Who is buying a Type81?

Nobody besides Tactical Imports has shot the rifle, as it hasn't made it into the country yet.

If you are not on their preorder list, chances are you'll have to wait a while before you can get your hands on one.
 
My plans are to buy the rifle with the folding stock once there in the country and have proven to be decent rifles for the money.... until then, we all wait, very very patiently....
 
Im waiting till it comes and people start shooting the hell outta them, I have had nothing but issues with any first gen products in the past so ill pass. Also like many, I have had poor experience with chinese made firearms almost always norinco and DA unfortunately and its left a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe bad luck? Either way thats what I know so i'm staying away till shown the T81 is differnt.

I hope the T81 works out because I love 7.62x39 rifles but I haven't got my hopes up yet till its shot, with a non existent parts market i'm on the fence anyways. Also, I wont ever pay 1,000$ for a norinco unless is a LMG, 829-850$ ish is a more appropriate price like the T97 counterpart.

Someone has to buy them tho on the pre order, Otherwise guys like me will never get em. So thanks to all that pre ordered.

Anyways, Ill be back to read all the angry rage comments from me sharing my experience with chinese manufactured firearms.
 
Last edited:
If it is decent and the price stays reasonable I will grqb one after 6 months of being in country. If its really great it should drop the price on used VZs and CZs to the sub 800 dollarish range.
 
Im waiting till it comes and people start shooting the hell outta them, I have had nothing but issues with any first gen products in the past so ill pass. Also like many, I have had poor experience with chinese made firearms almost always norinco and DA unfortunately and its left a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe bad luck? Either way thats what I know so i'm staying away till shown the T81 is differnt.

I hope the T81 works out because I love 7.62x39 rifles but I haven't got my hopes up yet till its shot, with a non existent parts market i'm on the fence anyways. Also, I wont ever pay 1,000$ for a norinco unless is a LMG, 829-850$ ish is a more appropriate price like the T97 counterpart.

Someone has to buy them tho on the pre order, Otherwise guys like me will never get em. So thanks to all that pre ordered.

Anyways, Ill be back to read all the angry rage comments from me sharing my experience with chinese manufactured firearms.

I pretty much agree 100% with you.
I love my Norc M305 (took much tweaking, filing and work to make it what it is now) and my Norc 1911A1 is flawless.
But I drank the coolaid on the T97 and was never more disappointed with a firearm before or since. At the price they were going for it was beyond the "acceptable flaws" spectrum of Norc firearms. Just junk. Sold it very quickly.
Also learned the hard way to avoid sinking any money into a firearm that has zero parts availability. Turns a pricey toy into a paperweight really fast.
I have no intentions at all of buying the T81. Once bitten twice shy and all....
 
Ok......know I'll be waiting until the verdic is in based on everyone's common sense and experiences. Like most of you the the 7.62x39 was the appeal along with the T56 look alike aspect plus non-restricted which means lots of fun in the bush plinking without all the fus of taking my AR to the range. My SKS has similar values but who doesn't like a pistol grip.
 
It looks like a neat rifle, and the opportunity to use AK mags is a definite plus. Surplus AK mags are floating around the international market for dirt cheap, the only reason we don't have them in Canada is no demand. If there's a demand for them, you can bet that the different East Bloc importers (Westrifle, Corwin-Arms, etc.) will be tripping over each other to bring them in cheap and undercut each other.

Also, if they start coming in decent numbers, we can expect a fairly healthy aftermarket accessory scene developing. Even compared to a few years ago, there are a lot more Canadian accessory makers, and they're more mature businesses that can respond to new offerings better. No more relying on Crapco, ATI, Magpul, etc. for mods and accessories. Which is especially important, because this gun won't exist south of the border.

But it all depends on whether it turns out to be a decent rifle, and it actually sells in reasonable numbers.

The Type 97 has a lot of potential, but mixed reviews and it just hasn't reached the critical mass, in terms of numbers of them available, to really get the aftermarket support to make it flourish. Sure, you can get the rail for it, and a few other gew-gaws, but it really hasn't taken off the way a lot of people were expecting.

The Type 81 has a bit of an advantage for aftermarket accessories, simply because it's a more traditional form factor, so it will be easier to adapt designs from the 858/58 rifles, and SKS's, but...

I dunno. If T.I. ends up being the sole source importer, I'm not going to hold my breath. This rifle is going to need multiple importers and a healthy retail presence to really do much.

For now, I'm going to sit on my hands and wait and see.

CZ will never go back to 800$

The CZ is rapidly entering collector pricing, which is independent of any value of the rifle as a functioning firearm. Imports are done, and all we'll see are the CSA ones from now on, and those are over $1K new. If you have one, hold onto it. The price will rise until some government bans it.
 
I pre-ordered one...I'm pretty excited about it...as long as it doesn't shoot worse than an SKS I'll be happy with it...more of a show piece for me...my bush gun will still be an SKS...and I have loads of surplus ammunition to fill the bushes...my type 81 will likely see very little daylight...
 
My assumetion as well.... I figured with all the hype there would have been a sold out announcement by now. if reviews are good and any left I just may try one out.
 
Back
Top Bottom