Norica Air Rifles

[TonyL]

Following on from the thread introducing the Norica Omnia ZRS rifle, a brief search for Norica prices / information revealed some very temptingly priced rifles on offer. Not sure if this is a manufacturer lead campaign or just this particular retailer?

Do many of you peeps have first hand experience of these rifles? A cursory glance would seem to hint that these offer wonderful value for money and a viable starter rifle / second gun / knockabout rifle / tinkering platform?

https://www.pellpax.co.uk/brand/norica-airguns

[evert]

I have a few old Norica Jets, and have owned and sold some of the SAG AR-1000 magnums, the Chinese copy.
They can be very good when set up properly, but one of my Norica tubes has the stock screw hole drilled right into the transfer port.

[TORNADOS7]

Cheap enough to be worth a punt but not a brand that I've ever had the pleasure of handling if I'm honest buddy...

[evert]

Better made than Gamos, and the Old rusty Norica barrel I put in a Webely Vulcan was VERY accurate (until I messed it up with a parkerizing attempt).

[mrto]

I have a Marvic Gold it's a well made gun and accurate despite the long trigger pull.At the discounted prices I'd say they are an absolute bargain!

[Geezer]

Years ago, they didn’t have a great reputation and had a low profile, although some of their designs were interesting (IIRC a a model 83 rifle and a ? Model 82 pistol that was like a Diana 5 but cheaper).

In recent years, they appear to have got in their groove. For the money, they look pretty good, and worth a punt if you have £70-90 looking to be exchanged for a new rifle.

[Shed tuner]

For that money, if they are even half decent they are a bargain.

[TonyL]

I have a Marvic Gold it's a well made gun and accurate despite the long trigger pull.At the discounted prices I'd say they are an absolute bargain!

. For the money, they look pretty good, and worth a punt if you have £70-90 looking to be exchanged for a new rifle.

For that money, if they are even half decent they are a bargain.

Exactly what I was thinking.

[TonyL]

Better made than Gamos, and the Old rusty Norica barrel I put in a Webely Vulcan was VERY accurate (until I messed it up with a parkerizing attempt).

Possibly much to commend, then.

My own personal experience regarding internal finish and overall quality & performance of my Gamo Vipermax was very positive.

[evert]

Possibly much to commend, then.

My own personal experience regarding internal finish and overall quality & performance of my Gamo Vipermax was very positive.

My problem with Gamo is not so much with their production quality as it is with the construction.

[TonyL]

Gotcha.. For me, the main negative was the trigger with its long and spongey travel and, sometimes, unpredictable, let-off. In the main, you could work with it okay, but at other times you were never really sure when the sear would release. However, with "concentrated" technique, long range accuracy could be achieved and the little 75 yards Quigley Bucket at The Boinger Bash fell on many occasions.. I know it's a well documented weakness of them and that there were / are aftermarket triggers from Charlie da Tuna and Welsh Willy that seemingly improve matters a little?

With it being a "cassette" unit, it would be nice if an aftermarket unit with crisper performance became available. However, I'm not convinced the vast majority of Gamo owners would stump up the upgrade money if one was available. I have no experience of the later SAT trigger, but would guess that it slightly improves things?

[Shed tuner]

the CDT blades are a good upgrade Tony, and sometime you just get lucky with the sear tolerances so they are absolutely predictable out of the box.

[evert]

Gotcha.. For me, the main negative was the trigger with its long and spongey travel and, sometimes, unpredictable, let-off.

But then theres the barrel bolt, that does not keep the barrels forks tight. And the flimsy cocking linkage and the useless spring guides...

[PCPShooter]

So what's the best one - the Marvic 2 ?

[TonyL]

the CDT blades are a good upgrade Tony, and sometime you just get lucky with the sear tolerances so they are absolutely predictable out of the box.

Cheers, JB. I don't currently own one, but if I do one day get another, I'll know there's certainly scope for improvement.