POS Para Ordnance

[Nikk]

So I bought my first 1911 and first Para Ordnance! I've been shooting IDPA for a couple years now and have shot a borrowed Para 1911 a few times. Out of the box the damn thing would fail to feed and was shooting low. Off to Para gunsmith in TN. To their credit I had it back in a week and they repayed me for shipping. Gun is now on target, but still fails to feed 1% of the rounds I feed it (3/300). To top that it won't eject a live round without catching on the ejector port opening. Off to Para again, well see.

Just venting!

 

[EODSarge]

So I bought my first 1911 and first Para Ordnance! I've been shooting IDPA for a couple years now and have shot a borrowed Para 1911 a few times. Out of the box the damn thing would fail to feed and was shooting low. Off to Para gunsmith in TN. To their credit I had it back in a week and they repayed me for shipping. Gun is now on target, but still fails to feed 1% of the rounds I feed it (3/300). To top that it won't eject a live round without catching on the ejector port opening. Off to Para again, well see.
Just venting!

That sucks. I had a 14-45LDA as a duty gun (back when my agency allowed us to carry whatever we wanted, as long as it wasn't single action). I had gotten a Safariland SSIII duty holster for it before I realized the SSIII wanted the gun to be cocked and locked, and the LDA won't allow you to keep the hammer cocked back. Sent it to Para and they put a spurless hammer on it and tuned it for nothing- even paid shipping.

Hope they get it straightened out for you... I'm missing my 1911.

 

[UberKul]

Unless Para is paying for more than shipping I would consider a local smith. I bet you're IDPA buddies have "that guy" they use and could get your gun running right. That being said, it's pretty hard to beat a plastic gun for reliability. When I was still shooting it did not take me long to realize I was not up to the care and feeding of a 1911 for competitive shooting. I needed my gun to go bang EVERY SINGLE TIME! Good luck and good shooting.

 

[Ordrock]

You Know sometimes the hottest powder for your reloads isn't always the best load. Try experimenting with different powders. Sometime deep seating the primer can cause the cases to stove pipe. Try shooting some store bought Norma rounds, they’re pretty hot used in Israeli weapons.

 

[Neil San Diego]

1911s are notorious for misfeeding due to the magazine. My advice would be to buy one or two high quality magazines and see if that cures it. Other than that, polishing the feed ramp until it screams for mercy is the only other thing I can think of. There is a websight devoted to just the 1911 (can't recall the address at the moment - something like 1911.org or some such) and they have a tons of info on magazines, and good sources of aftermarket vendors. A good quality stainless steel magazine should take care of 90% of 1911 feeding issues.

And if that cures your problem, you may want to try to avoid dropping your good magazines on the ground during your reloads. 2 cents of advice for free...

 

[Bounce]

I sold my PO for realiability reasons too. I got caught in the money pit of trying to get a Colt Combat Commander functioning reliably (ended up spending the cost of the gun over and still not resolved). I sure as heck wasn't going to do it again. Mags were tried too. The last I checked PO mags (double stack) and very costly. When I had mine the factory was the only source and they were tricking them out to buyers beyond what came with the pistol.

Dump that beyotch and get a Kimber! I did and have loved it (and it's reliability and accuracy) for years since I did.

 

[fhaze]

My first 45 was a p14-45..great gun till the barrel split. No joke. Sent it back, got it back, failure to feed. My dealer gave me my money back and I bought a nice ported custom 45 on a dbl stack para frame, caspian barrel and colt slide.

I STILL like para and have a hawg 9. But sending one out to them for repair seems dicey.

 

[Nikk]

Thanks for all the sympathy and suggestions! To adress a few of those:

I don't reload, I only shoot factory ammo. I've triead multiple brands, Remington, Federal, and Winchester; all with similar results.

I only use Para magazines, I've heard Para's are sensitive to mags. I even sent all 4 of my mags back with the gun this 2nd time and should be getting two extra mags in my return packaging.

I haven't told my Dealer what is going on, that is a great idea!

Hopefully it will come back right and I can start competing with it.

 

[6mmbr]

my motto:

first event to the "gunsmith"

second event to the "gunbroker"

..."www.gunbroker.com" that is

 

[HotRodZilla]

Your problem is VERY easy to fix as there are only two (2) things wrong with your gun: Para and Ordnance. Good frames and barrels, but cheap fire controls and consistent feeding issues. It's a very expensive paper weight. The good thing about Para is that the people who know how to smith them are usually pretty loyal to them. Sell that thing to one of those people and buy something that shoots, right out of the box. There are numerous quality 1911 manufacturers that will not cost much more than you paid for the Para. Springfield, Wilson Combat, STI, Brazos, Kimber and countless others. As mentioned before, surf gunbroker.com or surf the Brian Enos forum, www.brianenos.com/forums. Someone there will have a good gun for sale.

 

[TriggerT]

Hotrod beat me to it, since I haven't been around much. I got a Para several years ago, as a great deal, but it is still a POS. I have done a lot of work on it myself, and even with the tallest front sight Brazo was willing to make for me it shoots low.

There are lot's of things you could try, but how much money do you want to dump into the gun.

The Enos forum is THE (THE, THE, THE) best place to get expert advise on making a gun run. There are a few idiots there, like there are on all forums, but it is still by far the best.

 

[jekirby]

1911s are notorious for misfeeding due to the magazine. My advice would be to buy one or two high quality magazines and see if that cures it. Other than that, polishing the feed ramp until it screams for mercy is the only other thing I can think of. There is a websight devoted to just the 1911 (can't recall the address at the moment - something like 1911.org or some such) and they have a tons of info on magazines, and good sources of aftermarket vendors. A good quality stainless steel magazine should take care of 90% of 1911 feeding issues.
And if that cures your problem, you may want to try to avoid dropping your good magazines on the ground during your reloads. 2 cents of advice for free...

+1 My thoughts word for word. Mags are usually the culprit for feed problems. Polishing the feed ramp is advisable anytime.

 

[Indian Scout]

and even with the tallest front sight Brazo was willing to make for me it shoots low.

Thats your problem, shorten the front site and I think you will find it shoots higher.

 

[Neil San Diego]

and even with the tallest front sight Brazo was willing to make for me it shoots low.

Thats your problem, shorten the front site and I think you will find it shoots higher.

...or maybe shoot at lower targets...?