Many years ago I handled a Para Ordnance pistol. I liked what I saw. Last week Shooting Fiend listed a number of very interesting pistols on EE, and I bought some, including a near new P12-45. He just listed some more pistols. The three I bought could not have fired more than one box of ammo.
The p12-45 uses a double stack mag and an aluminum frame. The barrel is only 3.5”. One would think that a short, light .45 would kick like a mule and be relatively inaccurate. I am pleased to report it was the most comfortable of the 4 pistols I tested with this ammo test, and the most accurate, too.
I bought a box of 155gr semi-wadcutters to test, thinking that a light pistol mist be more comfortable with lighter bullets. My standard load is 5gr of 231 under a 200gr SWC and that load seemed to work well in the other 45s, so against that known grouping ability, I shot 3 45s I use all the time and the new Para with the 155s.
The results are below. These were shot at 20 yards. By my standards, the groups are good to very good, and most importantly, better than the other 3 pistols.
The trigger is slightly heavy (but not as heavy as my Commander) and has a little bit of creep. It would probably improve a bit with use, but I think this pistol is worthy of a proper professional trigger job.
The sights are excellent fixed 3 dot. All I have to do is drift the rear sight slightly to the right and I will be in business.
The grips are fatter than a single stack 1911, but not as fat as my Browning HP, and nicely contoured to fit the hand. As a result, the hottest load I shot felt more comfortable in the Para than it did in the much heavier 1911 with Pachmyer grips. This was most surprising. I don’t understand how such a short mag can hold 12 rounds (pinned to 10 in this case).
The mainspring in the Para is very heavy, probably to help tame the slide recoil forces over a shorter distance. My other 45s all have heavier than standard springs (1 pound heavier). When I started with the lightest load, 5.5 gr of231, not one of the empty cases would eject from the Para, but they all ejected from the other pistols. Too bad, because they grouped very well.
The hotter loads all ejected just fine, except for one stove pipe with the 6.0 grn load.
That said, several times a round did not quite chamber all the way in the Para until I jiggled the slide. The feed ramp looks a bit rough. I am hoping that a ramp and chamber polish will improve chambering. A bit of experimentation on seating depth should help, too.
I tried to test another load series using a 225 gr SWC, but the bullets were seated too long to chamber in the other pistols. From this I concluded the chamber of the PARA is a bit more forgiving.
I look forward to seating those bullets a bit deeper and repeating a similar ammo test with several different bullets.
The p12-45 uses a double stack mag and an aluminum frame. The barrel is only 3.5”. One would think that a short, light .45 would kick like a mule and be relatively inaccurate. I am pleased to report it was the most comfortable of the 4 pistols I tested with this ammo test, and the most accurate, too.
I bought a box of 155gr semi-wadcutters to test, thinking that a light pistol mist be more comfortable with lighter bullets. My standard load is 5gr of 231 under a 200gr SWC and that load seemed to work well in the other 45s, so against that known grouping ability, I shot 3 45s I use all the time and the new Para with the 155s.
The results are below. These were shot at 20 yards. By my standards, the groups are good to very good, and most importantly, better than the other 3 pistols.
The trigger is slightly heavy (but not as heavy as my Commander) and has a little bit of creep. It would probably improve a bit with use, but I think this pistol is worthy of a proper professional trigger job.
The sights are excellent fixed 3 dot. All I have to do is drift the rear sight slightly to the right and I will be in business.
The grips are fatter than a single stack 1911, but not as fat as my Browning HP, and nicely contoured to fit the hand. As a result, the hottest load I shot felt more comfortable in the Para than it did in the much heavier 1911 with Pachmyer grips. This was most surprising. I don’t understand how such a short mag can hold 12 rounds (pinned to 10 in this case).
The mainspring in the Para is very heavy, probably to help tame the slide recoil forces over a shorter distance. My other 45s all have heavier than standard springs (1 pound heavier). When I started with the lightest load, 5.5 gr of231, not one of the empty cases would eject from the Para, but they all ejected from the other pistols. Too bad, because they grouped very well.
The hotter loads all ejected just fine, except for one stove pipe with the 6.0 grn load.
That said, several times a round did not quite chamber all the way in the Para until I jiggled the slide. The feed ramp looks a bit rough. I am hoping that a ramp and chamber polish will improve chambering. A bit of experimentation on seating depth should help, too.
I tried to test another load series using a 225 gr SWC, but the bullets were seated too long to chamber in the other pistols. From this I concluded the chamber of the PARA is a bit more forgiving.
I look forward to seating those bullets a bit deeper and repeating a similar ammo test with several different bullets.
