>>Unbelieveable. A Norinco? Gimme a break. Biggest piece of junk since Raven Arms.
Why is that? They were exact 1911A1 clones and fully interchangeable with the same aftermarket upgrades that a Colt would use. I shot IPSC matches for 2 years with that Norinco (after some mods, of course, but they were the same mods that the Colt guys would put in their guns).
When I was in grad school, I worked at a gun shop during Christmas vacation. The dealer handled Norinco M1911s and they looked pretty good for the price.
I know they were popular to use as the base for building competition guns. They were not the equal of the Colts but still seemed perfectly good.
As for the Raven, it was one of the best cheap guns ever made. They were more reliable than far more expensive guns. They were made of pot metal and I sure would have preferred a nicer gun but if that is all you could afford, it was a good gun.