on my high end stuff). With that said, I've changed out a lot of parts on it now (BCG, trigger, all furniture). She's quite a bit better now but is the cost justified? At the time, yes...now? I might have just gone for one of the enhanced NEA's or a Core-15...you've got options now...look them over.
 
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