Norica 56 Review

Overall Rating

Lightweight
Nice wood
Easy cocking, so very good for youngsters
Scope rail
Automatic safety

Plastic trigger guard
Very stiff trigger
6ft lbs in .177
Loud for its power
Rifling isn't exactly top notch
Plastic rear sight breaks easily
Rusts easily

When I went on holiday to Fuerteventura (very nice) my hotel offered very good activities for all ages, but the shooting caught my eyes :).

I went along and used a Norica model 56 .177. Not exactly the best of rifles I've ever shot, but hey it was for fun.

Its light weight makes it easy for youngsters, and the beech wood is stained to look like walnut, which was a nice touch too.

There is hardly any cocking effort involved, and that is why I recommend it to youngsters ages 8+.

for people who don't want to use iron sights (or in this case plastic), you can fit a scope, as it has scope rails.

Another nice touch is the automatic safety, making it very ideal for youngsters in case they pull the trigger by accident, and it can be turned off with a click of a finger.

However, bad points outnumber the good points:-

Firstly I noticed from holding the rifle, that the trigger guard was plastic, so don't drop your rifle.

When actually coming to pull the trigger, it's like pulling a trigger for a .303 for goodness sake!

Not a lot of power. Only useful for back garden plinking or close range ratting at about 15 yards.

Another point is that it's very loud, so if you don't want to disturb the neighbours, then don't buy this, or get a silencer.

When cocking the rifle I noticed that my hand was coated in a fine layer of iron oxide, or more formally known as rust.

When aiming at the target the sights were all over the show!

If you want to get a rifle for back garden plinking or ratting get this, but for field target shooting, save up £50 more and get something like a Gamo 440, or something with 12ft lbs power.

Members' Comments onBomBom101's Review

• sussexgunner on 8th Mar 2006

  So you think you can write a review after using a gun for a quick plink on holiday? Accuracy – 7 out of 10 Did they let you zero in the sights? Did you carry out extensive tests with various pellets to find the best marriage of gun and pellet? Did you, in fact, shoot more than 12 pellets from the gun? Value for money 6 out of ten Just how much did the hotel pay for it then and how much usage has it had? How did you judge the balance between these facts? Bad Points Plastic trigger guard Do you know what grade of plastic is used? Many high impact grades are tougher than cheap metal alloys and don’t get dented either. Very stiff trigger Do you know how old the gun was? It could easily be several years old and I bet it has never been serviced or even lubricated. 6 ft lbs in .177 It’s a plinker for juniors! Do you criticise the BSA Meteor or the Weihrauch 25 on the same basis? Loud for its power Let’s say it was 4 years old. Fuerteventura is an all year destination and in my personal experience the shooting competitions get 10 to 30 attendees. So on an average of 20, for a weekly shoot, 6 pellets a person comes to a total pellet throughput of 25,000, which, with lack of lubrication, would explain the noise. Rifling not top notch So you took a boroscope on holiday just to be able to do an internal inspection of the barrel? Plastic rear sight breaks easily Did you apologise when you broke it? Rusts easily This you base on finding some rust on your fingers. I’ll bet your hotel was on the beachfront, where the air is normally humid and salt laden. The rifle is stored and retrieved by the animacion team who work 16 hours a day to earn doodley squat, so what are the odds they religiously wipe over the metal parts with an oily rag after each session? Every rifle will rust in those circumstances. People visit this site in the hope of reading knowledgeable reviews, not a pile of nonsense. The manufacturers should not be afraid of fair comment, but deserve proper reviews – you are playing with their reputation, hence their potential sales, hence the livelihoods of their workers. This review is even less use than those rushed off by people the day after they get their rifle. Please restrict future reviews to equipment you have used enough to fully understand its qualities and foibles, then your work will earn some respect.

• BomBom101 on 14th Mar 2006

  seriouisly right why are you always constantly scrutinizing my reviews? should be a polititican or summit! How could i zero the plastic sights which had snapped (elevation adjuster). I was on holiday, and why would i even bother to show off?! Think before you rip holes into other peoples experiences!

• BomBom101 on 14th Mar 2006

  and about the rifling thing you dont have to get a boresigihting set just to see how good it is...
  
  im not really "obsessed" like you are and fork out hundreds of pounds on pointless pieces of "rubbish" with all these things, as long as a gun can shoot straight, kill things cleanly, good groupings on a target i'm all right. In future let that be a lesson to you before you rip shreds into peoples reviews, think about how many other people prefer to shoot in different manners.

• AussieGunna on 17th Jun 2006

  I agree with sussexgunner, this review is subjective - based on a brief encounter with a most likely abused gun in a holiday destination. Please take careful note of sussex gunner, he's right on every point. Learn the science, apply it with some objectivity and dilligence (which includes tests conducted in a controlled environment) and your respect rating might increase!

• lol green on 12th Jul 2006

  i would certanly hesitate to use a mid power .177 rifle for ratting, unless i could club the things with it.

• BomBom101 on 13th Aug 2006

  Hmm right... well I still don't understand why I'm getting criticised for something I shot? I've said my reasons why I wouldn't buy it, the trigger mechanism wasn't down to abuse, the power wasn't down to abuse, the broken sights I know were down to abuse but if they were made of a more durable material then it wouldn't have been so bad...

• sussexgunner on 14th Aug 2006

  Don't worry Tom, you have matured quite a lot since the review.
  
  The point I was trying to get across is that reviewers have a duty to be careful to express only fair comment. Air guns do not just appear in the shops, they are made by people, who rely on their wages to keep their families, pay their rent etc. I don't know your father's occupation, but if he is employed, you would be very upset if he was made redundant (laid off) because the product he helped make lost popularity due to some hasty reviews.
  
  You used to want to review everything possible, including things you had only handled very briefly. If you look back at your reviews, you will see the difference from those where you have owned or had regular use of an item. Your comments there ring true and I have never criticised those, which are definitely of use to visitors.
  
  Keep improving and shoot safe.
  
  Mike

• BomBom101 on 15th Aug 2006

  Thanks Mike, I just enjoy doing reviews! I'm going to have to do a more "in depth" look on things like air rifles etc and try to get to know them better.
  
  I've got a review of my Daisy 880 coming up soon as well but I'd like to get it chronographed first for some "firm" facts about it
  
  regards
  
  Tom

• BomBom101 on 21st Aug 2006

  rrrgh one thing i cant stand on this forum right is when people put an 2unhelpful" mark with out putting a reason!?