Para P14

[SteampunkQueen]

Well, lets start with this, i live in Mass, one of the worst places in the world for gun ownership. I am, and always have been a 1911 fan. When i lived in Connecticut i owned an Ed Brown Kobra Carry, but sold it to move. Now Im looking for something to... psuedo replace my EB. Being that MA basicly hates people owning firearms, there arent many 1911's on the approved roster, although there are something like 35 models of Para Ordnance guns listed.

So ive been looking over Para's having fired a few on the range, and been satisfied with the performance and having had no issues there. I have been reading online and noticed quite a few complaints with Para's pistols, but a good deal of them tend to be older, from before their move to NC.

So, my question is, is the company more reliable today? Because they're a good option for gun hating MA since so many models have been approved for ownership.

 

[Skribs]

If you read enough posts on the Internet, everything is unreliable.

 

[tarakian]

I own two Paras and have shot several others. I have not found any problems with them that you won't see in every other firearm. If you take care of them, they shoot accurately and reliably. I don't know if there is a single thing that everyone on the internet will agree on.

 

[SteampunkQueen]

Well most of the issues ive read about seemed to happen before their move so i was wondering if things have smoothed out? I intend to buy the Para new through my FFL so im not worried about older quality control.

Ive seen a lot of flak about Para that i dont usually see about other companies, so i was wondering if it was still the same today, as it was three years ago or so.

 

[orionengnr]

I've owned four Paras, two bought used, two bought new. One of the used ones had some feeding issues. Each of mine was bought seven-plus years ago. Not sure what their record is since then.

But in all honesty, that is a better record than I have experienced with some other manufacturers...and i'm not just talking 1911s.

 

[.338Sako]

I have two Para P14's. One Ltc 4.24" barrel and a Limited w/ 5" barrel. I can honestly say I have never had one problem with the LTC. I have shot it around 1500 + times. Both guns have the extra large extractor. The Limited has never been shot. They both were manufactured in Canada.

 

[newbuckeye]

I just got a used P12 a few weeks ago. The only issue I have with it is the empty's come right back and hit me in the head. I suspect it is an extractor issue that I havent had time to monkey with yet. On the plus side, it ate every kind of 45 acp fodder I could find, unlike my other 1911's.

 

[SteampunkQueen]

I love the Para's ive fired at the range before. They were great to shoot, cycled smooth and i didnt have any malfunctions come up.

Ive been giving thought to a Para Warthog as a carry gun as well. I wanted to pick up a P14-45 as a range/target gun.

 

[.338-06]

I've owned a Para-13 for years and the only FTF issues I had were traced back to a mag problem. The only real issue I have is;

I just got a used P12 a few weeks ago. The only issue I have with it is the empty's come right back and hit me in the head. I suspect it is an extractor issue that I havent had time to monkey with yet. On the plus side, it ate every kind of 45 acp fodder I could find, unlike my other 1911's.

And that seems to be a function of how clean the gun is.

Clean=cases to the head. Dirty=no cases to the head

 

[SteampunkQueen]

I wish MA allowed high cap mags Id such like a P14-45 not a P14-but-not-really-only-10-round-45

 

[[email protected]]

I bought my first para last year. It was a base GI expert model. I had an issue with the slide stop from day one. I called Para about it and they acted like that they couldnt care less. I ended up getting an aftermarket slide stop on my own dime. Since then I have ran somewhere around 400 rounds of home cast bullets through it with out any problems. I recently found a good deal on a Slim hawg that I passed on due to my unpleasant expierence with their customer service.

 

[Zoober]

I know of an authorized Para dealer that WILL NOT order Para's for a customer due to Q&A issues. He sends them back to much...

But in the same breath I can name people who will tell you it's been the best purchase of their life.

 

[Vonderek]

I have a P14.45 LDA from 1999. Don't shoot it much but never had any problems with it. Have only shot 230gr FMJ and Federal JHP.

 

[X-Rap]

Of the 4 Para's I have had the two Limiteds both had the same issue, one was old (4 digits) the other I bought NIB. The lever that pushes the firing pin safety up was faulty.
The used one would not fire and the new one would infrequently. Para fixed the new one free but not the older one. (sent a nasty little note back with it saying it was in poorly maintained condition)
The other 2, a 40 and standard 45 work fine but they were gotten at good prices, I won't ever pay retail for one again.

 

[mljdeckard]

I had a P-12 that was fine, I didn't have it very long or shoot it much. It was when I was WAY broke.

A friend of mine ordered an SF-45A when they were exclusively available to Special Forces units. (Double-stack, single-action, night sights, SF unit markings, coyote tan.) The slide had been squeezed too tightly in a vise, probably when they installed the night sights, and the plug was stuck in place, we couldn't field strip it. We sent it back on their dime, and they fixed it. (My friend was WAYYY bummed, it was his first serious handgun, and he didn't have one to use in the meantime while it was out.)

Despite that experience, I have one ordered. (This one is the same, but with markings to commemorate my unit's deployment.) For a open-carry combat gun, it's the perfect configuration, if your hands are big enough to grip it. ) $780 out the door, night sights, 5 14 rd magazines.

 

[Gordon]

My P-14 is my go to war gun. I t is one from early 90s that In the early 2000s I replaced most of the firecontrol parts with real GI (AMU new old stock=NOS) ones, properly fitted. I welded up my own beavertail to fit the 1911a1 hammer and put a top quality slide stop in it. The barrel was fitted with a good bushing and carbon fiber thin stocks and a set of heavy duty tritium sights (Trigicon) dovetailed into the slide. The 6 mags were given new springs, detailing and + 2 bases. I finally got it sighted in well to 25 yards and would take a 50 foot head shot anytime in the day. I wish it had a rail on it and I had a holster made for the combo, well all most there! Having the alloy frame is really nice for all day carrying with all those mags! PLUS the full sized but alloy frame gun handled quickly and the recoil is about like a Combat Commander which is OK for me.

before the sights and grips:

 

[falnovice]

I believe there is a thread here from not too long ago that addresses the P-14 at least. It seems the general opinion is the mags are the weakest spot on the newer ones. If I recall correctly the Mec-Gar mags are recommended.....they hold one less round but feed better.

If memory serves the poor mags is one of he major reasons the FBI HRT dropped the Para's.

I think it is a terrible fault of the firearms manufactures (and the '94 AWB)that they always try to make hi-cap 1911's use the P14 mags. I would love to see someone take a swing and making a NEW hi-cap 1911 WITHOUT blowing the grips out so radically. Maybe it would only hold 11rds or so, but I would be fine with that.

 

[rbernie]

My big complaints with Para's are twofold; they use non-standard dimensions in some places that they don't need to, and their QC on their small parts is at best spotty. If you get a good one and/or you have no interest in modifying it, then you're likely to be very happy with the purchase. If, OTOH, you want to replace bits (e.g. sights) or you happen to get one with crap bits in it, then you're likely to get on Internet gun forums and complain about it.

I have owned three (3) Para's, and been pretty happy with one (single-stack Expert GI) and relatively disappointed with the other two (LTC single stack, Big Hawg/P14 double-stack). The Expert GI seems to be a well-made gun that has done well for me excepting the inevitable Para habit of using non-standard dimensions for some bits (e.g. magazine release). If I had a serious hankering for another 1911-pattern double-stack pistol, I'd probably be tempted (as I currently am) to go looking for a RIA Tactical double-stack.

 

[hq]

I would love to see someone take a swing and making a NEW hi-cap 1911 WITHOUT blowing the grips out so radically. Maybe it would only hold 11rds or so, but I would be fine with that.

Norinco's NP30 double stack has a 10rd capacity (possibly 11 with mods, haven't looked into that yet) and the grip is considerably narrower than that of Para-Ordnance. With slim grips it isn't that much thicker than a regular single stack. The 9mm equivalent, NP28, has 15rd capacity with a flush fitting magazine.

I can't say for sure whose design they have copied, IIRC magazines are compatible with earlier Caspian double stacks. In any case that frame thickness w/ slim grips is just about ideal for my size 10 hands. Para-Ordnance is manageable but a bit on the thick side for total comfort.

 

[SteampunkQueen]

I would love to go with another high cap but being from MA means that handguns have to be on the approved handgun roster, as provided by the MA Attorney General's Office. There are some major snafu's on the list like Glocks are all listed but according to the AG they're not ACTUALLY approved.

That said, there are more than a page of Para's listed so they're the best option for a 1911 in general.