Any Para owners here?
- Thread starter JGKC9AYC
- Start date
Aguila Blanca
Staff
Long-time Para owner here.
The P13.45 is Para's Commander-size double stack. The grip and magazine are a unique size -- the magazines and mainspring housings are different from the P14.45. P14 magazines will work, but they protrude from the bottom of the grip frame. Actual P13 magazines are somewhat difficult to find.
Is this pistol a Para-Ordnance, or ParaUSA? The Para-Ordnance pistols were made in Canada. When they moved the company to North Carolina, the name changed to ParaUSA. There was a period near the end of the Canadian production and the start-up in North Carolina when their quality control went down the sewer. Knowing the serial number might help to get an idea of the production date, but the serial number lookups you get from Remington now that they took over para are generally spotty. (And, now that Remington has been broken up and sold off, I don't know if they ever try to look up Para serial numbers.)
The good news is that the pistols are all still solid pistols. By now, any from the "iffy" production period have probably been tuned up to function reliably.
One thing to watch out for is the proprietary Para "Power Xtractor." It was an idea that looked good on paper, but didn't work out well in practice. You can tell if the gun has a Power XTractor by whether or not it has an 'X' in the serial number. Para pistols with the Power XTractor can't use a standard 1911 extractor unless you fit the extractor tunnel with an adapter sleeve. EGW Gun Works, in Pennsylvania, offers a heavy duty replacement for the Power XTractor. IMHO, it's a "must have" upgrade for any Para with the Power XTractor. I think the EGW extractor sells for around $60, so factor that into what you're willing to pay for the pistol.
The P13.45 is Para's Commander-size double stack. The grip and magazine are a unique size -- the magazines and mainspring housings are different from the P14.45. P14 magazines will work, but they protrude from the bottom of the grip frame. Actual P13 magazines are somewhat difficult to find.
Is this pistol a Para-Ordnance, or ParaUSA? The Para-Ordnance pistols were made in Canada. When they moved the company to North Carolina, the name changed to ParaUSA. There was a period near the end of the Canadian production and the start-up in North Carolina when their quality control went down the sewer. Knowing the serial number might help to get an idea of the production date, but the serial number lookups you get from Remington now that they took over para are generally spotty. (And, now that Remington has been broken up and sold off, I don't know if they ever try to look up Para serial numbers.)
The good news is that the pistols are all still solid pistols. By now, any from the "iffy" production period have probably been tuned up to function reliably.
One thing to watch out for is the proprietary Para "Power Xtractor." It was an idea that looked good on paper, but didn't work out well in practice. You can tell if the gun has a Power XTractor by whether or not it has an 'X' in the serial number. Para pistols with the Power XTractor can't use a standard 1911 extractor unless you fit the extractor tunnel with an adapter sleeve. EGW Gun Works, in Pennsylvania, offers a heavy duty replacement for the Power XTractor. IMHO, it's a "must have" upgrade for any Para with the Power XTractor. I think the EGW extractor sells for around $60, so factor that into what you're willing to pay for the pistol.
Not that hard to find magazines: https://www.cdnnsports.com/magazines/p13-45-13rd-blue-para.html with a current price of $9.99
HighValleyRanch
New member
tex, how wide is the grip. Wide as a glock 19? (With the grip panels on)
Aguila Blanca
Staff
Tex's GI Expert is a single stack. Standard 1911 dimensions.
The double stack Paras have very thin grips, so the actual thickness at the widest point is probably not more than a 10th of an inch more than a single stack 1911. But, because of the double stack magazine, the overall shape of the grip part of the frame is more squared off. Some time ago a guy on the M1911.org forum (who happens to be a writer, so I guess he has experience with similes and metaphors) compared to the difference between a football profile and a 2x4 profile.
Paras are very subjective. My hands are not large for a male -- I can't palm a basketball -- yet I find them to be very comfortable to hold and shoot. I have a good friend, whose hands are about the same size, who HATES the double stack paras becayse he finds the grips too "fat" for his hands.
If you need a precise measurement, I can pull out one of the Paras and measure the grip with a caliper.
The double stack Paras have very thin grips, so the actual thickness at the widest point is probably not more than a 10th of an inch more than a single stack 1911. But, because of the double stack magazine, the overall shape of the grip part of the frame is more squared off. Some time ago a guy on the M1911.org forum (who happens to be a writer, so I guess he has experience with similes and metaphors) compared to the difference between a football profile and a 2x4 profile.
Paras are very subjective. My hands are not large for a male -- I can't palm a basketball -- yet I find them to be very comfortable to hold and shoot. I have a good friend, whose hands are about the same size, who HATES the double stack paras becayse he finds the grips too "fat" for his hands.
If you need a precise measurement, I can pull out one of the Paras and measure the grip with a caliper.
HighValleyRanch
New member
Thanks. Just curious. Glock 19 is as fat as I like. My 21 is too fat and 2x4 shape. The 1911 is perfect.
Sgt Pepper
New member
No reason to not jump on that. My Para has been excellent. Not to name drop, but so you know that the Para is not my most premium 1911 or all that I know, I also own numerous Colt, S&W, Les Baer, and Ed Brown 1911's. For less than $500, you are getting a forged frame 1911 that shoots well, is reliable, and will hold up. Most of the low buck 1911 models have weaker cast frames. Just my two cents.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
That pistol appears to be about as close to "pristine" as you're ever going to find for a Canadian-made Para-Ordnance. The good news is that it's not a Power Xtractor, so the extractor is standard 1911. That pistol appears to be unmolested. $375 to $400 for that pistol is, IMHO, a bargain. I bought my P13.45 used at least 15 years ago and I paid $600 for it then.
A word about Sgt. Pepper's comment, though. Para-Ordnance never made pistols with forged frames -- or slides. They were all investment castings. In fact, Para owned a subsidiary company (Alpha Casting) that not only cast their own frames and slides, they also did investment casting for other businesses.
A word about Sgt. Pepper's comment, though. Para-Ordnance never made pistols with forged frames -- or slides. They were all investment castings. In fact, Para owned a subsidiary company (Alpha Casting) that not only cast their own frames and slides, they also did investment casting for other businesses.