[NotMormon]

I bought a Norinko a few months back with the idea of turning it into a 460 Rowland. That thought has pretty much run its course and now I would like to do some work to it and make it a shooter. The poor thing is just too sloppy to get anything better than a 8" group at ten yards.

The slide to frame fit has enough space to house a small family and the barrel bushing fit to slide and barrel is comparable to that of throwing a hot dog down a hallway. I hear that the tolerances with rinko's were quite liberal. This gun has definitely been used but doesn't appear to be abused so the potential is there.

Assuming that I find a qualified pistol smith, what would you estimate the cost of peening the slide/frame and fitting a new barrel/bushing? I have not set a budget yet and I have no clue as to what upgrades I want. The gun would look awesome if the flats were polished and the rounds were blasted. A deep blueing would look nice. I prefer the GI setup but would like new sights. I hear most smiths don't like to work on Norinko's because the 5100 puts a whipping on the tools?

Just looking for ideas and cost so I can decide if it's worth it.

[axxe55]

Originally Posted by NotMormon

I bought a Norinko a few months back with the idea of turning it into a 460 Rowland. That thought has pretty much run its course and now I would like to do some work to it and make it a shooter. The poor thing is just too sloppy to get anything better than a 8" group at ten yards.

The slide to frame fit has enough space to house a small family and the barrel bushing fit to slide and barrel is comparable to that of throwing a hot dog down a hallway. I hear that the tolerances with rinko's were quite liberal. This gun has definitely been used but doesn't appear to be abused so the potential is there.

Assuming that I find a qualified pistol smith, what would you estimate the cost of peening the slide/frame and fitting a new barrel/bushing? I have not set a budget yet and I have no clue as to what upgrades I want. The gun would look awesome if the flats were polished and the rounds were blasted. A deep blueing would look nice. I prefer the GI setup but would like new sights. I hear most smiths don't like to work on Norinko's because the 5100 puts a whipping on the tools?

Just looking for ideas and cost so I can decide if it's worth it.

personally i think you could find a better candidate that didn't need so much work and would turn out much nicer and shoot much better, and have you come out much cheaper in the long run. i owned one Norinco 1911 in the past, and like yours, sloppy fit and no accuracy to speak of. i didn't keep it very long! worst 1911 i have ever owned.

check out the MetroArms American Classic or the Rock Island Armory 1911's. much better fit and finish, much more accurate and very reliable. decently priced as well.

[dog2000tj]

we've had a few members here do 460Rowland builds/conversions. I would suggest reading their build threads to get more familiar with the conversion/platforms.

[limbkiller]

RIAs are not on the list of guns recommended for the 460. Not sure about Metro Arms. Get a Colt or other gun for that.

[danf_fl]

Norinco 1911's were some solid guns (at one time), and were the good basis for custom work.

Although not a good candidate for the .460 Rowland, they can be setup to work with the .45 ACP.

Get your Brownells catalog out and buy three books
2 from Kuhnhausen, and Ed Brown's on Customizing.

[NotMormon]

Like I said, the 460 plans are out. I did alot of surfing the net last night and decided that I will just turn this into my winter project. Likely it will cost me more than just buying a RIA or the like and I will have to delay getting the DW Pointman 9 i've had my eye on but it should give me an even better familiarity with the 1911 than I do now. I'll do my best not to Bubba the poor rattle trap.

Dan, the two Kuhnhausen books look looked very similar but I suppose if you are recommending them, they contain different content. This should be fun and or pricy but I guess I will just have to look at it like it's reloading equipment...an investment. As the months go by, I'm sure that I'll be asking stupid questions.

[danf_fl]

One is a basic "This is the 1911", the other gets a lot more into detail (with specs).

The CD from Ed Brown will help with customizing.