To anyone thinking of a PARA

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Joshua M.

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I HIGHLY discourage it. I was kinda talked into a PDA 9mm about 6 months ago, and I have actually had it in my possession approx 2 weeks. I keep giving them the benefit of the doubt, but the more I read, the more I am seeing I am in the same boat as all the others. I am not one to bash on firearm manufacturers, as I realize there is always a lemon sooner or later, but when you are treated like I have been by their so called customer service, I have absolutely nothing good to say about these clowns. I have dealt with the regional salesman rep, the national marketing/salesman boss, and their csr's, and just keep getting promises, with no merit. This is by far the worst purchase I have ever made, and it has been a nightmare ever since. I just don't understand how a company can stay open knowingly making junk pistols. OK I am done ranting...:cuss:
 
Did you get the gun store involved? This is where it is advantageous to get a gun from a big box store. They carry a lot of weight large distributors.
 
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I also have a para Gi Expert. When I first got mine I had a problem with the slide stop lever. With the factory mags it would push away from the frame after the last round and the slide would not lock open. I tried some plane metalform mags from CDNN that were about 8 bucks a piece and the slide stop would stay put as long as I didnt touch the nub on the other side. I called Para anf after some time I got to talk to a person with a pulse but no heart. I would have to ship the whole gun to them on my dime. I told them what the problem was but they refused to ship me just the slide stop. I ended up just ordering one from brownells. I am around the 300 round mark and I have only had one round that failed to feed. I have not shot any factory ammo in it yet only some berrys and my home cast lee tl bullets.

jackpinesavages Im wondering if you have had problems with your para and what is the round count on yours.
 
I'm sure I'll get flamed for saying it, but if you read up on the subject, you might come to the same conclusion.... 1911 style pistols with slides <4" long tend to be iffy, regardless of who makes them.

That said, I'd still like to play with a Colt Defender.
 
I had one .It was a single shot with large ammo storage in the grip . Sent in, came back. Now a 2 shot with large storage compartment. I traded and never looked back.
 
I'm sure that specific statements of events that happened to make you so mad would be a lot more helpful than just name-calling and vague comments about quality. What you said does nothing to facilitate a discussion about the problem, but rather just have people who have had good paras say "mine is good" and people who have bad paras say "+1".
 
A friend of mine bought a invitation-only SF-45 a few years ago. The slide had been squeezed too tightly and the guide rod and plug were stuck. He had to send it back to the factory. BUT, they paid for shipping, and fixed it well.

So, the question becomes, which is more important: Fixing problems promptly and courteously, or making sure that the customer doesn't need to call in the first place?

I decided that if I buy enough guns, sooner or later I will have a problem that needs to be fixed. Even if I don't WANT to be in the situation, it can still happen. I won't throw a fit and get rid of the gun, I will make them fix it.

Here's the ultimate resolution to the question; my invitation-only SF-45A is on the way, I'll get it next month. (I still have my friend's, he is currently in a place where he can't have the 15 rd mags.)
 
A friend of mine bought a invitation-only SF-45 a few years ago. The slide had been squeezed too tightly and the guide rod and plug were stuck. He had to send it back to the factory. BUT, they paid for shipping, and fixed it well.

So, the question becomes, which is more important: Fixing problems promptly and courteously, or making sure that the customer doesn't need to call in the first place?

I decided that if I buy enough guns, sooner or later I will have a problem that needs to be fixed. Even if I don't WANT to be in the situation, it can still happen. I won't throw a fit and get rid of the gun, I will make them fix it.

Here's the ultimate resolution to the question; my invitation-only SF-45A is on the way, I'll get it next month. (I still have my friend's, he is currently in a place where he can't have the 15 rd mags.)
 
I have not had very good experience with Para. I currently have a slim hawg that I have pretty much just rebuilt. The fist problem i had was when the slide stop broke mid fire and the entire top of the gun went flying off the front of the gun about five feet. I called para and after finally getting some one to answer was only asking for a replacement slide stop.

I was happy to send the broken slide stop in if i needed, but they told me that I would need to send them the whole gun and that I would have to pay for all the repairs and they would cover nothing. I just got a new stop from a local smith. about 100 rounds later the front sight came completely off the gun while firing, I found some of the mim parts to be cracking upon disassembly for cleaning that same day. I decided to just put all new internals in it and it has run ok since. it is still fussy about ammo, but is a good looking gun. I will be getting rid of it when i can get a officer frame for a new build. Para customer service has much to be desired.
 
I must be the luckiest 1911 guy on Earth. I had a nice Para LTC, the commander length 1911 Para in 9mm. It never had problem one! I did find I could not fire smaller weight (shorter) HPs in it but the longer bullets in HP were fine as in no feed errors at all, And of course, never a problem with ball ammo. I think it had been tuned a little or a lot before I got it because it had a great trigger which I always read that these pistols do not!

I can say that a 9mm 1911 mag is the hardest mag to load in a 1911 mag I have ever seen.
 
16 posts later Joshua M still hasn't given any specifics on the problem he is having. I guess he was just venting so this thread has become useless.
 
I got a CCO with the LDA early after coming out with the power extractor. Shoots like a champ. Long reset but sweet trigger.
 
I traded for a 9mm LDA/PDA last year. I've run about 150 rounds through it so far, including some fired by a chronic limp-wrister, and have not had a single failure.
I like it as well or better than my EMP.
 
16 posts later Joshua M still hasn't given any specifics on the problem he is having. I guess he was just venting so this thread has become useless.
Click to expand...

Problem is "just venting" doesn't do the thread's title justice. He said he was offering advice to people who want to buy a Para. With no specifics, nobody really knows whether or not a para is for them.
 
....or I have like a few other things going on and haven't had a chance to babysit the computer...

The problem originated as FTF, FTE, and just failure to function. Took it apart cleaned everything thoroughly, and lubed it up real well. Took it out, and got approx 3 rounds through it before it all started again. Tried multiple different brands of ammo, different mags, and nothing better. So, I took it down again, examined everything real well, and lubed again, right back to square one. Before to many more tries, the PXT broke, so I sent it into PARA.

I received it back approximately 1 week later, with a list that included: replacing grips, (cracked), replacing PXT, replaced all springs, polished throat, and ramp, 2 new mags, cycled 2 mags 100%...

I got it back, took it out, and low and behold, I call BS on the 100%...it wouldn't even feed the first round. I tried CCI, Blazer, and Brass, Federals, WWB's, UMC's, and Fiochhi's, and still nothing, no feed, unless manually. I was still at my local gun dealer's place, had him try it, and same thing. At this point, I don't feel I should have to take it apart again, so I went to put it back in the case to ship it back, and the :cuss: slide won't release. After holding my tongue right, and some more:cuss:, it finally dropped, and back to Para it went...

Now I have had this pistol a total of 3 weeks, and they and my dealer has had it the rest of the time. It has currently been at PARA for the last month, and all I get from anyone is, "it is on the bench"...

Now, I don't build guns for a living, but I'm pretty sure that if it has "been on the bench" for a month, it must be a piece of ****:fire:...so make it right with me, give me a full refund!!! Any other questions, I have a few jobs, so I might not post a response for a few minutes, possibly even a day, if thats ok...
 
i sold my para gi expert after a experiencing their customer service. the extractor was bad, and the breechface was machined out of spec. the crabby old lady at para told me to buy another extractor from brownells :eek:
 
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