Norinco 1911A1.

[Chako]

When I started shooting IPSC, I used a stock M&P 9mm. Then I noticed a few folks shooting 1911 models in .45 ACP. I was curious, but didn't want to spent a lot. I looked online and was able to buy this Norinco 1911A1. The first thing I did was replace the rubber grips with a set of fancy pearls off of eBay. I thought it would suit the firearm nicely.

The very first time I competed with it, half way through the course of fire, I lost my whole front sight assembly. Half the club looked for it, but we never did find it. The gun was laid up for a month and a half until the dealer could source the front sight assembly. A quick trip to one of the local gunsmiths, and that will never happen again. I will say however, even with the front assembly gone, I was still able to hit my targets. The 1911 is a real great natural pointer.

 

[shouldazagged]

Years ago I passed on a well-used Norinco 1911A1 in a pawn shop and have kicked myself ever since. I've heard a lot of people express complete satisfaction with their basic, plain-Jane models.

 

[DWalt]

My brother in Washington State has a Norinco .45 he bought back when they could legally be imported. He feels it is the best ever of the 1911 clones, and I have read similar opinions. I always got a kick out of the slide stamping - "Model Of The 1911"

 

[MarkAlt]

Many, many years ago, I was at a gun show and a surplus dealer had the new Norincos stacked on his table at some rediculously low price. I bought one.

After all these years, it's never failed to be one of my better shooters. Nothing but good things to say about these fine pistols.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I bought a used Norinco .45 about ten years ago. It had Tru-Glo sights and three magazines for $309.00 OTD. It was a decent gun, but was replaced as a nightstand gun by a S&W 5946. It is one of the few guns I have regretted selling.

 

[sigp220.45]

Nice gun - I'm glad Canadians can still get them new. The prices on them here have risen steadily since we stopped importing them.

 

[rustythread]

Bought an ugly used one for around $100 bucks about 20 yrs ago. Pistolsmith friend of mine worked it over for me. It would shoot cloverleafs at 25 yards all day long, if I could still do my part.

 

[model70hunter]

This was the sleeper that escaped many of us. Dang it.

 

[k22fan]

A little over 20 years ago Norinco 1911s were popular base guns for remodeling and gun magazines often ran pictures of them built into match or CCC guns. At the time most of us bought our new guns from kitchen table FFLs. The routine was we'd order the gun through the Shotgun News and pay for it so our FFL did not have to have any capital. The FFL collected their fee, usually 10%, and sales tax. Often the distributors had a reduced price if you bought more than one of a particular model. A friend and I split an order of two new Norinco 1911s. Our OTD price was $266.

About the same time another bargain priced 1911 was Argentine surplus Model 1927s. They were Colt licensed so parts interchanged with standard U.S. 1911s. In good to VG condition OTD price form small FFLs was about $225.

Reflect on those prices when you hear Obama say he wants ATF to issue large numbers of FFLs again.

 

[Chako]

Other than the whole dove tailed front sight flying off never to be seen during a fun competition, I have been more than impressed with this one. I wasn't expecting much, as it was 330 dollars Canadian new. A few club members are also shooting Norinco copies of AR 15s. If I didn't already have a NEF Survivor single shot in .223 Remington, I would be very tempted in buying one of those after having some experience with this one.

 

[Stirling]

The Norinco was very popular here and many were upgraded by competition shooters. The gunsmiths found them to be a challenge to work on because the metal was so hard. Interesting I thought.

 

[Chako]

I had read somewhere online that they used railway ties, which were made from harder steel. This made them excellent part guns back in the day. Up here in Canada, Norinco's are all over the place, and cheap. I was hesitant in buying mine because of the price, but from personal experience, I wouldn't hesitate in buying another as they are very good value for the money. The inside of the slide is a little rougher than I would like...but then it hasn't caused any performance issues, and you can't see it when assembled. I can live with that.

 

[Chako]

Here are a few more photos showing the interior.

 

[OLDSTER]

Back in my 1911 days ( many years ago), I built a beautiful 1911 using a Norinco as a starting platform. Used the grip frame and slide from the Norinco, and everything else came from Ed Brown, King, and Wilson. It was as good a shooter as my old Gold Cup. Regretfully sold them both when revolvers took over my interests.

 

[saujaeger]

I also carry a Norinco 1911 ! Sights from LPA, rubber grips, long safety and polished and new blued.

 

[BigBill]

The Chinese norinco 1911a1 is forged steel from our scrap rail road track.
The frame and slide are forged steel. I purchased one for $300 years ago. I used it for a build platform. It's my most accurate 1911.

 

[mtnwinds]

I also have a Norinco 1911. My curiosity about the pistol led me to research it on the web which ultimately resulted in my purchasing one that came up for sale on a local gun site.

Whenever the Norinco is discussed the comment regarding it being manufactured from railroad tracks usually finds its way into the discussion. I found that interesting as I have a small anvil that is just part of an old railroad track and when struck with a hammer it produces a great ringing sound that is somehow reassuring and, for whatever reason, that fact did influence my purchase of a Norinco.

Sometime later I found a post on another forum, Before and after pics(Norinco) - 1911Forum , where the subject is completely explained. The relevant portion of the topic is found in post #13. Hopefully, this will help to finally lay to rest an old internet rumour.

 

[Jebus35745]

At Camp Perry yrs ago, Clark had a Norinco 45 with their name on it. It was made into a Target gun. Said it was a great gun and kept the origional bbl cause it was match grade. Larry

 

[DWalt]

I've never before heard the story about the Norinco .45s being made from rails. Where did it originate?

 

[k22fan]

Rumors About Gun Steel

An even less expensive 1990s imported surplus pistol that was similar to 1911s was the Argentine Ballester–Molina. Its trigger pivoted, its safety locked the hammer and it lacked a grip safety like a Spanish Star. While they flooded the market it was commonly said that they were made out of armor plate recovered from the Nazi pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. That was a great story.