Considering a Para Ord for my first 45acp

Great first .45!

There are so many great pistols in .45 ACP, even more in 1911!!

Do some research first on the different types of 1911s out there. Dont fall into the doodad, tactical, tac rail light bandwagon. Its easy to fall into it, but start out with something simple. Learn to shoot, and find out for yourself what you consider to be necessary. There is a LOT to learn about 1911s. But, they are fantastic pistols. Also, dont believe too much about the SIG, Glock and any other non 1911 lover about unreliability and the stone age design, its out still for a reason. And its growing also for a reason. Its not a fad, nor the newest thing. Its proven.

Now... for 1911s, I'd consider something else other than Para Ordnance. IMO there are so many other great 1911s out there other than Para Ordnance. Look into Colt, Smith and Wesson, Kimber or Springfield Armory to start off.

For a plain jane, look into the Colt NRM Government or the Springfield Armory Mil-spec. You can also get the GI which is even less money around $400- $425 I believe.

There are many other 1911s to choose from, but we need a little bit more information. Will this be a range gun? Home defense? IDPA or shooting sports? Carry?

Also, what's your price range?

Give us some more detail, and I can give you many more recommendations OTHER than Para Ordnance.

Oh yeah, Look into Colt

And check this forum: www.1911forum.com/forums

Good luck!

I will disagree with Richard. I own Colts, Kimbers and Paras, and for my money, Para Ordnance is the hands down best value in quality 1911s these days. Para offers excellent quality, accuracy and reliability at a moderate price. In a standard configuration (single stack single action), the Para SSP and LTC are great values. They have great features like match grade, fully ramped barrels and Para's excellent proprietary (patented) Power Extractor.

Para also invented the high cap 1911, and the double action (LDA) 1911. Para doesn't just produce "me too" knockoffs -- it has improved the 1911 steadily over the years.

Personally, I don't care for the high caps or the LDA trigger, so that's not why I like Paras. I had an LDA -- a 2004 CCW model -- but wouldn't buy another. It's an excellent choice for someone who is not comfortable with cocked and locked carry (condition one) but still wants a 1911 for CCW. If you are comfortable with condition one carry, though, a traditional single action design is better. The LDA, while indeed very light and very smooth, has a very long trigger stroke -- just like a double action revolver. That makes it possible to short stroke the trigger under stress, which leads to misses or worse. And unlike a true double action, it does not have second strike capability. Thus, while a Para LDA helped turn me on to Paras and get used to carrying a 1911 (I used to be a Glock man), I have now gone away from LDA and carry a traditional single action 1911.

The high caps are also not my cup of tea. They're great for competition use, but they are a bit bulky and heavy for carry, and don't fit my hand as well as single stack 1911s. If I wanted a high cap 1911, though, there is no doubt I would buy Para.

I have the SSP, and what a gun it is. Accurate and completely reliable out of the box. The ramped barrel and the new extractor make it a best buy alone, never mind the match grade barrel. I have also owned the P-14 LTd - sold it to my son. IT too was accurate and reliable out of the box. I am not a fan of the exterior extractor but enjoy the same advantages of the coil spring based extractor using Para's internal power extractor. Give them a hard look. Waiting for Para to produce a full size single stack 9MM. Life than would be complete.

Here is proof:

Stay Safe

Bob

My 45acp collection(family,harem,whatever...)consists of a Para Carry C6.45,a Para Tac-Four(hicap-13rds),a HK USP fullsize(12rds),Glock 36,and 2 Tauruses,a PT745 and a 24/7.If you want a hicap that will fit your hand the best with a TRUE double action,take a look at the Taurus 24/7.I don't know how they managed to fit a 12rd mag in that grip,but it works for me.If you're stuck on an all steel gun,try the Para Carry or the Tac-Four,both are excellent weapons...

My P12-45 was not unforunately a great success story! Invariably feed or eject issues. I bought it off a THR member so not new tho in good shape.

I have now done a Wolff spring job on the mags and some general polishing - even now tho I don't trust it - well, not as a carry piece. I love the trigger, it is accurate - sights are good but - just not 100%. Therefore I am not on that score a Para fan.

I own a P14 LDA. The trigger take up takes a little getting used to, but its still fairly accurate and it hasn't given me any problem, so far. Its a big contrast compared to my P16. My friend's P14 was reliable out of the box too. I'de say go for it.

damn lot of para's in this group. well my personal favorite is the kimber. cant beat the features of a kimber for the price. i'm a poor college student and decided to spent the extra money to get what kimber has to offer. shoot em all and you decide what the best is.

+1 on the Para

My P1445ltd has been my favorite gun purchase since I got into the hobby. Accurate, utterly reliable, and inexpensive compared to any thing in the same category. The Springfield is a good gun too if you can live with the GI pattern design.

Are you buying a Para for CC?

I own a Para Warthog. It has been super reliable (1000 rds so far). I have shot everything through it from Wolf steel cased 230 gr. FMJ to 180 gr Hollow points. It has a full length guide rod, too. This little jewel has been my carry gun for a while. I'll probably sell it when Sig introduces it's commander sizze 1911.

My other 1911 is a Sig GSR.

Both are great.

My carry piece...

is a Para Ordnance P12-45...all in black. Like our moderator, I bought mine used ( original owner didn't even run a box of 50 through it )...but unlike our moderator, never had a reliability issue. It's a true 1911a1, cocked & locked carry, like JMB designed it. Goes boom when I pull the trigger, never jammed or stovepiped...and will feed whatever hollowpoint I choose to carry. That's why it rides my hip everyday...I trust my life to it ! The newer models have the LDA ( light double action ) and Power extractor features. Depending on what you will be using it for...target or CCW...you can't go wrong with a Para Ord...

well my personal favorite is the kimber. cant beat the features of a kimber for the price.

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Yes, you can. Around here (Memphis), Kimbers tend to be priced about $100 more than comparable Paras or Springfields. The Para Ordnance and Springfield Armory loaded 1911s are about the same price (say $600-700), but a Kimber with similar features runs about $75-150 more. The Dan Wesson Patriot series 1911s also used to be good values like the Paras and Springfields, but they seem to have gotten a lot harder to find since CZ bought out Dan Wesson.

Can someone explain to me what this new LDA trigger is all about?

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LDA means "light double action." Basically, it allows you to carry a 1911 with the hammer down. It has a pivoting trigger like you find on double action pistols instead of the sliding (straight back) trigger found on traditional single action 1911s. The trigger has to move through a long arc, which draws the hammer back and then releases the sear to fire the gun. Of course, in a traditional 1911, the trigger just releases the sear, so it doesn't have to move very far.

In actual operation, the LDA is more like the Glock "safe action" system than a traditional double action only (DAO). In a DAO, whether revolver or pistol, the trigger pull cocks the mainspring AND fires the gun. That's why a DAO trigger pull is so heavy -- it has to overcome the pressure of the mainspring.

In the LDA system, like the Glock system, the cycling of the slide compresses the mainspring. The LDA trigger then just needs to draw the hammer back and release it. Because the mainspring is already compressed, the LDA trigger does not face the resistance of the mainspring. Instead of fighting the pressure of the mainspring, it faces only the resistance of a light hammer spring, and the force needed to release the sear. Hence, it is a "light" double action, or "LDA."

The advantage is that you get hammer down carry with a very light trigger pull. My LDA takes only 1 pound of pressure to move the trigger through the arc and draw the hammer back. It is indeed the smoothest and lightest trigger pull I have ever felt. There is then a clearly defined second stage, however, where the sear releases. Mine breaks at just over 5 pounds, which is about right for a carry gun. If you want, you can easily prestage the trigger at the sear release point. It takes just a little practice to get used to it.

There are several disadvantages to the LDA system. First, you have a much longer trigger stroke than a single action, so a much longer trigger reset is required. If you are used to single actions, as I was, you need to retrain your trigger finger to avoid short-stroking it. You need to fully release the trigger before pulling it for the next shot. In a single action, or a DA/SA, the trigger reset is much shorter.

Second, because the trigger does not compress the mainspring, you MUST cycle the slide to cock the gun. In other words, it does not have "second strike" capability like a true double action. In a true double action, if you have a misfire due to a light primer strike, you can just pull the trigger again. With the LDA, you have to rack the slide. Of course, that's true of single actions and Glocks, also. It's fine with me, as I just practice the standard tap-rack-bang drill with all autopistols, whether LDA or single action.

The bottom line is that the LDA is a sort of compromise between single action and DAO. It has certain advantages and disadvantages of both systems. Whether it's right for you is a matter of personal preference.

never had a reliability issue. It's a true 1911a1, cocked & locked carry, like JMB designed it. Goes boom when I pull the trigger, never jammed or stovepiped...and will feed whatever hollowpoint I choose to carry. That's why it rides my hip everyday...I trust my life to it ! The newer models have the LDA ( light double action ) and Power extractor features.

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+1. I bought an SSP model about a year and a half ago. It is a traditional full size 1911A1 -- single action, single stack (8+1), .45ACP. It has the Power Extractor (PXT) but not the LDA trigger. It has digested everything I've fed it, from 185 JHP to 200 LSWC to 230 HP and FMJ. I have tried and tried to get it to fail to feed or extract, without success (with one exception common to all 1911s: if I use cheap mags, I can induce feed failures, but with CMC and Wilson mags I have never had a problem). I've run it to the point it is dirty and so hot its hard to handle, and then fired it upside down, sideways, limp-wristed, etc., and it still just shoots (I can easily induce stovepipes in my Glocks doing the same thing). It also prints much smaller groups than I'd ever before gotten out of a 1911.

That pistol convinced me to buy the CCW, which has the LDA trigger. Otherwise, it is a standard CCO-type (commander size slide on officer size frame) 1911. I then dumped the Glock that I had been carrying and started carring the Para CCW. I just wasn't comfortable with cocked-and-locked carry at first. The more familiar I got with the 1911, though, the more comfortable I got with C-and-L carry.

Just recently, I bought a Para Ordnance LTC alloy that I have started carrying in place of the CCW. It's another "traditional" (single action, single stack) 1911 but in the commander size (4.25" barrel) and on an alloy frame. It has the PXT extractor. I'm still breaking it in and function testing it, but I expect that it will soon replace the CCW as my primary carry weapon. It is a little lighter than the CCW (thanks to the alloy frame), holds 1 more round and has a traditional trigger instead of the LDA. So far, it has been just as reliable and accurate as my SSP and CCW models.

Keep in mind that while Para Ordnance is best known as the company that invented both the high-cap 1911 and the double action 1911, it also makes traditional single action, single stack 1911s, and it makes them very, very well.

My LDA takes only 1 pound of pressure to move the trigger through the arc and draw the hammer back.

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I like the Para a lot, but the LDA trigger system was too light for me to be comfortable carrying one. Breaking at 1 pound is just too light for a carry gun.

I like the Para a lot, but the LDA trigger system was too light for me to be comfortable carrying one. Breaking at 1 pound is just too light for a carry gun.

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You've obviously never actually fired an LDA. Read my post again. It doesn't "break" at 1 pound. It is a two stage trigger. The first stage is very light -- about 1 pound on mine. That is the stage where the hammer is drawn back. There is a clearly defined second stage, however. The sear is released in the second stage. On my LDA, the second stage breaks at a shade over 5 pounds.

Compare that to my Colt and my two single action Paras (SSP and LTC), all of which break at closer to 4-1/2 pounds than 5 pounds. The LDA therefore takes MORE pressure to fire than the single actions.

I've fired LDAs belonging to friends, also, and none of them feel like they break at less than 4-5 pounds.

The LDA is actually safer than a single action, because the trigger needs to be moved a lot further to fire the gun. It is lighter than a double action only design, but requires no less pressure than a traditional single action 1911 to release the sear and fire, and you have to move the trigger a lot farther to do so.

You've obviously never actually fired an LDA.

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You are wrong on this, so I cannot help but suspect that you may be wrong on your other points as well. You would be well advised to not make such sweeping and incorrect assumptions--it does not enhance your appearance as a rational and logical person.

I enjoyed shooting a Para LDA quite a bit, but while shooting at a paper target had a couple of double taps because of the light trigger.

I calls 'em as I sees 'em, Lobotomy Boy. Para Ordnance has never produced an LDA with a trigger that breaks at 1 pound. In addition, the long trigger reset pretty much makes an accidental double tap impossible. Have you ever "accidentally" double tapped a target with a DAO revolver? I don't think so. The need to fully release the trigger and draw it all the way back again through its long stroke makes it pretty much impossible. The same is true of the LDA. In fact, that's one of the disadvantages of the LDA -- the long trigger reset makes it hard to double tap targets quickly and accurately.

If you were shooting a 1911 with a trigger so light, and a stroke so short, that you could accidentally double tap a target, then you weren't shooting an LDA. It sounds like you were shooting a single action 1911 with a heavily massaged target trigger. It may well have been a Para Ordnance product, but it wasn't an LDA, and it wasn't factory stock. Remember that P-O produces traditional single action 1911's, too, and they are very popular as competition guns, especially the high-capacity double stack versions. Every LDA is a Para Ordnance, but not every Para Ordnance is an LDA.

It is only the take-up of the trigger, i.e., the portion of the stroke that draws the hammer back, that is much lighter than 5 pounds. On mine, the take-up is about 1 to 1-1/2 pounds. You then hit resistance where the hammer is fully back, and it takes 5 pounds to actually release the sear and fire the gun. Every LDA I have ever fired has behaved exactly like this. It feels to me just like the two-stage triggers found on many military rifles, such as my M1's.

Don't believe me? Call Para Ordnance. I just did. They assured me that their specs call for a trigger that breaks at between 4 and 6 pounds. No P-O pistol leaves the factory with a trigger that breaks lighter than that.

Anyone else who actually HAS an LDA want to comment?

good choice

nothing wrong with a para...
if it was a bet your bottom gun I'd probably not go double stack
but keep it simple with a single stack mag...but, a para is as good as any
and better than most...colt, springfield, S&W, para, kimber...all good stuff.

As can be seen, considering a Para for one's first 1911 has caused a lot of debate centering around their triggers. I happen to like 1911s and took a look at some Paras. I don't particularly like the LDA design and stick to traditional 1911s. But the bottom line is that you should probably try both--compare a bare bones Springfield with the Para and see which you prefer.

And I second the recommendation to browse the 1911 forum. Lots of info there.

Guns Magazine on the LDA

The trigger pull was typical LDA, which is unlike anything else. The stroke feels long but easy, running about 5.5 pounds total pull weight.Toward the end of the stroke, there is a light "stacking," or increased resistance to the trigger finger, that is perceptible in slow fire but seems to disappear when you're firing as fast as you can. At speed, it feels like a very fast, very light double-action revolver pull. In slow, deliberate work, it feels like "trigger cocking" -- the two-stage pull that double-action wheelgunners who favored the Colt revolver preferred.

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I think I said roughly the same thing.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_4_48/ai_83483903

considering a Para for one's first 1911 has caused a lot of debate centering around their triggers.

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Remember that NOT ALL PARAS HAVE THE LDA TRIGGER. :banghead:

Para Ordnance did invent the double action 1911. They also make a lot of single action, i.e. "traditional trigger", 1911s, and they are excellent. In fact, Para Ordnance was making 1911s for many years before it invented and introduced the LDA trigger.

Here's a link to Para's current product lineup: http://www.paraord.com/product/categories.html

Note that the first three categories are single action pistols: (1) PXT 1911 Single-Action Single Stack, (2) PXT High Capacity Single-Action, and (3) PXT High Capacity Single-Action Limited.

Personally, I prefer the traditional single action trigger to the LDA. As I said above, I have two Paras with traditional single-action triggers (the SSP and LTC), and they are excellent guns.

This should tell you something...

I've owned 15 Paras. I no longer own any.

This should tell you something...

I've owned 15 Paras. I no longer own any.

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That your huge collection of Paras were washed away?

I, like FKB, own a Para SSP (single stack/single action) with power extractor and couldn't be happier. It's a great gun!