Problems with Para Ordnance

[promod1385]

What do you mean when you say the hammer wont reset? The gun cycles and ejects the round, chambers a new round and then the hammer is still forward? All the way forward or at half cock? I would change the main spring as well as the sear spring regardless of when the previous owner changed the springs. For all you know he could have put lighter springs in it and thus the problems. I would also hose down the lower 1/2 of the gun while you have the MSH out (brake clean).

Sounds like the PO has messed with the gun. Could be he got a little too aggressive with the polishing or messed with a sear angle or the angles on the hammer hooks, thus the hammer not re-setting.

I am assuming you would have mentioned if the gun was doubling, going full auto, or giving you AD's when it had exhibits this problem.

I should also mention a 23lb recoil spring is on the heavy end of the spectrum! I run a 23lb spring in my Commander to help protect the scandium frame and i only run it with full house defense loads.

[CashFan]

What do you mean when you say the hammer wont reset? The gun cycles and ejects the round, chambers a new round and then the hammer is still forward? All the way forward or at half cock?

Yes. Sometimes after firing, the hammer does not stay cocked and is all the way forward. Also when I close the slide with the slide stop the hammer does not always cock. If I slingshot shut, the hammer always stays cocked. I have not had any AD's, and after reading about that problem today I will not be shooting it again until it is fixed.

I took it all apart last night and cleaned everything inside and out.

[promod1385]

Main spring and an Ed Brown "Hardcore" sear spring should be a good start. Try over on the national 1911 forum or BEno's also has a whole section on proper spring selection.

[Jeff Bergquist]

I love the GI expert for a base model... Never held the double stacks, how do they feel in the hand?

The gun feels very comfortable to me. The grip is wide, but curves right so that it doesn't feel that big. Its probably a little but bigger than my grip on my Glock 22, but its more comfortable to shoot. Could feel better than the glock because of the 45 cal vs the 40 sw too.

At the rear the grip is not much wider than a standard single stack. The front strap is much more squared off however and feels very different than a single stack. Hogue fingergroove grips ameliorate this for me though, and that's why I have them on my P14, P18, and Warthog.

[CashFan]

So a couple weeks ago I took it to a gunsmith. Got it back last week and have since ran a few down the pipe. Much improved. No FTF or FTE at all after about 300 rounds. My head gets grazed about every other mag, so that has improved greatly. A couple times it did not go all the way into battery, but I'm thinking that it was a little dry. It was well oiled tonight and ran well.

He said the sear had been worked over too much and the extractor had been polished and tweaked wrong.

It is now a very nice shooting firearm.