Range Report: Home Tinkered Norinco 1911...

Stephen A. Camp · 09-17-2003, 11:27 PM

Hello.

Several months ago, I got a like-new Norinco 1911 at the upper end of what I would pay, but I've not regretted that purchase. In an earlier post, I described the things I did with the pistol. After finally getting the fixed sights regulated, I took the pistol out today for a check and to move the fixed sights if necessary.

The Pistol: This pistol came stock. Nothing's been done in terms of accuracy, but it does have some add-ons that I did myself.

Kimber blk rubber stocks
Colt hardchromed grip screws
Stainless Colt thumb safety
Chip McCormick trigger
Ed Brown sear and hammer
Flat, 20LPI-checkered, M/S housing
Wolff 18.5lb conventional recoil spring
Wilson Shock Buff in place
Colt E-nickled magazine release
Colt E-nickled slide stop lever
Wilson "drop in" Grip Safety (It did!)
Skateboard Tape on front grip strap

Gunsmith, Scott Mays, added the fixed sights. The rear sight is a King's hardballer and I flat don't remember what the front sight he silver-soldered on is! He then applied a matte finish to the top of the slide and polished the flats before bluing.

Ammunition: Today, the pistol was fired with the following rounds and an 8-round Wilson magazine was used:

Winchester USA 230 gr FMJ
Federal 230 gr Classic JHP
Corbon 200 gr +P JHP (Old, pre-Gold Dot bullet)
Handload:
200 gr Rucker CSWC
5.0 gr Bullseye
WLP primer
Starline Cases
LOA: 1.27"

For what it's worth, which ain't much, it'd rained up here today. Just for grins I fired a round of each JHP into some mud and pulled out the expanded bullets to see. Not a scientific test a tall and likely meaningless, but interesting, at least.

The bullet, round on the left is Corbon, while the other's the Federal.

Distances & Testing: Today, all firing was slow-fire with the 15 yard groups being fired standing, w/2-hand hold. No fifty-yard stuff today; I was running short of time and didn't care to trapse through the mud all that much. Also, twenty-five yard groups were fired from seated with my arms rested on my range box and a coat rather than standing.

15 Yards:

Each of these 10-shot groups were fired with the handload described above. When I'd do my part, it did its.

It becomes clear that the sights need to move a bit to the left.

I wasn't shooting very well here.

At this point, I messed around with the fixed sights and moved to 25 yards. Again, these were fired from a rest and not freehand.

25 Yards: The group fired with the USA ball consisted of 6 shots, all that I had left and as the picture will show, I blew one of them! The handload's group was of 10 shots.

So, the gun's "on" plenty good for me and for the uses I'll put it to.

Observations: I have continued to be pleased with this pistol's reliability. Roughly, 1200 rnds plus have been fired with zero malfunctions. Ejected cases are not dented or bent and ejection remains positive. The home trigger-job which was done on this pistol continues to remain true and crisp. Accuracy has been most surprisingly pleasant for a service grade pistol.

While my personally-owned and tested Norinco 1911s consists of but one, based on my experiences, I highly recommend these pistols for folks wanting a fun-to-shoot, reliable and pretty darned accurate forty-five. I suspect that many buy these as "base guns" for more refinement. This one's "refined" enough and will stay as it is.

Best.

NRAJOE · 09-18-2003, 10:56 AM

Man, thats nice! I almost bought a Norinco .45 a couple of years ago but couldn't bring myself to buy a 1911 with the words MADE IN CHINA on it...just didn't seem right somehow!

PAPA G · 09-18-2003, 11:24 AM

nice shooting, and a beautiful looking pistol!!!:nod:

Stephen A. Camp · 09-18-2003, 11:29 AM

Hello. Thank you. As the gun had been traded to a dealer, but was in excellent shape, I figured the only people the buy would help was my local dealer. The "Made in China" on a 1911 still doesn't "fit" in my opinion, but they sure do shoot.

Best.

jerry · 09-18-2003, 01:36 PM

I like my Norinco .45 I bought it circa 90~91 when cash flow for an E-4 was pretty slim. I have't modified as extensively. I did change the grips. Using Colt grips, drilled out the rampant Colt and epoxied in Browning headstamped ACP brass rims. Installed full length rod guide, long trigger, anti skid material to front strap, polished and re-blued the slabs of the slide. Smoothed up all internal parts. The only thing I see as a draw back is the roughness of the internal parts.

It has been a good shooter. I load 200 GN LSWC's on a 12# spring. When I shoot it, they could fall in a 5 gallon bucket next to me. Good accuracy as well.

I'll post a pic when I get close to the work camera again.

Thanks for the great info Stephen!

akjunkie · 09-25-2003, 01:54 PM

****, nice gun, will try to take pics of my Norinco and post for you guys to see.

dont really have a problem with the Made in China logo. i'd say 95% of all my shirt and shoes are made in china, south korera, vietname, pakistan, or some other 4th world country. only thing US i still wear are my Levi's. yeh, i know...(Levi's is anti gun)

NRAJOE · 09-25-2003, 03:51 PM

LEVI'S!!!??? WEAR WRANGLER....AMERICAN MADE AND PROGUN!

akjunkie · 09-26-2003, 11:38 PM

here are 2 pics of my norinco 1911. wanted to serrate the front slide... and then i found out i had to reblue the slide. didnt want to waste the money. ended taping "sandpaper" on the slide. the front of the grip, and a small piece on the grip safety.

added beaver tail, hammer , novak sights front/rear. and salvaged a "new" springfield trigger from a friend. adjusted trigger pull down to 3lbs. wilson extended thumb safety and wilson extended slide release.

also installed Wolff 16 lb spring and wilson recoil buffer.

jerry · 09-27-2003, 08:19 AM

Nice,
I'd still like to get a beavertail grip safety & hammer. Is that a drop in safety or custom fit?

akjunkie · 09-27-2003, 12:48 PM

it is a Custom fit beaver tail.

jerry · 09-27-2003, 06:15 PM

Not the prettiest but a good shooter.

jerry · 09-27-2003, 06:28 PM

Not a good one to be on the recieving end of.
:target:

09-17-2003, 11:27 PM	#1
Stephen A. Camp Guest Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 229	Range Report: Home Tinkered Norinco 1911... Hello. Several months ago, I got a like-new Norinco 1911 at the upper end of what I would pay, but I've not regretted that purchase. In an earlier post, I described the things I did with the pistol. After finally getting the fixed sights regulated, I took the pistol out today for a check and to move the fixed sights if necessary. The Pistol: This pistol came stock. Nothing's been done in terms of accuracy, but it does have some add-ons that I did myself. Kimber blk rubber stocks Colt hardchromed grip screws Stainless Colt thumb safety Chip McCormick trigger Ed Brown sear and hammer Flat, 20LPI-checkered, M/S housing Wolff 18.5lb conventional recoil spring Wilson Shock Buff in place Colt E-nickled magazine release Colt E-nickled slide stop lever Wilson "drop in" Grip Safety (It did!) Skateboard Tape on front grip strap Gunsmith, Scott Mays, added the fixed sights. The rear sight is a King's hardballer and I flat don't remember what the front sight he silver-soldered on is! He then applied a matte finish to the top of the slide and polished the flats before bluing. Ammunition: Today, the pistol was fired with the following rounds and an 8-round Wilson magazine was used: Winchester USA 230 gr FMJ Federal 230 gr Classic JHP Corbon 200 gr +P JHP (Old, pre-Gold Dot bullet) Handload: 200 gr Rucker CSWC 5.0 gr Bullseye WLP primer Starline Cases LOA: 1.27" For what it's worth, which ain't much, it'd rained up here today. Just for grins I fired a round of each JHP into some mud and pulled out the expanded bullets to see. Not a scientific test a tall and likely meaningless, but interesting, at least. The bullet, round on the left is Corbon, while the other's the Federal. Distances & Testing: Today, all firing was slow-fire with the 15 yard groups being fired standing, w/2-hand hold. No fifty-yard stuff today; I was running short of time and didn't care to trapse through the mud all that much. Also, twenty-five yard groups were fired from seated with my arms rested on my range box and a coat rather than standing. 15 Yards: Each of these 10-shot groups were fired with the handload described above. When I'd do my part, it did its. It becomes clear that the sights need to move a bit to the left. I wasn't shooting very well here. At this point, I messed around with the fixed sights and moved to 25 yards. Again, these were fired from a rest and not freehand. 25 Yards: The group fired with the USA ball consisted of 6 shots, all that I had left and as the picture will show, I blew one of them! The handload's group was of 10 shots. So, the gun's "on" plenty good for me and for the uses I'll put it to. Observations: I have continued to be pleased with this pistol's reliability. Roughly, 1200 rnds plus have been fired with zero malfunctions. Ejected cases are not dented or bent and ejection remains positive. The home trigger-job which was done on this pistol continues to remain true and crisp. Accuracy has been most surprisingly pleasant for a service grade pistol. While my personally-owned and tested Norinco 1911s consists of but one, based on my experiences, I highly recommend these pistols for folks wanting a fun-to-shoot, reliable and pretty darned accurate forty-five. I suspect that many buy these as "base guns" for more refinement. This one's "refined" enough and will stay as it is. Best. __________________ Please visit www.hipowersandhandguns.com.

09-18-2003, 10:56 AM	#2
NRAJOE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Toledo,OH Posts: 19,252 Images: 3	Man, thats nice! I almost bought a Norinco .45 a couple of years ago but couldn't bring myself to buy a 1911 with the words MADE IN CHINA on it...just didn't seem right somehow! __________________ U.S. Army 1976-1979 237th Combat Engineers Heilbronn, Germany

09-18-2003, 11:29 AM	#4
Stephen A. Camp Guest Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 229	Hello. Thank you. As the gun had been traded to a dealer, but was in excellent shape, I figured the only people the buy would help was my local dealer. The "Made in China" on a 1911 still doesn't "fit" in my opinion, but they sure do shoot. Best. __________________ Please visit www.hipowersandhandguns.com.

09-18-2003, 01:36 PM	#5
jerry Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 11,199 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 1	I like my Norinco .45 I bought it circa 90~91 when cash flow for an E-4 was pretty slim. I have't modified as extensively. I did change the grips. Using Colt grips, drilled out the rampant Colt and epoxied in Browning headstamped ACP brass rims. Installed full length rod guide, long trigger, anti skid material to front strap, polished and re-blued the slabs of the slide. Smoothed up all internal parts. The only thing I see as a draw back is the roughness of the internal parts. It has been a good shooter. I load 200 GN LSWC's on a 12# spring. When I shoot it, they could fall in a 5 gallon bucket next to me. Good accuracy as well. I'll post a pic when I get close to the work camera again. Thanks for the great info Stephen! __________________ Joe the plumber is screwed

09-25-2003, 03:51 PM	#7
NRAJOE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Toledo,OH Posts: 19,252 Images: 3	LEVI'S!!!??? WEAR WRANGLER....AMERICAN MADE AND PROGUN! __________________ U.S. Army 1976-1979 237th Combat Engineers Heilbronn, Germany

09-18-2003, 11:24 AM	#3
PAPA G Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somerset, kentucky Posts: 11	nice shooting, and a beautiful looking pistol!!!:nod:

09-25-2003, 01:54 PM	#6
akjunkie Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 110	****, nice gun, will try to take pics of my Norinco and post for you guys to see. dont really have a problem with the Made in China logo. i'd say 95% of all my shirt and shoes are made in china, south korera, vietname, pakistan, or some other 4th world country. only thing US i still wear are my Levi's. yeh, i know...(Levi's is anti gun)

09-26-2003, 11:38 PM	#8
akjunkie Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 110	here are 2 pics of my norinco 1911. wanted to serrate the front slide... and then i found out i had to reblue the slide. didnt want to waste the money. ended taping "sandpaper" on the slide. the front of the grip, and a small piece on the grip safety. added beaver tail, hammer , novak sights front/rear. and salvaged a "new" springfield trigger from a friend. adjusted trigger pull down to 3lbs. wilson extended thumb safety and wilson extended slide release. also installed Wolff 16 lb spring and wilson recoil buffer.

09-27-2003, 08:19 AM	#9
jerry Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 11,199 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 1	Nice, I'd still like to get a beavertail grip safety & hammer. Is that a drop in safety or custom fit? __________________ Joe the plumber is screwed

09-27-2003, 12:48 PM	#10
akjunkie Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 110	it is a Custom fit beaver tail.

09-27-2003, 06:15 PM	#11
jerry Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 11,199 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 1	My Norinco Not the prettiest but a good shooter. __________________ Joe the plumber is screwed Last edited by jerry; 07-14-2007 at 03:24 PM.

09-27-2003, 06:28 PM	#12
jerry Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 11,199 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 1	Another view Not a good one to be on the recieving end of. :target: __________________ Joe the plumber is screwed Last edited by jerry; 07-14-2007 at 03:24 PM.