Thinking about getting a Para S~16 Single action .40 cal. The gun would be used for IDPA matches, Any suggestions, comments, yeas or neas are welcome. I have a Glock 17, a Glock 22 and a Sig 226 9mm, should I just use one of theese. Speak to me Goose...
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Para Ordnance
- Thread starter drew
- Start date
First,
What are you doing up at quarter to 5 on the computer thinking about guns
I just bought a PARA S16-40ER. I don't have the Glocks or a Sig, so all I can offer is the observations from a new Para owner. The one I bought is a covert black model.
Reliability.
I have put a little over 400 rounds of Winchester 165g target ammothrough it with no FTF or missfeeds (that weren't induced by me not racking the slide correctly.)
Accuracy
The gun is accurate, although its owner is not.
Fit and Finish.
The slide is very tight to the frame and after 400 rounds it is still very tight. The coating is... a coating. It is evenly applied, but is is not as pretty as a blued or polished stainless gun. The main spring housing and magazine release are plastic, but this is not necessarily a problem, just an FYI.
The hammer, sear, disconnector, slide stop, thumb safety, and grip saftey are all metal injection molded (MIM) parts. Again, this is not all bad, MIM parts are less expensive to make and keep the cost of the gun down, but they can't hold a temper like machined from billet material can. This makes them less than ideal for hammers, sears, and disconnectors.
I contacted a gunsmith to have the 7 lb trigger pull worked on, and got a quote for over $200 because he wouldn't work on the stock MIM parts and would have to replace them. I bought a kit from Cylinder & Slide, tweaked my sear and disconnector spring and I now have a 2.5 lb pull, and parts that will last a long time.
The double stack fits my hand nicely.
Platform.
You can't go wrong with the 1911 platform. The genius of the design, its functionallity, and the crisp trigger are some of the reasons it has been around for a hundred years. There are a ton on dealers out there making parts for the 1911 and its variants. I shop at First Defence and they carry Wilson Combat and Ed Brown parts. These are for the most part, drop in pieces; however, there are some things that will need a gunsmith to install.
What I have done already:
New FO sight
Hammer
Sear
Disconnetor
Main Spring
Sear, disconnector, and saftey spring.
80 series trigger kit from C&S
More on the way...
I have drifted off your original question. I have shot USPSA style courses of fire a couple of times and like the PARA. It is a solid platform, but you should expect to put a few $$$ into it to make it competative, or let someone else do all the work and then buy it used.
BTW, PARA sells a frame kit, You build your own gun!
What are you doing up at quarter to 5 on the computer thinking about guns
I just bought a PARA S16-40ER. I don't have the Glocks or a Sig, so all I can offer is the observations from a new Para owner. The one I bought is a covert black model.
Reliability.
I have put a little over 400 rounds of Winchester 165g target ammothrough it with no FTF or missfeeds (that weren't induced by me not racking the slide correctly.)
Accuracy
The gun is accurate, although its owner is not.
Fit and Finish.
The slide is very tight to the frame and after 400 rounds it is still very tight. The coating is... a coating. It is evenly applied, but is is not as pretty as a blued or polished stainless gun. The main spring housing and magazine release are plastic, but this is not necessarily a problem, just an FYI.
The hammer, sear, disconnector, slide stop, thumb safety, and grip saftey are all metal injection molded (MIM) parts. Again, this is not all bad, MIM parts are less expensive to make and keep the cost of the gun down, but they can't hold a temper like machined from billet material can. This makes them less than ideal for hammers, sears, and disconnectors.
I contacted a gunsmith to have the 7 lb trigger pull worked on, and got a quote for over $200 because he wouldn't work on the stock MIM parts and would have to replace them. I bought a kit from Cylinder & Slide, tweaked my sear and disconnector spring and I now have a 2.5 lb pull, and parts that will last a long time.
The double stack fits my hand nicely.
Platform.
You can't go wrong with the 1911 platform. The genius of the design, its functionallity, and the crisp trigger are some of the reasons it has been around for a hundred years. There are a ton on dealers out there making parts for the 1911 and its variants. I shop at First Defence and they carry Wilson Combat and Ed Brown parts. These are for the most part, drop in pieces; however, there are some things that will need a gunsmith to install.
What I have done already:
New FO sight
Hammer
Sear
Disconnetor
Main Spring
Sear, disconnector, and saftey spring.
80 series trigger kit from C&S
More on the way...
I have drifted off your original question. I have shot USPSA style courses of fire a couple of times and like the PARA. It is a solid platform, but you should expect to put a few $$$ into it to make it competative, or let someone else do all the work and then buy it used.
BTW, PARA sells a frame kit, You build your own gun!
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I have owned severa Para's and the only ones that are reliable are the pistols I have either built (Gunsmith Frame Kit) or rebuilt from the ground up. I am not happy with their customer service and will never buy another Para. Having said that, I must admit that your choices for a high cap pistol can be limited in MA an Para might be the only choice, but there are simply too many single stack guns available to waste your time on a Para.
PS The frame in the "Gunsmith Frame Kit" is oversized and requires a LOT of hand fitting. The one I bought wasn't even cut for a ramped barrel. For most people it would be a lot easier to buy a stock gun and then tighten the slide to frame fit. I know; I've done it both ways.
PS The frame in the "Gunsmith Frame Kit" is oversized and requires a LOT of hand fitting. The one I bought wasn't even cut for a ramped barrel. For most people it would be a lot easier to buy a stock gun and then tighten the slide to frame fit. I know; I've done it both ways.
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- Dec 13, 2005
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Para makes some pretty good guns that a lot of the top shooters in this area shoot them. Keep in mind that a lot of the internal parts will need to be changed to betters ones as you use the gun more. This seems to be a common problem with the Paras. Otherwise they are great guns.
I would only buy a para double stack if you have a gunsmith on speed dial that knows how to fix them when it breaks or to swap out the crappy parts. One guy I know who works on 1911s, every other gun he is fixing is a para double stack. Once worked over and tested they're decent guns. Out of the box, I could never trust one.
The problem is that almost anything better in that class (double stack 1911 type .40 ) costs way more than the para does, which kinda puts a lot of shooters between a rock and a hard place.
-Mike
The problem is that almost anything better in that class (double stack 1911 type .40 ) costs way more than the para does, which kinda puts a lot of shooters between a rock and a hard place.
-Mike
