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norinco 1897 any good?

john wjohn w Member Posts: 4,104
edited August 2007 in Ask the Experts
I have always wanted a winchester 1897 repeating shotgun but finding a good not worn out one is hard to find. How are the norinco copys and do they also fire with the trigger held back and pumping the slide?.---- OK i did a search here and now my question is-- ARE the newly manufactured norinco's and better than the first ones?. Thanks Guys

Comments

  • 1KYDSTR1KYDSTR Member Posts: 2,361 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Bad thing is it's a Norinco. They tend to range over the years from good, workmanlike guns to complete P's OS. I have not fired a replica 1897 (there seem to be a lot of originals in my neck of the woods) but have shot the 1887 lever gun replica...I like my 1894 made '87 a WHOLE lot better. The Norinco gun seems to be grinding itself into battery but mine is just as smooth as butter. If just having an example you can shoot is high on your list , then go for it...The original '87 and '97's are getting tough to find, and expensive as hell when you do.
  • CapnMidnightCapnMidnight Member Posts: 8,520
    edited November -1
    John,
    Out here toward the left coast where I live you can pick up a pretty good original 97 for 350 to 600 bucks, depending on your proximity to SAS shooters. Numrich has all sorts of parts for them. I've got a couple, one I shoot quit a bit. Buy a real one and own a piece of history. For what it's worth.
    W.D.
  • Winston BodeWinston Bode Member Posts: 1,628 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Well, I have owned and shot both. The original was smoother but it was quite a few years older and had been shot a bunch.

    The Norinco that I own is a good gun. It fires when you pull the trigger and functions like an original, ala slam firing if you hold the trigger back and pump the action.

    Some folks just can't fork out $600.00 for an original Winchester 1897 to shoot CAS or for the joy of owning an original. The Norincos fill a niche and do it quite well.

    If there is a SASS club near you go out on the day they shoot and someone, probably several someones, will let you shoot the Norinco copy and probably an original or two will be present to compare.

    Bode

    P.S. I actually paid more for my Norinco than I did for the Winchester that I owned.
  • leeblackmanleeblackman Member Posts: 5,303 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I don't know about now, but I got one when they first came out and it was the biggest piece of junk. The quality was horrible. It looked real good out of the box on the outside, but that was about the extent of it. I was going to try to polish up the guts a little to make the stroke smoother, and it looked like a pot metal nightmare.

    Its true about Norinco though, it just depends which one you get. Sometimes they are junk, othertimes they aren't so bad. Maybe just depends on the lot, or if the tooling bits got replaced that day, or maybe if they ran out of old stock junk metal and got some new stuff, who knows. All I say is, if you get one, take it out of the box, and operate it. If it "feels" like maybe it needs to be "broken in" then doin't buy it maybe ask for another one.
  • givettegivette Member Posts: 10,886
    edited November -1
    Prior posts are valid. Many quality control improvements/upgrades to the gun as production progressed.

    Get a M1897 Norinco with first two digits "06" or higher. Serial number on front face of the receiver. Hard to spot. Best, Joe
  • manchie390manchie390 Member Posts: 305 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Ditto Givette [^]
    The eariler models has some problems[:(]
  • john wjohn w Member Posts: 4,104
    edited November -1
    Thanks guys i think i will make the run of the pawn shops around here for an original and if not found i will maybe check into a norinco. I can rework an original as i do have the skills working with a gunsmith for some years in my youth and carring it through till now. I will try to find a bluing worn, dinged up original and rework it. Parts sure will be easier to find for an original than trying to fit and smooth a copy. Thank you all
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