The Norinco CF98 (sometimes called the EMEI CF98-9) is a 9mm, semi automatic pistol made in China. It’s a 9mm export version of their QSZ-92. It’s rotating barrel, hammer fired, with a decocker/safety combo, and it uses a detachable steel frame inside the grip kinda like the Sig P320 does. And most importantly, they’re like $250.
Features/Specifications
- DA/SA + decocker, hammer-fired action
- Polymer frame
- Rotating barrel
- Ambi safety
- Slide stop is one side only
- Magazine release can be swapped from left to right side
- Comes with 2 mags and a cleaning rod
- Oily AS FUCK
CF98 Gen 1 vs Gen 2
Ian from Forgotten Weapons, Larry Vickers and other people have shown what looks like an earlier version of the CF98 on camera. The one I have is a later version with a few differences:
- Mags are better
- Now standard single stack, not a double feed like you’d use in a sub gun
- No windows on the sides
- Mags have a plastic bumper instead of a metal basepad, which can act to extend the grip
- Different sights (way worse now, Gen 1 was a 3 dot style)
- Recoil guide on Gen 2 doesn’t have an additional buffer spring. Just uses one recoil spring
- Slightly modified locking block
Using the Norinco CF98
The grip is very small so this pistol may be great for those with smaller hands. The magazine basepad actually extends the grip height, similar to basepads on subcompact pistols. I think I’d pinch the heck out of my hand if I tried ramming in a mag in a shooting competition. There’s not much of a bevel to the magwell, but since the mags are pointed at the top, it shouldn’t matter. The grip checking is fine for this price point.
The safety acts as a decocker/safety combo, similar to how a Beretta 92 runs (Beretta 92S review here). It’s pretty stiff, but at least it’s on the frame and not on the slide like other dumber designs out there 😉 You can’t carry it hammer back with safety on.
The hammer does not rebound and oddly, you can feel it pass 2 notches back from fully forward.
The slide is tall and offers lots of space and serrations at the rear to grip.
The sights are TERRIBLE. They have some tiny inserts of some kind in the rear and front sights but they’re useless and I’m not sure why they even bothered.
The lanyard loop on the grip juts out and makes it uncomfortable for lefties. Other Chinese military firearms like the Type 97 (review here) are designed exclusively for righties. Don’t be a leftie in the Chinese army, I guess.
The trigger in single action has a bit of gritty takeup, but is completely OK in trigger weight. Double action is a gritty, crappy experience, but it does work and we can’t expect a great DA trigger out of a $250 gun. It’s a fairly long trigger reset and I got trigger freeze after shooting my Shadow and returning to this gun.
The finish is so light that it’ll scratch if you breath on it. When many modern combat pistols have a tennifer-like finish, it’s somewhat disappointing, but it’s $250.
Reliability is good and I had absolutely no failures when firing it. That’s more than can be said about some budget 9mm handguns.
You won’t notice a difference in operation between this rotating barrel and a standard tilting barrel pistol. It’s kinda neat that it doesn’t run on frame slides and instead the slide is mostly guided by the barrel block running on the inside of the chassis along with the barrel bushing, but that detail is not important.
Disassembly
Disassembly is is different than a typical Browning tilting barrel setup but it can be fast once you get the hang of it. Removing the extractor is still a pain in the ass though.
- Make sure it’s empty
- Hammer & slide forward
- Push the slide stop out using the base of a mag or some other hard plastic. You don’t need the slide at any place in particular for this part.
- Pull the slide of the front
- Remove the barrel block off the barrel lug, pull back
- Remove recoil spring
- Turn barrel bushing and remove like it’s a 1911
- Turn and remove barrel from the front
- Pull metal chassis out of plastic (it rotates and has a lug that engages with the rear of the plastic frame)
- To remove firing pin, first press back on the extractor pin, then remove the extractor
- Remove extractor pin and spring
- Push down on firing pin safety detent, remove firing pin and spring
- Remove firing pin safety detent and spring
- CLEAN ALL THAT DISGUSTING FACTORY OIL OFF EVERYTHING
The new mags disassemble kinda weird: you push a pin in, then pull a plate forward that locks into the rest of the basepad.
There are further instructions in the manual to disassemble the hammer and safety mechanism.
Why is the CF98 barrel only rated for 8000 rounds?
It doesn’t make sense to me because 8000 rounds is NOTHING for most pistol barrels. I haven’t seen any online use tests to confirm this barrel lifetime. I’m not super sure but I have several theories:
- The native 5.8mm version may be hot for the barrel material they use and maybe they quote the 9mm barrel at a similar rate even though it’s way slower.
- Or, the barrel is really thin, maybe it was thick enough for 5.8 but is ridiculously thin for 9mm?
- Maybe the barrel cam wears out
- Maybe 8000 rounds is the most you can expect before servicing at an armoury (swapping springs, etc)
I don’t know and given the price of 9mm ammo right now, I’ll never shoot it enough to find out.
Mods?
If you wanted to, you could smooth the firing pin plunger block to clean up the trigger press. It’s easy to get to, and it’ll cleanup some grit on the takeup. Maybe you could smooth up some trigger/sear surfaces, but I wouldn’t bother since that’d take a more involved disassembly to do.
Conclusion
Is this handgun any good? Well, you have to consider the price and other handguns at that price range (see this article for my comparison on cheap handguns in Canada.)
It’s pretty good price-wise. It’s got no aftermarket support vs the NP22/NP34, terrible sights, but a good single action trigger and a much more modern design: it’s an interesting combination.
I think the most interesting thing this pistol brings is the small grip size. The grip is actually decently ergonomic for those with small hands, so for a youth, lady, or guy with smaller hands, it might be more comfortable to use. As a downside, the small safety/decocker is a bit tough for youth to use and the double action trigger is quite heavy. I’d recommend doing something about the sights as well: maybe blacking the rear and painting the front.
