Norinco YL 12-1 M-37 "Tactical"

cantom said:
No idea but...are you thinking of buying one? I've read many posts on here and I'm pretty much...I'd have to be able to handle a bunch of them and pick. Let them send any piece of junk someone returned? Hahahaha....
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I'm not thinking of buying one, I am buying one. It's a good deal and if it does not work perfectly right away, I will make it work perfectly.
 
CANTOM;
Your statement really makes a lot of sense, yes we will send out "let them send out any piece of junk someone returned"
With our warranty policy this would make good business sense....???????
John
 
johnone said:
CANTOM;
Your statement really makes a lot of sense, yes we will send out "let them send out any piece of junk someone returned"
With our warranty policy this would make good business sense....???????
John
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Obviously not, no intention to offend. It's just that these shotguns are receiving less than sterling reviews on here(having to reglue butt pads on, multiple failures to feed, sights brazed on crooked). I'm interested in one myself, and recently called Marstar looking for one.
Any progress made on reliability issues re these guns? Nobody wants to buy a lemon...
 
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Checking in from sunny Arizona. I bought one of the M37's at my local Big 5 Sports store ($150). Mine is the standard stock version with Ghost Ring sights and heat shield. Seems to work fine so far. Mine has a serial number of "04-###x" so I'm guessing that it was made in 2004. Don't know if any production years were better than any others.
 
johnone, were there any of these coming with the M305s. When could I go aobut ordering one?

Slater said:
Checking in from sunny Arizona. I bought one of the M37's at my local Big 5 Sports store ($150). Mine is the standard stock version with Ghost Ring sights and heat shield. Seems to work fine so far. Mine has a serial number of "04-###x" so I'm guessing that it was made in 2004. Don't know if any production years were better than any others.
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You found a Norinco in the states??
 
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DAR 701 said:
Sporting shotguns made by Norinco are legal in the US. They also sell the M97 Trench shotgun and the copy of the REM 870 down there.
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I've seen all of them for sale in the States(on the internet) except for the folding stock Tactical model, which is the most appealing one...I think US law stops it because of the folding stock.
 
Well, on the positive side I've heard that all Trench Guns are from the 4th Generation or later of Norinco's M97 production so many of the early bugs are worked out (M97's are in their 6th generation, IIRC). The ones I've handled at gun shows seem very well fit and finished and have stocks made from walnut. I read that it had to be shipped to China for this purpose. And it's certainly cheaper (around $380-400) than a real M97 which can run into the thousands of dollars.

On the negative side, many folks are saying that the internals are pretty rough and may need to be slicked up for the gun to function smoothly. The heat shield may need to have the screws Loctited to keep it from shifting from the shock of firing. And some say that they should be avoided altogether.

The Cowboy Action crowd seems to like them, and so do a lot of other people. Who knows? It may be the luck of the draw as to whether you get a good one or a bad one, but for around $400 it seems a decent deal anyway.
Plus, it looks so damn cool and I think it has the slamfire capability, although you probably wouldn't hit anything that way.

If/when I buy one, it'll be at a gunshow or gunstore where I can work the action and eyeball it firsthand.
 
Slater said:
Well, on the positive side I've heard that all Trench Guns are from the 4th Generation or later of Norinco's M97 production so many of the early bugs are worked out (M97's are in their 6th generation, IIRC). The ones I've handled at gun shows seem very well fit and finished and have stocks made from walnut. I read that it had to be shipped to China for this purpose. And it's certainly cheaper (around $380-400) than a real M97 which can run into the thousands of dollars.

On the negative side, many folks are saying that the internals are pretty rough and may need to be slicked up for the gun to function smoothly. The heat shield may need to have the screws Loctited to keep it from shifting from the shock of firing. And some say that they should be avoided altogether.

The Cowboy Action crowd seems to like them, and so do a lot of other people. Who knows? It may be the luck of the draw as to whether you get a good one or a bad one, but for around $400 it seems a decent deal anyway.
Plus, it looks so damn cool and I think it has the slamfire capability, although you probably wouldn't hit anything that way.
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Walnut stock? Wow, that would be nice. I'm not crazy about that strange wood they've been using, whatever it is...
I do want the slamfire capability, I've had a real 97 and a Model 12 and I like that feature...gotta be really careful with it though. That's one disappointment about the Ithaca clone-no slamfire. Darn.
 
Kano
Once you get one and make it working (hope it will be right out of box, but..) could you please share you experience, as it might be wery useful for us. I've made my
cycle dummies fine but still with live ammo I'm getting intermittent misfeeds and shell retainers issues...
Thanks in advance
V1
 
grayrc said:
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.
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After reading all of this, I bought an original Ithaca M37 Featherlight at the gun show this weekend from a fellow CGNTZ member. It's a beauty and apparently older than 1955 since it has the pin on the mag tube cap and a serial numbered barrel. What I really wish I knew is if the YL12 folding stock and barrel would fit it? That would be a good enough reason for me to buy one...anyone got both to try to fit the parts together? I'd buy the Norinco just to get those two parts. I wonder just how compatible the guns are?

Anyone got a 20" or so early Ithaca M37 barrel for sale?
 
cantom said:
After reading all of this, I bought an original Ithaca M37 Featherlight at the gun show this weekend from a fellow CGNTZ member. It's a beauty and apparently older than 1955 since it has the pin on the mag tube cap and a serial numbered barrel. What I really wish I knew is if the YL12 folding stock and barrel would fit it? That would be a good enough reason for me to buy one...anyone got both to try to fit the parts together? I'd buy the Norinco just to get those two parts. I wonder just how compatible the guns are?

Anyone got a 20" or so early Ithaca M37 barrel for sale?
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I'll take an exploded-view style pic of mine, with the folding stock and pistol grip and related parts disassembled. I can also scan you the cutaway view from the Norinco manual, if you like? Hopefully that'll help you figure it out (and report your findings back to us, of course) :D
 
poweredbybeer said:
I'll take an exploded-view style pic of mine, with the folding stock and pistol grip and related parts disassembled. I can also scan you the cutaway view from the Norinco manual, if you like? Hopefully that'll help you figure it out (and report your findings back to us, of course) :D
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That'd be great, but without actually having the pieces to hand, how to know if the Norinco barrel threads are metric etc etc and whether the stock mating area is the same etc. I'd like to see those pics anyway though, if it's not too much trouble for you. If I ever figure this out I'll report in full.
 
Norincotacticaldiagram.jpg

Norincotacticalexplodedview.jpg


As you can see, the barrel is not threaded, so there goes that idea :p It locks in with a pair of locking lugs, and is locked forward by the forward locking nut.

The stock and pistol grip both mount to the little tailpiece that, basically, is a big hollow spacer between the stock and the reciever. It's dirt-simple, and quite sturdy. I dunno if your Ithaca M37 reciever looks like the Norc, though.

Hope this helps!
 
poweredbybeer said:
Norincotacticaldiagram.jpg

Norincotacticalexplodedview.jpg


As you can see, the barrel is not threaded, so there goes that idea :p It locks in with a pair of locking lugs, and is locked forward by the forward locking nut.

The stock and pistol grip both mount to the little tailpiece that, basically, is a big hollow spacer between the stock and the reciever. It's dirt-simple, and quite sturdy. I dunno if your Ithaca M37 reciever looks like the Norc, though.

Hope this helps!
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Thanks, that is interesting. Yes, the barrel looks totally different, doesn't it.

I've seen others on the internet ask the same questions as me, and nobody ever answers. I don't think anyone anywhere knows the answers. I'll personally guess that nothing will fit up.
 
poweredbybeer said:
I'll take an exploded-view style pic of mine, with the folding stock and pistol grip and related parts disassembled. I can also scan you the cutaway view from the Norinco manual, if you like? Hopefully that'll help you figure it out (and report your findings back to us, of course) :D
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I talked to service at Ithaca shotgun today. My old M37(made in 1947) uses a pitched, interrupted thread for the barrel. A new barrel for it would have to be custom made and fit for it for mucho dinero. Not worth it. The newer guns with serials over 855### or so have a different barrel mounting setup and I believe they are interchangeable.
 
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