bluetopper
Member
Just wondering whatever happened to Para Ordnance? They made some good 1911's that I thought sold very well and were innovative with the LDA...light double action trigger.
What happened to Para Ordnance and why
- Thread starter bluetopper
- Start date
1KPerDay
Member
They were ahead of their time, became Para USA, starting building crappy stuff, got acquired by Freedom Group, and that was the end of that. They kill everything they touch.
LimaCharlie
Member.
I bought a P14-45 Limited and a P12-45 Limited when they were still made in Canada. Extra magazines cost me $100 each in 1999. They both jammed frequently. They never made it through a full magazine. Both of the thumb safeties wiped off in any holster. I sold both of them at a great loss.
JR24
Member
I think their people and designs were briefly made by Remington (as part of the Freedom group), I had a R1 wide body that was pretty much a Para.
I don’t think they survived the buyout.
I don’t think they survived the buyout.
mcb
Member
Remington bought them, moved them to Huntsville and eventually **** then down selling the updated versions of the Para wide bodies under the Remington name. I have an R1 Limited (formerly the P16) and the rear sight and one or two other parts has Para markings.
Interesting I don't see any mention of the brand in the liquidation auction of Remington's brands.
Interesting I don't see any mention of the brand in the liquidation auction of Remington's brands.
trackskippy
Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2010
- Messages
- 3,489
This was the only Para Ordnance Ive played with that was fun and worked.
Mod 85. Basically a MAC paintball gun. Mag fed and fired .38 caliber paintballs from a plastic case that were primer driven. And it sounds like whoevers talking here doesnt really know what they have.
You can hear it run here, and I can attest, 38 caliber primer fired paintballs, "sting" a bit.
The Para 1911's were somewhat popular back when I was carrying Colts. Always thought the double stacks were kind of cool, but they were notorious for not being reliable.
Evolution Gun Works (EGW) was still fairly young at the time and was local to me, and was still a "gunsmithing shop" at the time. Its where I took my 1911's to have them gone over so they were reliable and to have decent sights put on them and I was in there a good bit. The one day I was in there, someone brought a Para in to have work done to it and they turned him away. After he left, I asked the owner why, and he said they were junk and would not work on them at all. After that, I never really gave them any thought.
Mod 85. Basically a MAC paintball gun. Mag fed and fired .38 caliber paintballs from a plastic case that were primer driven. And it sounds like whoevers talking here doesnt really know what they have.
You can hear it run here, and I can attest, 38 caliber primer fired paintballs, "sting" a bit.
The Para 1911's were somewhat popular back when I was carrying Colts. Always thought the double stacks were kind of cool, but they were notorious for not being reliable.
Evolution Gun Works (EGW) was still fairly young at the time and was local to me, and was still a "gunsmithing shop" at the time. Its where I took my 1911's to have them gone over so they were reliable and to have decent sights put on them and I was in there a good bit. The one day I was in there, someone brought a Para in to have work done to it and they turned him away. After he left, I asked the owner why, and he said they were junk and would not work on them at all. After that, I never really gave them any thought.
nettlle
Contributing Member
When I first got into 1911's I seriously considered a Para Ordinance. At that time they were having some serious quality issues. Para made some nice 1911's and had a huge following. They took a beating over quality but didn't react. What a waste.
General Geoff
Member
Bought a Para S16-40 Limited, brand new, around 2008 or 2009. Could never get through a full magazine without a failure to feed, with either factory-provided magazine. Traded it on something else a few years ago.
earlthegoat2
Member
Looks like my last post got poofed from the updating process but basically I’ve owned a bunch of Paras and have had no problems with them.
I don’t have the energy to repost everything I said in the last post but they were innovative and had some neat products that haven’t really been executed as well before or after.
Freedom Group/Cerberus/Remington Outdoor Group killed them around the same time they killed NEF/H&R
I don’t have the energy to repost everything I said in the last post but they were innovative and had some neat products that haven’t really been executed as well before or after.
Freedom Group/Cerberus/Remington Outdoor Group killed them around the same time they killed NEF/H&R
mcb
Member
But H&R survived the bankruptcy, JJE Capital (PSA parent company) owns the H&R brand. Para is never mentioned in the bankruptcy paper work that I have found.
lysanderxiii
Member
Probably because Para ceased to be a separate entity and all intellectual properties was wholly attached to the Remington Arms Brand, so when the the Roundhill Group acquired all of the remaining brands (to include Remington itself) they got all the intellectual rights.
The trademark "PARA-Ordnance" is listed as "DEAD" as of 10 Apr 2020 by the US Patent and Trademark Office, however the LDA patents are listed as being assigned to the Roundhill group.
CapnMac
Member
My experience with PO is best described by the word "swearing."
People either swore by them, or swore at them. And, in my experience, "sailor language" was rather more common than not.
The firearms were generally good, but magazines (particularly the Canadian-made ones) were a nightmare. (As ever, magazines are an under-rated feat of engineering.)
The quirks in a 1911 seemed magnified in the PO offerings. So the ones that ran, ran well. If they stumbled, it was like tumbling down a staircase. This seemed to get a bit better when they moved production to the US.
But, their timing was awful. It was right in the middle of the "wondernine" craze. Every glossy-paper magazine had a new "star" pistol an only the "small" ones held as few as 12 rounds. Instead 15, 16, 18 was far more common, and lauded. Tough time to market a pistol in an "old fogey" caliber with a grip all too-often compared to a 2x4 (if an unfair comparison).
People either swore by them, or swore at them. And, in my experience, "sailor language" was rather more common than not.
The firearms were generally good, but magazines (particularly the Canadian-made ones) were a nightmare. (As ever, magazines are an under-rated feat of engineering.)
The quirks in a 1911 seemed magnified in the PO offerings. So the ones that ran, ran well. If they stumbled, it was like tumbling down a staircase. This seemed to get a bit better when they moved production to the US.
But, their timing was awful. It was right in the middle of the "wondernine" craze. Every glossy-paper magazine had a new "star" pistol an only the "small" ones held as few as 12 rounds. Instead 15, 16, 18 was far more common, and lauded. Tough time to market a pistol in an "old fogey" caliber with a grip all too-often compared to a 2x4 (if an unfair comparison).
1KPerDay
Member
My experience disagrees; the canadian mags were far better than anything else, including mec-gar ones. My Canadian Para-Ordnances were great pistols. P14-45 both. I posted this during the forum upgrade/blackout and it was lost but I'll try once more before I give up.
tark
Member
In the mid-90s When I first started working for Les, he got the FBI HRT contract. The FBI laid out a series of requirements that pretty much forced one down to a single choice... Hi-cap, .45 ACP, steel frame and slide. Para was about the only gun at that time which qualified. Did I mention that a checkered front strap was another requirement?
Guess who got stuck with that job!
I swore at them. The hardness of the frames, (being a casting) was inconsistent. I would be checkering away, only to hit a hard spot...which could be so hard it would trash a checkering file. And then there were the pits. Some were quite large, big enough to trash the frame. The bottom of the grip, in the front, because of the flared mag well, could be too thin to checker. I think we ended up doing 50 guns. I was never so happy to see them go. Les never worked on a Para again.
For those that liked the PO double stacks, they are basically still available in the form of Rock Island double stacks.
I was so impressed with the 9, I picked up a 40. I’ve been looking for a 10 and 45 for quite some time but have not seen any locally.
I was so impressed with the 9, I picked up a 40. I’ve been looking for a 10 and 45 for quite some time but have not seen any locally.
1911 guy
Member
I bought one of P.O.'s single stack, single action pistols over a decade ago. Only to discover I should have bought another Springfield. Absolute junk, to the point of being unsafe. Hammer follow because the disconnector was out of spec. Didn't catch it prior to purchase because it only happened with a magazine inserted. They wanted me to pay shipping both ways. I paid a smith to fit one and dumped the gun on general principle. I'm glad Barely Ordnance is gone.
