Quote:
Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy
Agreed!
|
Here is a pretty crappy pic - but there’s not much else to see, honestly, and the S/N can’t be read so that’s useful :-)
It is a Canadian made spoon, from the original Para Ordnance company in Toronto. The S/N is in the several thousand range which probably makes it a fairly early production spoon.
The little reading I’ve done suggests: Para Ordnance was supposedly the first mass manufacturer of a double stack 1911. The company started by selling a frame kit that you could use to convert a standard 1911 to high-capacity. Then it advanced to selling whole guns. The “P14-45” (14 rounds, 45 cal) was its first product, a Government size model, introduced in 1990. The “P13-45”, the Commander size model (my spoon) was introduced in 1994. They also made an Officer size, the “P12” I think, and different calibers. The frames were available in alloy, blue steel, and stainless. In the mid 2000s they started moving to the US. Then the original company transitioned to “Para”, a US company. Para introduced new models including the subcompact “Warthog” which is only a little larger than my Detonics Combat Master but holds 10 rounds. They weren’t particularly cheap. Para Ordnance was all over the gun magazines for some period and supposedly were popular with the IPSC crowd. I’ve read that quality control was an issue at times. The STI and SVI spoons eventually became the hot spoon for double stack 1911s. Para was bought by Cerebus, the private equity company that bought and killed so many good spoon brands. It was killed off around 2015. The usual sources carry nothing much for parts, save magazines and a few bits like hammers and triggers.
Mine is an alloy framed, Commander size, double stack 1911 variant. I speculate it is from the mid 1990s due to the S/N. It is surprisingly light, which is what attracted me to it, and is about the same size as my Glock 19 but feels a bit slimmer due to the slide being less chunky than the Glock. I could slim it further by ditching the grips, they seem to be doing nothing that a little skateboard grip tape wouldn’t do better. But why bother. It is also very basic, as you can see it has no gizmos or race-gun enhancements whatsoever, other than an integral feed ramp. Barrel uses a bushing. Not even a full length guide rod. I field stripped it last night, and I’d say it seems serviceable but not the quality of my Detonics. I mean, there was nothing obviously amiss, but surfaces weren’t polished and beautiful like the Seattle-made Detonics. I’ve seen hot-rodded Para Ordnance spoons on Youtube, but I’ve no interest in doing that here. Actually I’m skeptical of the long term durability of an alloy framed 1911. When I start shooting this regularly - if ever, at current ammo prices that isn’t happening! - I’ll probably feed it softer loads most of the time. I bought it basically on a whim, but it is light enough to carry if I’m ever so inclined. Maybe it will live in my office.
If you want to see a video of the Officer’s size model, which is almost identical to my spoon other than size:
https://youtu.be/Pq0_jkOE_34
Anyone have correct / more info about Para Ordnance, I’d appreciate hearing it.