[El Gato]

The Norincos were (are?) junk.

Mine, which I got around 1980, seems to shoot just fine. But I think mine is one taken out of their "militia" inventory, not a "made for export" one.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The big difference between the Russian and Chinese SKS is that the Russian receiver is milled from a solid block of metal, while the Chinese receiver is made from stamped sheet metal.

Even if a Chinese SKS shoots OKAY (one of the three I owned did), the milled receiver is going to stand up to a lot more shooting than the stamped receiver.