Questions regarding Norinco CQ series rifle.

A

alien1942

Member
Rating - 100%
16   0   0
Good afternoon. CGN'ers
I have a bunch of questions and I want them answered immediately.

I have looked at Norinco CQ Rifles(14.5") and other NA Manufactured AR-15's. I was quite surprised with the quality of CQ-A in general compared to other AR-15's such as Colt, Bushmaster, Windham, etc. For almost half the price, Norinco AR variant rifles are almost on par with other NA companies for fit and finish

The question today is has anyone here have extensive experience with Norinco CQ series rifles? Although Money is not a big issue(I'd rather spend more for a quality AR style rifle than something that is not worth my hard earned cash or time) Given that Norinco rifles are substantially cheaper than other AR-15s how would you rate Norinco ARs compared other NA AR-15's(including AR rifles such as Sig M400 or any other companies that manufacture them in NA)? Please factor interchangeability of mil-spec parts, and upgrades into your opinion.

Thanks.
 
i have an old CQ 311 and it works great. no issues but some of the machining is a little rough. they are not the finest machined or tightest tolerances but mine has had zero issues and goes bang every time
 
We have two Norinco M4 'clones' with the 14.5 inch barrel. We have had ZERO issues with them! Decently accurate & always go bang!

I would buy them again in a heartbeat!

Cheers
Jay
 
alien1942 said:
I have a bunch of questions and I want them answered immediately.
Click to expand...

Interesting...

I had a Norc 14.5 inch for a year and a half and I outshot numerous folks with it. I had it against multiple Colts and could never distinguish between the two from groupings. Obviously from a fine detail / workmanship perspective everything beats a Norc. But it functioned very well, never had mechanical issues, worked with all milspec accessories I used. Only gave it up because I wanted something built in Canada. I may have got a rare one, or they may all be that good. I will leave that with you to ponder immediately.
 
I had a newer CQ-A1 from lever arms with the ugly "imported by lever arms" stamp on the side of the lower receiver but omg it was such an awesome rifle for the price. the finish wasn't great and parts weren't all the best but I loved that rifle and only ever had user malfunctions which were my fault. solid rifles for the price for sure. only reason I sold mine is I couldn't take it with me to the states because of the barrel length and the fact it was a chinese made firearm. would have loved to keep it if I had the extra cash.
 
Love mine, and have had ZERO malfunctions. Sure it doesn't have the best finish but its a rifle, they aren't supposed to look "pretty"

For what its worth, I shoot it just as often if not more often than my Daniel Defense.

Norinco is the best bang for you buck, and a great started AR - you won't regret purchasing one.
 
Exactly what he said........ Love mine too, surprised how accurate it is,has to be best bang for buck... IMHO.
 
The real question is, who has these in stock!? :D

Was pleased with the CQA I got to play with at the range. Crisp action, fed all day long and got put a few pegs up the "I gotta get me one of these."

Of course, havn't seen em in stock since I decided that.
 
The 14.5" barrel one I had shot very very well.

It was accurate and very reliable. I never had a single stoppage with it.

I will say this though, not everything on the lower will fit standard mil-spec parts. So if you're thinking about buying one and getting a high quality guts package to upgrade some of the cheap pot metal parts inside be warned. This is exactly what I did and I learned some things by trial and error.

The following areas are not to standard:

The hole for the magazine release button (and the magazine release button itself) on the right side of the receiver is smaller than standard.

The notch cut into the lower receiver for the bolt catch (and the bolt catch itself) is a little wider than standard. So standard mil-spec part will fit but there will be some play in the mag catch forward and backwards and some magazine followers won't catch the nub on the bolt catch and hence the bolt will not lock to the rear always on an empty mag.

The fire control selector hole is drilled a touch lower than standard. The Norc control is a cylinder with a 90 degree angle cut into half of it. One side of the angle low so on safe it rests on top of the disconect and the other side a little higher so on Semi it allows the disconnector enough room release the hammer. A standard one will immediately rest on top of the disconnector if installed without modification and will not allow you to pull the trigger no matter what position it's in IF you can even move it.
I modified a mil-spec part to actually work using a file but again a lot of ass pain.

The hole for the fire control selector is a touch bigger than standard. I was able to see the detent resting in the slots of the fire selector on the right hand side of the receiver when installed. It still worked perfectly but there was a good 2 mm gap where dirt and debree could easily have accumulated.

No commercial or mil-spec handguards will fit the Norcs without a lot of ass pain modification, I destroyed a set of Armalite hand grips trying to get them to fit on mine. I was not able to determine the cause of this. It seemed like you could get the bottom of the grips to set but there wasn't enough room in the upper cap for both halves to set at the same time. It was frustrating to say the least lol

But in their stock condition with all Norc parts, I give these rifles the frugal gun nuts' stamp of approval!!! :rockOn:
 
+1 with Travis' post.

It's a great gun in stock condition. I have a 14.5 and wanted to put a longer free float on it. I didn't even get to the point of trying to fit it. I couldn't get the damn front site off without finding out you need to cut/grind/dremel the thing off. Decided the hell with that and started to build my own upper, since I have a nice handguard for it, lol.

As soon as I complete my build, the Norc would be more of a backup. Good value and best bang for buck for a starter AR.
 
rdelliott said:
I'm about 6-700 rounds of cheap American Eagle into my 10.5"; haven't cleaned it yet, but it just keeps on ticking along...
Click to expand...

Same here, I'm more up around 800 rounds of Norinco ammo through my 10.5" and I cleaned it after the first day/180 rounds though it because we were shooting in a snow storm. Mine has not had a single malfunction and so far its my new favorite gun!

I have added a couple things and they fit perfectly, a new quad rail, a carry handle scope mount, and a new hogue style grip. I want to add a magwell grip but after reading Travis's post, I dont know if one will fit without a lot of ass pain LOL.
 
I should probably add that I'm a machinist by trade and I find the machining on this gun to be perfectly acceptable. My only concern is the fact there is a bit of play between the upper and lower, but being this is my first AR, I dont know how much play is "normal"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom