Thanks to Hungry I have HUGE PING! Yes, you can get ping from a Norc flash hider, but the aftermarket ones are way better.
Mmmmm love that ping
And that's what you git for going to an M14 clinic (in Calgary) . Thanks for speaking to the Norc flash suppressor being able to ping... yes they can but ya gotta bust off the Norc unit in the first place.
At the Calgary clinics we used a length of 2 x 2 spruce and later graduated to a piece of birch (split, too) firewood (Thanks, Fort Mac FG members) to rest that gas cylinder on and then whack the flash suppressor with a cold chisel and dead blow hammer.

That sure was funny. Then once you get it off, we can see where that gas lock bottoms out or passes through the bottom dead center position

and needs the 180 degree fix or the gas lock swapping party or the shims (last and final option).
Several of you at the Calgary, 100 Mile House, Fort McMurray, and Dundurn, SK clinics (I did 7 of them for you westerners) learned about the fine practice of fitting the gas cylinder lock to obtain a tight unitizing fit that will allow the barrel to vibrate like and tuning fork and the flash suppressor to PING very acutely.

The benefit you Interior BC clinic dudes showed me was how 10 people with sloppy gas locks were able to swap (kinda like speed dating at a reality show) gas locks; obtain a tight fit and by process of elimination, all 10 people ended up with proper fitting gas cylinder locks. NOT a single shim was used at the BC Interior clinic. At Dundurn, SK clinic about 6 people had loose gas cylinder locks and ONLY one dude had to shim (ONE shim needed). Life is good!
Happy PING'ing!
Cheers,
Barney