norinco commander (weird cartridge markings)

[brentn]

norinco commander (weird cartridge markings) *pics*

Hey all, first post.

I just bought my first 1911 pistol, a norinco commander. I figure what better to learn than on a forged slide/frame cheap chinese copy.
When I got it the finish was just terrible, and whatever preservative they were using to store this gun, was long since 'evaporated' and it was as dry as a bone. When handeling it left a dark brown residue on the fingers, but again it was as dry as a bone.

I've taken apart 1911's before, so I figured lets get started by completley stripping this pistol, clean every part and apply a light coat of oil to the essentials.

3 hours and 40 minutes later, i had cleaned and re-assembled everything and put it back together in good working order. Did a grip safety check, firing pin check among other things and it was perfect.

Despite being the roughest pistol that I own, I figured that it was built tough and it would probably serve me very well for a long time, considering I take good care of it.

Problem #1 lol

-Every cartridge that is ejected from this pistol after being cycled through (no i have not actually shot the gun yet) has scoring marks on the cartridge mid section. The rim is also dented and seems to be 'cut-into' by the extractor.

Seems like its handeling cartridges pretty rough to me, I figure sooner rather than later somethings going to break, mainly the extractor if it handles things this way for a while.

What would you guys suggest? I did quite a bit of reading on the web and everyone is saying that its a ****ty extractor and possibly a poorly fitting firing pin catch. The catch (if thats what its called, i forget the correct terminology but its the piece that holds the firing pin in place on the back of the slide) is 'loose' fitting and kinda jiggles around in the slide.

Anyways, some advice would be awesome, I'm a quick learner so if you want to tell me anything else that I might be doing wrong, except for buying a norinco, let me hear it.

Thank you for your time.

Brent

 

[Jim K]

Is the firing pin retainer sticking down below the edge of the slide tunnel? If not, I don't see how it could mark the cartridge. Firing pin retainers are normally a bit loose; they are designed to be kept in by the firing pin itself.

As to the extractor, it may be sharp on the lower edge of the hook. If so, stoning the sharp edge should help. The scoring could be from a sharp edge on the chamber or a sharp place on the magazine lips. I assume you are cycling rounds using the magazine. I don't go nuts on chambering rounds directly like some folks, but the gun works better when rounds come up from the magazine. I wouln't worry too much about breaking the extractor, though. Unlike a lot of the current high priced crap guns, the Norinco extractor is made of good spring steel and will last a long time.

FWIW, I have owned a couple of Norincos and they are good guns, very reliable, and worked fine out of the box. I think your problems are either minor or were possibly caused by a previous owner.

Jim

 

[brentn]

Hey I appreciate your reply.

There was no previous owner as the gun came straight from the factory, to my dealer and then me. I'm going to include a pic of the cartridge.

.45acp cycled from the magazine, to the chamber and ejected about 5-6 times here's what it looks like. The file size is small, image is large only to show the details of what i'm talking about

I'll check the barrel and see if the inside has any kinds of sharp edges, but yea that makes sense as to what's scratching the sides of the cartridge.
I'll also sand down the edge of the extractor.
I want to put a couple hundred rounds through it and see if everything holds up, if everything is fine i'll probably just improve upon the parts that i have, if i have the skill to do it.
I guess we'll find out if the norinco's of today are of the same quality of the ones made 20 years ago that you guys have.
Its funny, I have some pics of the gun when it came out of the box that it was sent in, what a train wreck, honestly it looked like it was in storage for 20 years or so, just amazing.

*EDIT*

Checked the barrel, inside is very very smooth, theres no way that its scratching up the casing that bad, must be something else...

 

[Jim K]

Those marks at the front of the extractor groove are from the extractor and are pretty common with all 1911 pistols. A little stoning of the extractor nose will usually reduce or eliminate them. The lengthwise scratches look like scratches from sharp magazine lips. They are of little concern except for looks if you reload, but you can push down the magazine follower and file or stone the inside of the magazine lips to remove any burrs or sharp edges.

Jim

 

[brentn]

Alright.

No worries, I appreciate your reply!
So much to learn here heh.. Thanks for your help!