Norinco 1911?

T

tony.s

New member
There's a thread about good & low-cost 1911's here that reminded me that I've been fantasizing about an M1911 single stack .45 for quite some time now. I don't have the money to buy a Springfield, though, so I don't have one. (The selection is quite limited in this country, everyone wants to go hi-cap... But I have small hands. Plus the single-stack .45 is a legendary firearm, and that's what I want to own. :)) But I keep hearing good things about Norinco's... So I thought I'd ask once more, are they any good? The people at the local gun shop I go to keep warning me that if I buy the Norinco, I'll end up spending at least as much as the price for a Springfield Mil-Spec trying to make the Norinco actually work. So is it any darn good without a new barrel, slide, trigger, hammer, etc. etc.?

(Yes, I'd probably end up upgrading it anyway. But I don't have the money to buy all the stuff before I graduate... So I need to know it it's any good without expensive modifications.)

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Tony S.

Why be normal?
 
Although I don't have a norinco 1911 butI heard its good right out of the box.BTW what country are you from?
 
Aha! Yet another Finn!

I have a friend here (in South-Eastern Finland) who owns, and shoots the Norinco regularly. Email me and I may be able to get you more specific information about what he does and doesn't like about it.

...TS
 
The Norincos that I have seen have been excellent for the money. I saw one yesterday that was smooth and tight and had an excellent trigger. I have heard that some of the more recent ones have problems with quality control.

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You have to be there when it's all over. Otherwise you can't say "I told you so."

Better days to be,

Ed
 
It'll depend on how much that Norinco costs. I have a Norinco that was tricked out by a good 1911 gunsmith. Its great, and I got it for $400. A friend picked up one, NIB, for $325, recently, and it is very good.

(Note: I've been competing in IDPA with mine, and it stands its own against the $1800+ Wilson custom guns. Those Wilson guns are things of beauty, though...)

If you can examine one before the purchase, do so. The second link, below, is a guide to evaluating 1911s that might help. (This was written by the same gunsmith from whom I bought my Norinco 1911.) The first link is to his homepage. There's a wealth of information there. Also some guns for sale. I've bought two from him and felt I got great value both times. I'm getting ready to buy a third.
http://www.detnet.com/fuselier/ http://www.detnet.com/fuselier/1911.html
 
pawcatch, like The Scandinavian noticed, I'm from Finland.

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Tony S.

Why be normal?
 
I'll have to agree with the "At what price?" comment. When they could be had for $250-$300, they were a great bargain, but the prices seem to be creeping well beyond $400 for new ones, and for that, I'd pass. Mine had 10,000 rounds through it when I bought it, and was still in fine shape. The machining is very rough, inside and out, and the springs seem to be a weak point. I would not let the legend of the 1911 reside exclusively with the Norinco without some reservations, but they are solid guns.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RickB:
I'll have to agree with the "At what price?" comment. When they could be had for $250-$300, they were a great bargain, but the prices seem to be creeping well beyond $400 for new ones, and for that, I'd pass. Mine had 10,000 rounds through it when I bought it, and was still in fine shape. The machining is very rough, inside and out, and the springs seem to be a weak point. I would not let the legend of the 1911 reside exclusively with the Norinco without some reservations, but they are solid guns.[/quote]

One of the reasons the prices are creeping up is that they were among the guns banned back in the mid 1990s. They aren't making any more of them...(for import to the US.)
 
Very well made firearms with good steel.I sure wish I bought a dozen or so when I could get them for 135.00.

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Bob--- Age and deceit will overcome youth and speed.
I'm old and deceitful.
 
I have two Norinco "Models of the 1911A1", blue and parkerized. The slides are quite hard and if you are having different sights installed, be sure to advise your gunsmith of the fact.

I replaced the springs on both of mine with Wolff springs http://www.gunsprings.com.

Some of the machining can rough but not really that bad, I've seen worse.

Any number of the US 'smiths used Norinco's for custom pistols when they were still being imported here. Wilson was one of them.

My range report can be found at http://users.supernet.com/taos


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"If there be treachery, let there be jihad."
Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
 
I saw a defensive pump shotgun made by Norinco at a better then reasonable price. It was very heavy but solid. I didn't buy it because I never heard of the company. Who are they? Where are they made? Stay Safe, Sam
 
They are made in the PRC (Peoples Republic of China), you know, the people that gave the First Felon all that money.

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"If there be treachery, let there be jihad."
Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
 
I wanted an inexpensive 1911 to start shooting IPSC with in the Standard (Limited in the US) Division here in Canada. I looked at several used models..Colts mainly, and decided instead to buy a new Norinco 1911A1..it was only CDN$279...
It has proven to be an ultra-reliable and strong pistol, will feed on ANY kind of ammunition and has served me well in my first year of IPSC. I have replaced most of the internals with 'trick' parts from Ed Brown, SVI and others...the only part that I didn't replace was the recoil spring. When I decided to replace it a couple of weeks ago, the spring was about 1" shorter than the new replacement, which was also a 16lb spring.
I would replace ALL the springs right away in a new Norinco..the rest of the gun's just fine. Then install 'tune-up' parts as you either need, or can afford them.
Mike
 
Thanks for your replys. It seems that I will start looking for the Norinco... :) (Still haven't actually seen one for sale around here.)

I'm left-handed, so I will have to get an ambi safety. Plus it would seem that the springs have to be replaced ASAP. How much are these? I've seen Norinco 1911's sold on a web site of a Finnish gun store, price was 1850FIM with fixed sights. (Which I would probably want to also change at some point... :p) That would be approximately 272USD according to a converter web page I found. I take it this would be a pretty good price?

Then of course I'd "have" to get a new hammer, trigger, beavertail, mag well, grips, have a trigger job done... *sigh* :p But I'm thinking all this might be quite fun. :D

(Okay, all that stuff will have to wait for quite a while. But I can dream, can't I? :D)

(Damn it! I won't be able to afford it for a while... And I want one now! :D)

(BTW, what is the trigger like on one of these? It would help if I could live with it for a while...)

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Tony S.

Why be normal?
 
Ed Brown has one on his website cheap. I don't know how it would ship to you however.
http://www.edbrown.com/riflelist.htm

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"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag and begin slitting throats." H.L. Mencken

[This message has been edited by BillX (edited October 06, 2000).]
 
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