I have a few Norinco 1911 questions.

[El Rojo]

A friend just bought a Norinco 1911A1 .45 ACP. We were comparing it to my Colt 1911 Mark IV. One of the biggest differences was the spring assembly. His was like a Berreta 92FS and it has a metal bar that extrudes when you pull the slide back. You also have to use a allen wrench to take the metal bar out for disassembly. Is this stock on a Norinco gun or is this some after market set-up. How does it differ from my Colt and the spring system that stays internal when the slide is back? Let me know if there is some sort of benefit to it as it is a much bigger pain in the butt to disassemble.

My Colt has a plunger on the inside of the back portion of the slide that the Norinco is missing. I am guessing this is some sort of safety mechanism probably having to do with the firing pin. Is that right?

Also he has a Mecgar 8 round magazine. It didn't slide into the gun as easily as my Colt Factory 7 round mags. Any recommendations on good magazines that aren't going to cost over $15?

Overall the gun looks in really good shape and the finish is really good compared to my old police trade in Colt. The real test is coming up when he goes out and shoots it. After doing some searching through the archives; I expect that he won't be disappointed.

Let me know what is up with those three questions above. I appreciate it.

 

[HSMITH]

That is an aftermarket Full Length Guide Rod. They make good fishing sinkers and tubular punches, other than that they are very little good.

The Norinco came with a GI type short recoil rod with spring and plug.

The plunger on the slide on your colt is a firing pin safety, known as the series 80 mechanism. It is not needed IMO but doesn't hurt a thing.

Mec-gar mags for the 1911 are pretty highly regarded, and should function fine unless molested.

 

[wally]

Chip McCormick "tactical" 8-rounders work well in my Norinco and all my 1911s as do the 8-rnd Mecgars. I prefer a flush fit so I didn't mount the bumper pads
on the CMC.

You can get the Mecgars for $8 and the CMC Tacticals for $10 from www.cdnninvestments.com

I know 1911Tuner don't like 8-round mags but I've been using them exclusively for a very long time without problems.

The FLGR is an aftermarket part. I hope you got the originals as it was a really nice plug with a "notch" to capture the free end of the spring so the plug and spring stayed together as a unit -- they should all be made like this IMHO.

--wally.