Norinco 1911A1 **NEW PICS & GRIPS**

[olivehead1]

Picked this up at an out of town pawn shop I've only been to a couple times. It's been there for months, and this is only the second I've ever seen in the wild, so I figured, why not? I'd say it's in very good condition with some edge wear and very light freckling on the left side of the slide near the muzzle. At least I think it's freckling. Could just be some other imperfection in the finish. I think most would agree that these pistols tend to be a bit on the rough side cosmetically. The Hogue wrap arounds are already off. Really hate those but YMMV.

Question: The grip safety has a bit of clank clank to it. It's loose, like there should be more spring tension pushing it out until you depress it by hand, but the gun passes all the function tests including the trigger being dead until you actually grip or press down on the grip safety.

Sound like a bad leaf spring? I was planning on taking one from a different gun and dropping in the Norc to make sure that's the issue. Or I guess I could just bend the right leaf on the factory spring a little so it increases resistance on the grip safety (?). What's the best method for that?

 

[alwslate]

My Colt Series 70 Government Model that I bought new back in about
1974 has had very light spring tension on the grip safety since new. I
like that way.

 

[olivehead1]

The loose grip safety was fixed by taking it apart far enough to reseat the leaf spring. Once it was where it wanted to be, all functioned as it should and no more clink-clank.

Gave it a good cleaning and put on some rosewood grips that were a takeoff from a Kimber I'd picked up used and no longer have. All in all a well made gun, once you look past the tool marks and rough edges.

I'm not seeing a lot of indication that this gun was ever fired, or it was fired a minimum. The 608xxx serial number may put it in the mid-90s and prior to the Clinton ban, but someone may be able to correct me on that. The barrel is stamped "M P" and on the underside has etched the last 4 digits of the s/n so I'm assuming it's original to the gun. The right side aft of the dust cover is marked "S.S.I. ONT. CA"

 

[Mexican Kerry]

I've had a couple of Norincos, my biggest gripe is the front sight. The more recent production pistols have over-compensated for that, but not really for the better. I currently have a commander sized .45 that is a project gun. I reshaped the frame and fitted a bobtail msh, and smoothed the top of the slide (no sights) as I wanted to experiment with a no snag point-to shoot type compact (as compact as a 1911 can be in Canada).

Its not finished, its been sitting in the safe since I got bored with the project and I still need to find someone to do some milling on the slide.

 

[OLDSTER]

Really nice find, and the Kimber grips are perfect. Back in my bulls-eye and bowling pin days, the Norinco 1911 was a popular platform for building custom 1911s. The Norinco steel was, and is, very high quality.

 

[stansdds]

Norinco 1911-A1's were common items in gun shops and gun shows back in the 1990's, but you don't see them often these days. Although a bit rough in the machining and finishing departments, the receiver and slide were made of really tough carbon steel and made for a great starting point for a custom 1911.


Yours already looks 100% better after cleaning and replacing the rubber stocks. I'd be interested in reading a range report.

 

[Pisgah]

Good find. I've owned a handful of Colts through the years, but none has been as reliable as my Norinco and my Rock Island Arms 1911's. Go figure...

 

[olivehead1]

I've had a couple of Norincos, my biggest gripe is the front sight. The more recent production pistols have over-compensated for that, but not really for the better.

The sights on my gun are fine for what they are, but it looks like whoever filled in the three dots didn't have their reading glasses on that day.

Overall the gun has a "hand made" look and feel, meaning it looks like someone was given some barstock and a set of tools and told to build a 1911. The bevel on one side of the grip safety tang is slightly different from the other side; the lines of the frame have a slight "waviness" here and there, etc. I will say the lines of the slide all appear to be nice and straight, while those of a vintage park'd Colt 1991A1 I looked at a couple days ago were just...off. The rear sight is pretty much center, but just not quite perpendicular to the slide; maybe a degree or two off. Tough to see, but my OCD gives me super vision. Most would likely not notice.

Funny that if this were a $3,000-4,000 custom 1911, the slight variations here and there would simply point to the handmade nature and quality of this fine pistol.

 

[824tsv]

Norinco's are probably the most frequently encountered 1911 style pistol up here. S.S.I. ONT. CA is the exporter (Safari Sports Inc, Markham, Ontario). Norinco's make great platforms for comp gun builds. Legend has it that the frames and slides are forged from railway track steel.
I picked this up last fall for $200. I'm in the process of doing a bullseye build. The slide is finished and I picked up a Kart exact fit NM barrel and bushing for it. The only parts that I've found that wont's swap out with generic 1911 parts are the grip screw bushings which are a weird thread and the sight dovetail is another weird one. Mexican Kerry, I have a gunsmith for you who enjoys working on Norinco's and is quite talented. He did my slide. Although located in Ontario, PM me and I'll supply his contact info.

 

[olivehead1]

S.S.I. ONT. CA is the exporter (Safari Sports Inc, Markham, Ontario).

Not to sound stupid (tough to avoid sometimes), but does that mean this gun was originally sold/bought in Canada and somehow over the years made it's way down here? I'm almost as far South from the U.S.-Canada line as you can get.

 

[824tsv]

Yes, it came from Canada sometime prior to the ban (1993?) Safari Sports is no longer in business under that name.

 

[824tsv]

Unless there is a S.S.I. INC, ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA?

 

[olivehead1]

Yes, it came from Canada sometime prior to the ban (1993?) Safari Sports is no longer in business under that name.

But would that mean that it isn't necessarily pre-ban, i.e., since there wasn't and still isn't a Norinco ban in Canada, that wouldn't help date this particular gun? Doesn't really matter, but it's always interesting to try to narrow a manufacture date when info isn't readily available. I guess it's safe to say this gun is from the '90s (?).

BTW Googling "Norinco Canada" will get you, among other things, links to the Cabelas Canada and other dealers' websites with current production Norinco 1911s for sale. I'm partial to this one. Politics is why we can't have nice things.

 

[824tsv]

The ban I was referring to was the Clinton ban. Norinco's have been a very common sight up here since the late 80's/early 90's and are still readily available in any flavour you want.

 

[Grayfox]

Norincos have always been diamonds in the rough. Very rough.
As already mentioned, a great many of these were bought cheap back in the day and then used as a base for some outstanding custom builds.
I too have heard the rumor of them being built from railroad track steel. I do know the metal is hard as hell. I've also heard (can't prove) that if you want any machine work done that a gunsmith will also charge you the cost of a new cutting bit because that hard stuff will completely ruin the one he uses.
I picked up a used one a few years ago pretty cheap. I thought about customizing it. But then its getting pretty rare to find one in original condition anymore, so I decided to leave it as is.
Mine is a good shooter and has been completely reliable. Not bad for a cheap, rough looking import.

 

[olivehead1]

Based on the rather sketchy info available online, I'm now thinking this gun (S/N 608xxx) may be late '90s - early 2000s.

 

[Kiwi cop]

I have a Norinco made Ranger 1911 .45. The outside is nicely finished with dovetail mounted front and rear “fixed” sights, and it came with ambi safety, extended slide release and mag button, all for under NS$800, a little over US$750 (remember pistols are expensive in this country).But the internal parts are built like the proverbial tank.

I did a basic trigger job with replacement hammer, sear and trigger. Neither safety would work when reassembled so I worked on the original parts and put them back in. The biggest change was to the height of the hammer hooks. They were way above the feeler gauge I use to set the height.

The guns are strong. I had some ammo issues with max loads in some new brass last year that saw case failure. One round fired in the Ranger blew the head off the case, but the remaining brass pulled easily out of barrel once I got the pistol apart, and there was no frame or slide damage.

My Ranger sees duty as a Wild Bunch (modern category) pistol and as a backup for my primary IPSC gun. I have seen new shooters buy the Ranger in 9mm as an initial competition pistol and the do quite well with a little work.

 

[Mexican Kerry]

. Mexican Kerry, I have a gunsmith for you who enjoys working on Norinco's and is quite talented. He did my slide. Although located in Ontario, PM me and I'll supply his contact info.

Thanks for the offer, but I don't really like sending guns away for work unless absolutely necessary. I'll whittle away at it myself eventually. I'll agree with the hardness of the steel though, I tried re-shaping the slide lightening cuts with a ball end mill (a la early Colts) and the thing just skipped across it. Made a bit of a mess, which is why I'm now leaning toward BHP-style carry cuts. Just need to get myself some better equipment for the job!

 

[Mexican Kerry]

Based on the rather sketchy info available online, I'm now thinking this gun (S/N 608xxx) may be late '90s - early 2000s.

I had no idea there was even a database for Norinco production. Every once in a while there is a big batch that shows up at an importer/dealer and then someone says they are a shipment from an old contract made for police/army in Country X and were sitting in a sea can for 10 years. At least that's what I understood, I could very well be mistaken.

What I DO know is that when they have been released to the public there has often been a combo deal of pistol and 500 or 1000 rds of ammo for around 500 bucks and they get scooped up quickly. Then a month later the for-sale ads get flooded with "like new" pistols for 250-300 bucks.

 

[spad124]

That's a good buy! I bought a new Norinco during the couple of years they were imported into the US. I think that was 1990-1993. I still have it and shoot it. It's just a basic no frills 1911A1 pistol that shoots great and doesn't jam. You really don't need any more. Yes, the machining is a bit rough, but not many 1911s sold back then shot as reliably out of the box.

I think I paid $249 for mine. My father in law bought a new Colt 1911A1 at about the same time for at least twice the price and had nothing but trouble with it. It would jam on the third or fourth round of every magazine. I think he and the gunsmith finally determined the chamber wasn't cut correctly. Eventually he became so discouraged he sold it. But my Norc just kept (and keeps) running.