Need some advice on a Para

[Ringer]

I have a Para Carry Companion Option, C7.45 LDA. It's been back to the factory 3 times for various problems ranging from failure to fire, failure to extract and failure to feed. Since getting it back the last time I got a little over 300 round through it thinking I was out of the woods. Today in my first 25 rounds I had 2 failure to feeds.

So far they have replaced the hammer, adjusted then replaced the extractor, installed a new and different (updated) recoil system, replaced both mags, polished the feed ramp and.... well that's all I can remember. I don't think it's me, but I dunno. Thought about having someone else shoot the gun but sometimes the failures don't occur until over 100 rounds. Don't think I can ever trust this gun as carry gun which is what I bought it for.

Any suggestions before I (attempt) demand the gun be completely replaced? I usually clean the gun after each shooting but sometime if I'm going two days in a row I'll hold off. Was shooting WWB, the switched to S&B, have had problems with both.

So far the customer service has been good, but as I said above, don't think I could ever trust my life to this gun. Guess I'm mostly venting but welcome any feedback.

Signed
Frustrated owner of $700 paperweight.

 

[1911Tuner]

PO Blues

Howdy Ringer...I feel your pain! Those shorties can be a real can of worms when they start cuttin' up.

Failure to feed comes in a couple of different flavors...Describe what happens...and under what conditions. Top round from slidelock? Last round? Does the round enter the chamber at all...or does it stop the feed
before it gets past the ramp? (The para Companion has an integral ramp...right?)

List of possible causes:

Breechface too narrow. Extractor tension too high. Rough breechface.

Dry rails. (Some of the chopped pistols need oil to run if they haven't been tuned up)

Dirty extractor and channel..internal extractors. Gunk in th slot and spring..
external extractors.

Internal extractor with a square bottom instead of a bevel.

Recoil spring too strong. (If the FTF happens on the top round via tripping the slidestop...will if feed by slingshot method from in-battery position?)

Barrel riding the link, causing the barrel to pivot upward on the link instead of camming up on the slidestop pin.

Other causes are possible...Just tryin' to establish a square one so far.

Standin' by...

 

[Ringer]

Tuner

The 2 Faiure to Feeds I had yesterday were neither top round or last round. They were from the middle of the magazine after firing the first round but with additional rounds left. They ended up sitting at an angle along the feedramp with the nose stuck at the entrance of the chamber if that makes sense. I can post a picture later.

As far as the dry rails and potential dirt: Normally I clean and oil the pistol between range visits, not immediate but before the next visit. Yesterday was my second day in a row to the range so I didn't clean or oil it. The previous (Monday) trip probably saw about 120 rounds. I'll check the gun tonight to see if the rails look dry.

I wouldn't think I should have to clean the gun after 100 rounds for it to function but perhaps it did become somewhat dry. If this is a potential cause for this symptom maybe I'll clean and/or oil the gun and give it another try before going off on Para.

Recoil Spring too strong: Funny you should mention that as one of the things they changed before was the recoil system. It is a different design and seems considerably stronger. With that said the FTF does not occur on the top round.

Thanks for the help.

 

[1911Tuner]

Ramp/Throat

Howdy Ringer...The Para Companion have an integral ramp
or the standard set up? I can't keep up with all the mods they do these days...Seems like I remember a guy havin' a LDA Companion, and it had an integral ramp...

 

[Ringer]

OK, gonna show my ignorance here and admit that I don't really know what you mean by an intergral ramp versus the standard setup.

 

[1911Tuner]

Ramped?

Howdy Ringer,

Ain't no sin in ignorance, mah fren...The only sin is in not askin' when ya don't know.

A standard barrel lays on top of a curved portion of the frame bed, and the
feed ramp is in the frame itself as the angled top front of the magwell.


In a barrel with an integral ramp, the feed ramp is part of the barrel throat,
and the frame is milled away in the top and rearward portion of the bed
so that the integral barrel ramp will sit down into the frame. Here, a picture would be worth a thousand words. If anybody has a photo of the two systems, it would be a big help.

There's a question as to whether an integral ramp system helps a .45
caliber pistol, or is actually a detriment to feed reliability. While it's a boon
to the "Hot 9's" like the 9X23 or a hot-rodded .38 Super because it offers
improved feeding AND full case head support...the ramp/throat angle is
critical, but seems to be more forgiving of tolerance variations in the smaller calibers than in the .45 caliber guns...or at least that's been my personal observation.

I'm one of the "Integral Ramp Antis" for .45 caliber pistols....and a firm believer in them for the others. The high-pressure rounds need the full head support and the improved feeding geometry offered by the set-up...The low-pressure .45ACP can get by with a little "fudge factor", and
feed just fine in the standard configuration.

 

[Ringer]

All my pistols have this type of barrel, never seen another type. Is this what you would call an integral feed ramp then?

Thanks

 

[saltydog452]

Short slide 45.

Hello Ringer,

My paticular tale of woe regarding short slide 45's would take too long to post. But the short version and a suggestion for you follows:

My first Officers Model wouldn't work, much like your Para is doing. I sent it back to Colt. Its replacement didn't function any better. Rather than send it back to Colt as I should have done, I started having it worked on. This, of course voided the warranty. I too was stuck with an expensive paperweight, or boat anchor. Replaced lots of stuff. Barrel, lowered frame rails, trigger job, barrel bushing, tried different recoil springs, magazine springs, followers, Series 80 parts (twice), etc. To date there have been 4 different smiths work on this OM. I think the gun will work just dandy now. I have to put my Colt OEM mags bact to their original condition and go for a range test. I think I'm gonna be fine now. But this episode started back in the late 80's and I have spent more than a few bucks getting the thing to function properly. Of course now I have a Match barrel, sights that I can see, and my lawyer Series 80 parts in a plastic baggie. So all has not been a total loss. I also met some nice folks in THR forum who have helped me out a lot.

What I should have done was to keep sending the gun back to the manufacturer till they made it right. Once I started having the thing worked on, all warranties were voided.

I wish you luck.

salty.

 

[1911Tuner]

Ramped Barrel

Howdy Ringer,

That's an integral ramped barrel. The critical part of that particular set-up is the ramp angle. If it's too steep, the round hits the ramp just below the chamber and stops like it hit a wall. If the angle is too shallow, it undermines good case head support...and there's just not a lotta wiggle room there.

The standard design....ramp in the frame separate from the barrel...is
a little more "tweakable" in that you can set the bottom of the throat fowward of the ramp and even play with the ramp itself some...carefully though.

The real fly in the ointment in the integral ramp design is that not only does the ramp itself have to be of the correct angle, it's also pretty critical on how it's located in the frame. A little too far to the rear, and it can cause problems when the magazine tries to release the round. A little too far forward, and the round gets loose from the magazine before the extractor gets control of it.

My advice is to send the gun back...

Luck!

Tuner

 

[Ringer]

Gonna call Para on Monday, see what they say.

For future reference what type of oil and how much/often do you recommend on the rails?

Thanks