
Originally Posted by
X-man
Norinco AR clones have been widely available in Canada for several decades. The early copies were fugly and there was little compatibility with any mil-spec parts/accessories without a lot of fitting. That was 12-15 years ago. A lot has changed since then. The larger Canadian importers like Canada Ammo and Lever Arms worked with the manufacturer to build a quality AR that was within spec. to a large degree they succeeded. Function-wise, the new Norinco CQ-A stacks up well with America-built entry-level rifles. Anodization/parkerization can be hit or miss and you will find more machine/tool marks than say an LMT, DD or Noveske; but then again we're talking about a rifle that retails under $700 Canadian. The factory mags are crap. They come with a commercial buffer tube and in Canada are offered with 14.5" & 10.5" bbls, as we don't have to deal with any SBR regs to deal with. Accuracy is usually quite good. The only thing I don't care for are the springs. Those I'd swap out first chance.
I currently own 3 Colts, 2 LMT, 2 STAG, 1 S&W, 1 DD, 1 KAC, 1 Noveske & 1 Norinco CQ-A, along with a custom billet ATRS. I've owned many others. Honestly, I like the Chinese rifle much more than the DPMS I previously owned and would opt for the former everytime over say an Olympic Arms.
At the moment, the ONLY chinese-made firearms legally permitted to enter the USA are shotguns. The ATF will not sign off on my form 6NIA if the CQ-A is listed. If prohibitions are lifted and Norinco gains access to US markets once again, you will see a dramatic readjustment of AR prices. Looking at economy of scale, if they can retail them in Canada for sub-$700, you could easily knock off several hundred bucks just on volume alone.
As for Norinco M-14 clones, I own three, along with a Springfield. All three Norincos are fully kitted out with USGI parts. However, they work just fine out of the box and the old complaint that their bolts and receivers were "soft" hasn't applied for 20 years. Probably the only problem is some will have an improperly indexed bbl. it's an easy fix.
The Chinese are willing to build products to whatever price point they're asked to by the importer demands just as long as they're willing to pay extra. In terms of firearms, they still have a way to go match most American makers in terms of finish/cosmetics, but they're actually building pretty reliable, wholly functional firearms at a price almost anyone can afford. That said, Canadian dealers continue to regularly sell out their stocks of American made ARs, and there are several Canadian company's also manufacturing ARs these days. I wouldn't worry about Norinco putting Colt or RRA out of business.
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