Para Ordinance History?

Y

yankytrash

New member
I've always been a huge fan of the Para Pxx pistols, ever since I got to handle one when I was younger. Always told myself I'd get one oneday, and that day has finally come.

Been doing a net search for the history of the Para Pxx pistols, and suprisingly enough, I'm having a hard time finding a decent history.

Anybody here care to tell the tale, or point me to a link?
 
Don't know how much help it will be, but I will pass along what the manager of my local range related to me re: Para-Ord (not necess. their Pxx line).

In essence, he told me that Para started out as a custom shop modifying other people's 1911's and producing custom parts. After awhile - when large capacity handguns became all the rage - they decided to fill the large capacity .45 niche by building their own complete pistols based on the double stack frame - hence their Pxx line of 1911's. More recently, of course, they've become known for their LDA line of DAO 1911's which gun mags have heaped praise upon.

According to him, just 5 years ago he says he wouldn't have given $10 for a Para-Ord because of suspect QC. Now, however, he says they have improved greatly in that area and he would rank Para 1911's behind only Wilson and Kimber, and ahead of Colt, Springfield and others when it comes to producing quality 1911's.

Take if for what it's worth. I trust this guy's opinion - he's been in the game many years and knows his guns. Hope this helps.
 
I have a SS P-16 Limited, a SS P-12 Limited and a blued P-13 Limited and all three have been great right out of the box. I replace the plastic mag catch with the Ed Brown steel ones and I also like the long adjustable triggers. The P-16 has a King's long trigger and Chip Mccormick hammer and sear, the P-13 has a dlask long trigger and Mccormick hammer and sear. The P-12 has a long dlask trigger. You can spend a lot of money and not get as good a pistol as the Para's, plus that high capacity is just plain fun.
 
To my knowledge, Para Ordinance didn't react to the high-cap 1911 trend, they started it. In the mid-80's they began producing the widebody frame kit with trigger, mag release and magazines, which you would complete with 1911 parts. I think the first ones were aluminum, then steel and stainless were introduced. Later they began producing complete pistols, then the LDA series. Quite a success story for two ambitious Greeks in Toronto.
 
ParaOrd Trivia

ParaOrdnance's first major product was the Model 85: a full-auto paintball gun. The M85 looked like an Ingram M10, with a 1200rpm cyclic rate to match. The ~.38" paintballs were fired from reusable primer-powered cases, fed from a detachable 24rd box magazine.
 
From the PARA ORD Website.

In 1988, after years of design development, we marketed the very first high-capacity .45 ACP receiver and magazine for M1911A1-type pistols. This was followed in 1990 by the P14-45, acclaimed as the world's first complete high magazine capacity.45 ACP pistol.

From M1911.orghttp://www.m1911.org/mod_para.htm

Para Ordnance was one of the first firms, which started the high-capacity trend for the M-1911 pistols, with a frame which, while having almost the same grip circumference as the standard M-1911, it used a double-stack magazine. Today, Para Ordnance (a Canadian firm) produces several high-capacity M-1911 models, using either a steel frame, a stainless steel or a light alloy one. Finishes can be either blue, stainless or duotone. In their nomenclature, the first two digits are the number of cartridges the pistol can take (including the one in the barrel) and the last two digits is the caliber. Lately (Nov. 1996), David C. Winters (e-mail at winters+@cs.cmu.edu) was kind enough to inform me that Para Ordnance model numbers, now show the magazine capacity and not mag+1. That means that Model P-1245, is now holding 12 rounds in the mag plus one in the chamber, that is a total of 13. Thanks David for pointing this out to me, althought I presume that this is now of small interest to US buyers, due to the 10-round mag law.

Just a tiny bit of info.

Good SHooting
RED
 
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