Tellner's Norinco 1911 got me thinking about Chinese firearms in general, so I decided to start this thread.
Some people think of Chinese firearms as being inferior, and I was certainly in that crowd as well, until a handful of years ago.
Most of that prejudice was due to my experience with a Chinese-made Makarov that was probably made at a less than decent facility, and that the gun had been neglected. This Makarov had a terrible finish, and the machining was very rough, indeed. It wasn't nearly as good as even the most base of Bulgarian Makarovs.
All of that changed, though, when I got a hold of another Chinese-made Makarov. The finish was beautiful, the machining was exceptionally smooth, and that trigger had a very nice pull (for a Mak). The darn thing could shoot the hottest of Corbon 9x18 ammo, and be a tack driver from combat distances.
I thought, judging from the initial appearance, that my friend had let me use an East German Makarov (thought of as the best Makarovs, followed by Russian, then Bulgarian), since this beauty of a gun was so good, that it had to be.
When I took a closer look at the side of the slide, and saw the "Made in China by Norinco" on it, that was very surprising indeed.
After having played around with a Norinco 1911 (that was also very inexpensive), along with a Norinco JW15 rifle (bolt action .22 LR), I would dare say, that the 1911, with a wee bit of fluff and buff, ended up being just as good as a Springfield Milspec, and that the JW15 was as good as my Remington Model Five, yet each cost significantly less than their American counterparts.
All in all?
Chinese manufacturing, especially their metallurgy, has gotten pretty darn good over the years. These days, if you see something that says "Made in China," one cannot make any sort of assumption that it's going to be of inferior quality. If anything, I seem to recall the days, back when "Made in Japan" meant inferior quality, and going through a similar revolution.
Some people think of Chinese firearms as being inferior, and I was certainly in that crowd as well, until a handful of years ago.
Most of that prejudice was due to my experience with a Chinese-made Makarov that was probably made at a less than decent facility, and that the gun had been neglected. This Makarov had a terrible finish, and the machining was very rough, indeed. It wasn't nearly as good as even the most base of Bulgarian Makarovs.
All of that changed, though, when I got a hold of another Chinese-made Makarov. The finish was beautiful, the machining was exceptionally smooth, and that trigger had a very nice pull (for a Mak). The darn thing could shoot the hottest of Corbon 9x18 ammo, and be a tack driver from combat distances.
I thought, judging from the initial appearance, that my friend had let me use an East German Makarov (thought of as the best Makarovs, followed by Russian, then Bulgarian), since this beauty of a gun was so good, that it had to be.
When I took a closer look at the side of the slide, and saw the "Made in China by Norinco" on it, that was very surprising indeed.
After having played around with a Norinco 1911 (that was also very inexpensive), along with a Norinco JW15 rifle (bolt action .22 LR), I would dare say, that the 1911, with a wee bit of fluff and buff, ended up being just as good as a Springfield Milspec, and that the JW15 was as good as my Remington Model Five, yet each cost significantly less than their American counterparts.
All in all?
Chinese manufacturing, especially their metallurgy, has gotten pretty darn good over the years. These days, if you see something that says "Made in China," one cannot make any sort of assumption that it's going to be of inferior quality. If anything, I seem to recall the days, back when "Made in Japan" meant inferior quality, and going through a similar revolution.
