Norinco barrel question (again)

[a454me]

I got another barrel for one of my Norincos , it was advertised as a drop in but slightly oversize in some areas . I wanted a Kart easy fit but i was unsure of my ability/patience required to fit one . Barrel arrived and like a kid at X-mas I put it in the gun . It required no fitting (no real surprise ) but I did notice a few differences first it has a very tight lock up compared to the original barrel and a replacement GI Springfield barrel that was previously in the gun . Next the barrel hood is tight against the breech face of the slide , the slide does not go as far forward on the frame when locked
( not much difference you can just see a few thousandths overhanging the rear of the frame compared to the old barrels). I haven't shot the gun yet but I did prime an empty case to see where the firing pin hit , it was very near dead center . Just for the heck of it I put this same barrel in my other Norinco which still has the original barrel and got the same results . What should I look for upon firing this gun , anything else I should check before firing? I can't shoot it today cause I'm going to Knob Creek Range (in West Point,KY) today for their machine gun shoot/gunshow ! I'm hoping 1911Tuner is reading this !
Thanks

 

[robertbank]

My suggestion - take it to a 'smith and have it properly fitted. Why run the chance of ruining your gun for the sake of a few dollars to have it properly checked out. Somethings I can accept as drop in with the 1911 but the barrel would not be one of them.

Take Care

 

[1911Tuner]

Havin' a Fit

Howdy 454,

Hard to say exactly what's causing the slide to stop short of battery, but the tight hood fit is probably the place to start looking. It could also be the lower lug dimension causing the slidestop pin to force it too high into the slide...but not as likely as the first.

Check to see if the barrel link is too long. That'll often cause problems too.

You can file a little off the face of the barrel hood, but without knowing which
barrel lug is hitting which slide lug in the horizontal plane, you don't know which lug...or how much of it (vertically) is bearing the brunt of the recoil forces when the gun fires. When the hood is a tight fit in the slide recess, it forces the barrel as far forward as it will go in the slide. One or more of the locking lugs is the limiting mechanism, and the only way to know which lug or lugs it is, you have to gauge the distance of each slide lug's rear face from the breechface, and the distance of each barrel lug's front face from the rear face of the hood.

Try taking a little at a time off the hood...and be careful to keep it square. You may get lucky and have the strongest lug...#1...engaged.
If you're very lucky, you may also have 90% or more of the lug vertically engaged. With a Norinco, I'd bet on the #2 lug and about 75-80% though.