Took it out of the box, rifle was sealed in a bag with probably a quart of anthrax-laced oil. Haven't torn it apart to clean and degrease it yet, just gave it quick wipe to get the majority of it off the exterior.
Park job looks ok, its a decent looking rifle. The plastic stock is typical to the Norincos I've handled, sharp edges that need dehorning. The last one I owned actually was sharp enough to cut in some places, but a few swipes with a sanding block took care of it, and this one will get the same treatment.
The new gas block-mounted "navy" style sight and the reversed flash hider/muzzle break. Totally a looks thing, it shortens the oal a bit and doesn't offer any performance whatsoever other than maybe protect the crown a bit. In the extended position, it may do something, not sure. It simply unscrews and can be rethreaded on in the opposite direction, adding about 2" to the oal. The way its pictured it is just a sleeve over the barrel. *For anyone who may not be familiar with Canadian law, 18.5" is the magic number regarding the legal barrel length for non-restricted rifles.
Norinco's version of the classic rear sight, its gritty and crude. Will be replaced with a USGI or Springfield unit.
This version is sold under the name Dominion Arms, a company in BC that imports a pile of Chinese firearms and ammo. I bought the rifle and 1000 rds of ammo for 829 bucks. Worth it for the wow-bang factor alone, plus I still have a mountain of unused ammo from the last time I bought a similar package from this company. That rifle is gone, and when I saw the new deal available, I scooped one.
According to the internet reviews, these rifles are (and have always been) hit or miss. Problems with op rod guides, barrel indexing, too tight safeties, poorly machined bolts and receivers, head spacing, etc abound. Basically, buyer beware. The company Canada Ammo who imports and sells them has great service and has no qualms about replacement if the customer finds the firearm to be unacceptable.
The first one I owned would spit the mag release pin out after a few rounds, causing the rifle to lock up so you couldn't remove the mag without a helper with two screwdrivers, and I also had the bolt derail itself in the receiver when bump firing haha. The safety was also so stiff that in order to engage/disengae it, you had to use a screwdriver threaded through it to move it.
Anyway, back to the new Socom. Trigger is not too terrible, can't find my trigger gauge at the moment but feels like about 5-6 lbs of gritty Chinese mechanical perfection. The safety is worlds apart from my previous rifle, a light flick and its engaged/disengaged.
There are a few things I've found already that need addressing. The bolt catch engages with an empty mag, but unfortunately when I remove (wrestle) the mag out, the bolt drops on the chamber. This isn't uncommon with these, I've got to look at a few things and maybe replace the mag catch with an aftermarket unit. Another thing I'm going to do is replace the op rod guide with an aftermarket piece, this one has a really stiff and gritty feel. Other than that, I'm going to take it out and burn some powder to see how it performs.
I didn't really give my last one a fair shake, took it to the range a few times and rattled off some shots. I sold it before doing anything to it, it pissed me off and I didn't want to put the effort into making it a good shooter. I'd like to see if I can get this one to run smoothly, and maybe get some decent results with it. If I talk about selling it off, someone please remind me to follow through with my plans to get it dialed in haha. I want to like these rifles but I may need some help to keep on track.
