Every once in a while you come across a gun that just grabs your attention for whatever reason and won’t let go. Thats how I describe the Norinco TT Olympia to people when they ask me why I ended up with one. To be honest I was bored and surfing gun broker looking for a cheap and interesting gun to review, I had my eye on High Standard .22 pistols, and a few other older pistols and nothing really stood out to me. I’ve had excellent luck on gun broker when it comes to finding ugly reliable pistols that just seem to always work, like the Helwan and the Zastava M70A. So when I saw a few Norinco TT Olympias in the gun broker list right next to the much more expensive Walther Olympias, I was intrigued. When I started digging around for information on the Norinco and found their was hardly any to be found, I knew It was time to take a risk in the name of professional development and ordered the TT Olympia.
What Do We Know ?
The interesting part about getting a preowned gun is finding out all we can about it, especially if it’s not something we see everyday. We knew through some web searches and conversations that the Norinco TT Olympia is a Chinese copy of the famous Walther M1936 Olympia II, that won five Gold Medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Beyond that there was no listing of this particular model in the Blue Book of Gun Values, which in the firearms world is as close to a Holy Book as there is. So with little to go one we began our search by what we knew, which was that China North Industries Corp (Norinco) was started in 1981 so that was a starting point. Knowing that gave us a production date of no earlier than 1981,and with the Chinese firearm ban beginning in 1994 a good guess that the pistol had to be built before then. However it didn’t tell us which of the more than 100 factories the TT Olympia was made at. After a strange twist of luck and searching we were able to figure out the pistol was most likely made at China North Industries Plant No. 46 Shanlihelu, in Beijing China. Now that we have the history figured out lets look at the specifications and numbers surrounding this fun little pistol.
Specifications
Model: TT Olympia
Manufacturer: Norinco
Country of Origin: China
Action: Blowback
Trigger: Single Action
Caliber: .22LR
Capacity: 9 Rounds
Barrel Length: 4 3/4″
Height: 5″
Width: 1 3/4″
Weight: 28.9 Oz
Grips: Wood
Disassembly is different than I was use to
Hands On and Range Tests
When it was time to put my hands on the TT Olympia and take it apart a few things jumped out at me. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the odd safety the pistol, it’s actually backwards in a way. On this pistol when you move the selector to the position marked F, it actually engages the safety. When you slide the lever to the S position which we normally would assume to be “Safety” its ready to fire. The logic is that the pistol is in the condition that can be read by the shooter. The first image above shows exactly the point I am trying to get to, probably in a much simpler way. This backwards thinking of a safety might be the only thing about this pistol I dislike, It’s not a deal breaker it’s just an oddity, I’m not sure if this was also the case with the Walther Olympia that Norinco copied.
The fit and finish on the TT Olympia is actually quite good for being a blued Chinese gun. I wasn’t sure what to expect before it arrived but the coloring and blueing is even and consistent. Whoever had this pistol before me surely didn’t shoot in the rain much, if they did they went to great lengths to protect the finish. The metal frame and slide don’t show any unusually heavy tooling or machine markings, the machines or workers at the Norinco factory actually did incorporate a nice wave pattern on the top of the slide that was a classy touch. I guess when I think Norinco, classy smooth lines and ergonomics don’t usually come to my head.
Disassembly of the TT Olympia is simple but what I would refer to as non traditional. The barrel of the pistol is mounted to the frame, which means that during disassembly of the pistol it breaks down to essentially two pieces, the frame and the slide. To disassemble the pistol the user pulls back on the slide all the way and with their opposite hand pull down on the trigger guard (Pictured Above). The shooter then simply lifts up the rear of the slide and moves the slide forward and off of the pistol frame. It only takes seconds to strip and reassemble the pistol. This makes breaking the gun down and cleaning it much faster, and easier than many other rimfire pistols.
Range Time
Shooting the pistol was a lot of fun, despite the magazines only holding 9 rounds. The trigger was smooth and even, it’s never going to be a Smith & Wesson Model 41, but it’s certainly better than many other .22 LR pistols I’ve shot. The trigger for the money I spent on this pistol was better than I expected. This pistol repeatedly left me smiling the more I looked at it and the more I shot it. The only real drawbacks to this pistol are the cost and availability of spare magazines. Replacement magazines will run between $45-60 if you can find them, I guess it’s the cost of owning something that not everyone else owns. Interestingly enough though the Walther Olympia magazines are rumored to fit the TT Olympia, but without having a Walther magazine in hand I can’t confirm that yet.
The sights on the pistol are a plain black blade style in the front and an equally plain square notched black rear sight. The rear sight is adjustable slightly for windage only. This is fairly consistent with many rimfire target pistols of the 1920’s and 1930’s, that would have been competitors to the original Walther Olympia that Norinco copied.
Overall the Norinco TT Olympia will most likely not be for everyone, it’s easy to find the gun itself yet replacement parts and spare magazines are not easy to find. This greatly reduces the pool of people who would entertain the idea of taking a risk and picking up a Chinese made pistol. It’s unfortunate that there has been an embargo on Chinese weapons for well over a decade but not on Chinese electronics and gadgets. I think if not for the arms embargo the TT Olympia might have really caught on and been more popular in the United States. Politics and whining aside, the Norinco TT is an excellent and affordable little pistol that pay homage to its inspiration the legendary Walther M1935 Olympia II. We want to hear from you, our readers. What is your favorite old .22LR ? Is the Colt Woodsman, the Smith & Wesson Model 41 or maybe the High Standard series of pistols ?
Norinco payed attention to detail on this pistol
