Norinco YL 12-1 M-37 "Tactical"

Zygy

Zygy

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I was wondering if anyone has one of these. If so, I was just wondering if someone could tell me a little bit about it.

- Is it reliable?
- What kind of finish it has?
- Are the sights adjustable and holding zero?

And I would really appreciate if someone could send me a few good clos-up pictures of this shotgun.


Thanks in advance,
Zygy.
 
don't own one, but have put a couple boxes of shells through one. jammed at least once every full magazine. heard others say the have to same problem
 
Search is your friend, we just did this conversation not once, not twice but serveral more times in the last few months...there are several extensive threads on this! Take a peek.
 
I have one M37. the first time at the range it failed to load a shell here and there feels like the shell gets stucked on the magazine tube for same reason.
But because i was using 3" shells I though that was the problem, guess not.
Norinco guns tend to take time to function well as the worksmanship is not the best.
 
RoadWarrior - good question. I would like to report 'extensive' testing but was so frustrated after repeated jams *with 3 of these guns* that I probably didn't fire 50 rounds the first and only day out (my stainless marine defender was used to empty the other 200 rounds in the box -> without a single misfeed). I've fired at Clays (i.e. pointing up) and at stationary targets (i.e. level with the horizon), I've fired 2 3/4" shot & slugs, & 3" rifled-slugs. I may have observed a slight 'change' in the feeding issue when I cycled the action while pointing the muzzle DOWN... (not really a solution for shooting clays ;-) and it may not have been as quite as bad with the 3" (heavier) slugs. So you're right - there might be some element of the way the round is being handled in the action (angle/weight) that may be effecting the shell's alignment with the barrel when it's chambered. BUT... surely a correctly operating shotgun action should cycle shells regardless of the guns attitude ...

I've found enough corroborating comments on this forum now to believe that this isn't an 'operator' issue or related to specific type/size of ammunition. I'm beginning to think that a shipment/production run of this particular model included a higher-than-acceptable number of defective guns. I also suspect (based on some out-of-band communication) that as a result of this shipment arriving late in 2005, a number of new owners have yet to test-fire their Norinco M-37's and are in for some serious disappointment on their first range day. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that these made it out the door, but the vendor has a good reputation for prioritizing customer satisfaction so I'm still optimistic the issue will be resovled to my satisfaction (i.e. a working gun).

cheers -
Gray.
 
echo4lima said:
I have the standard Ithaca 37 clone, no issues here, seems they are hit and miss????
Click to expand...

I'm cheered by the prospect that there are reliable, working versions of this gun out there... I'm curious to know if you purchased yours in the last 6 months - I believe a recent shipment may have higher-than-average defects.

Fernando Fernandes said:
I have one M37. the first time at the range it failed to load a shell here and there feels like the shell gets stucked on the magazine tube for same reason. But because i was using 3" shells I though that was the problem, guess not. Norinco guns tend to take time to function well as the worksmanship is not the best.
Click to expand...

Let us know if you have any better luck when you get a chance to try different ammo - I suspect you'll find it's no better, and possibly worse (I found the lighter 2 3/4" shells with shot were misfeeding more often than the slugs.. of course I didn't have as many $slug$ ;-)

As far as time goes... I assume you mean use... and I agree that 'breaking the gun in' may provide a more smooth and reliable action, but I'm convinced some (minor?) gunsmithing is required to even get to the point where I can cycle enough rounds to start breaking these in.

/Gray.
 
U-fix-them thing for u-fix-them price. I had resolved chambering issue (t'was especially BAD with 3'' shells) by using some sandpaper and polishing up the chamber's edges. Mag jams went away after doing the same on follower.

My remaining problem is cycling, regardless of ammo or muzzle direction it still makes Ops!-es quite often. Only with live ammo, snap caps go fine.

Regarding smoothing the action: If you fully take it apart you'll be surprised how badly machined thing can still work. :) I had to polish and remove burrs from almost all components, including internal rails, exept shell retainers, (I just wanted to follow one change at the time rule. :)) and my action is much more smooth now.
 
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grayrc said:
I'm cheered by the prospect that there are reliable, working versions of this gun out there... I'm curious to know if you purchased yours in the last 6 months - I believe a recent shipment may have higher-than-average defects.



Let us know if you have any better luck when you get a chance to try different ammo - I suspect you'll find it's no better, and possibly worse (I found the lighter 2 3/4" shells with shot were misfeeding more often than the slugs.. of course I didn't have as many $slug$ ;-)

As far as time goes... I assume you mean use... and I agree that 'breaking the gun in' may provide a more smooth and reliable action, but I'm convinced some (minor?) gunsmithing is required to even get to the point where I can cycle enough rounds to start breaking these in.

/Gray.
Click to expand...

3-4 years old....I have not shot any 3". Lots of slugs, buck and birdshot...
 
Well I have had my Folding Stock M-37 Ithaca clone for 2 years now and just punished it with 3" Magnum slugs. What I did as with all new guns was disassemble it use an emery cloth on all moving parts than steel wool and finally I used Miltech syn oil. The result a very smooth firing 12ga that I use for a pack gun in the bush. Just remember it is a 229.00 gun and spending a couple of hours tuning it and getting to know it is expected. I do agree my 870 was a better gun and didn't need a tune but I also had 650.00 bucks into it.

Randy
 
uh-oh!

I'm new here, but this thread immediately caught my eye, since I just bought one of these things myself and have yet to fire it. I did, however, break it down when I first recieved it and cleaned all the smelly rancid-bacon-grease lube out of it, all the while making faces at the tool marks left in the reciever (and basically every other moving part!) :mad: I was expecting it though, since my Norinco JW-27 .22 bolt-action and my Norinco SKS are both roughly the same as far as workmanship goes.

Anyways, I got this gun after the vendor I use got a new shipment in, sometime in December 2005 if I remember right. Would it fall into the same "bad batch" as you guys are talking about? I guess there's only one way to find out :p BANGBANGBANG heh heh :D But seriously, if it ends up having feeding problems, is there anything I can do about it?

Edit; Looks like a lotta people have had similar experiences w/these things, I guess it's time to bust out the extra-fine scotch brite and 1000-grit paper :rolleyes:
 
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Hmm... all those feed issues sound more like a timing problem to me.

Some guns (ie, Mossberg 500's and Ithaca 37's) need to have proper action timing to work well. Once they're tuned, they run great though.

I'd suspect a $30 visit to a reputable gunsmith could get any of those "defective" guns to run like champs.

Or, just spend the extra few dollars up front, get an 870 Express, and never look back. Or if you want bottom eject and don't mind 2,3/4" shells only, look for a real used Ithaca.
 
Claven2 said:
Hmm... all those feed issues sound more like a timing problem to me.

Some guns (ie, Mossberg 500's and Ithaca 37's) need to have proper action timing to work well. Once they're tuned, they run great though.

I'd suspect a $30 visit to a reputable gunsmith could get any of those "defective" guns to run like champs.

Or, just spend the extra few dollars up front, get an 870 Express, and never look back. Or if you want bottom eject and don't mind 2,3/4" shells only, look for a real used Ithaca.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info. I always wondered if it could be some other issue that could be dealt with by a gunsmith.

The Baikal dealer I recently bought an MP-153 from is also a Norc. dealer. I will check that solution out with him and see how much he would charge me for the work.



BT
 
I just finished change #2 - shell retainers burrs removal and polishing. If I make it to the range on Thu, will let you gus know. As per my observation so far timing is OK, but sizing is not ;)
 
Just received a full refund from Marstar for a Norinco YL 12-1 M-37 "Tactical" that wouldn't chamber 2 3/4" shells due to a number of manufacturing issues. The fit and finish was horrible, but could have been tolerated if the gun actually worked. May have been the in 1 in a million lemon... but I suspect not ;-)

/gc
 
Some Norincos seem to be more of a parts kit than a ready to go firearm. I sold only one of the sporting clones through my little shop to see what it was like. Didn't bring in another. Some Norincos are acceptable as is, others need tweaking. Overall, QC and attention to detail seem sporadic.
 
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