A while back we talked about relibility enhancements that can be made to the standard M1911A1 .45 pistol (or any other pistol of this type). I did this photo shoot of my Para-Ordance to illustrate certain things about the pistol for a friend, but some of the photos illustrate the improvements I talked about for the standard .45 pistol. The Para-Ordnance carries 13 rounds of .45 ACP in the magazine + 1 in the chamber to make it the .45 equivalent of the Browning P35 High-Power pistol (on steroids, of course). The controls of the Para-Ordnance are identical to the M1911A1 pistol. The frame of the Para Ordnance pistol is aluminum as opposed to steel as in the Colt, but wider to accomodate the double-stack magazine that distinguishes the pistol. Weight of my loaded P-O pistol with 14 rounds of .45 is the same as my Colt with 8 rounds of .45; the grip of the P-O is only 1/8-inch thicker than that of the Colt.
Above: Left and right side views of the Para-Ordnane .45 pistol shows how similar it is to the standard M1911A1 .45 Government Model. Some shooters do not like the arched mainspring housing of the M1911A1 and prefer the flat housing of the M1911; I chose the arched because it fits my hand better. Notice the wide-spur grip safety. I like this feature because it fits my hand better than the standard M1911A1. This pistol uses a long trigger similar to the original M1911 pistols. This particular pistol is fitted with a "Match" trigger -- that is, a trigger with a stop screw to limit overtravel of the trigger. Trigger overtravel is one of the biggest contributors to inaccuracy with the M1911/M1911A1 series pistol. The hammer is the "wide spur" type for ease of cocking/decocking and an extended slide stop and thumb safety are fitted to this pistol. I feel the latter two items (extended slide stop and safety) are essential to the P-O because the standard length safety and slide stop are too difficult to manipulate rapidly on the P-O frame. Also shown are the high visibility 3-dot sights fitted to the G.I. slide.
Below: (Left) The magazine of the P-O carries 13 rounds of .45 ACP and the the chamer one round for a total of 14 shots. (Right) The extended ejector (taken from the Colt Combat Commander design) is fitted to this pistol. The extension makes any kind of feed jams almost impossible. As soon as a fired case or live round clears the front end of the ejection port, it's gone. You will never see a "stove pipe" or case caught between the slide and barrel with this kind of ejector.
Above: (Left) Close-ups of the extended slide stop, thumb safety, and grip safety. The first two are a "must do" for the P-O, and the last is a "nice to have". (Right) The pistol feed ramp must be polished to feed both FMJ (full metal jacket) ball rounds and JHP (jacketed hollow point) bullets. If you have a P-O pistol and you have a feed problem with JHP ammunition, your gunsmith must know that it feeds like the P35 Browning High-Power and NOT the M1911-series Colt. The feed angles of these two pistols are completely different. I know, because my gunsmith was having feed problems when the pistol was first assembled. It was only after this detail came to light that we corrected the problem and now the pistol feeds just about anything.
Below: (Left) The photo shows the importance of the new high visibilty sights on the pistol. The 3-dot system is designed for rapid target acquisition under various light conditions -- all you do is put your 3 dots in a row -- and squeeze. (Right) The internal parts to my Para-Ordnance: a chrome-lined G.I. barrel, a fitted NM barrel bushing, and recoil spring guide rod spring, and plug -- this replaces the short guide, spring, and plug of the original Colt. In practice, I've found that it doesn't do much except change how the pistol is disassembled for maintenance, so if I had it to do over I'd keep the originals. The chrome-lined barrel has high wear resistance and insurance against some ammo with corrosive primers that's still in circulation. The NM barrel bushing is fitted to the barrel and gives it a good solid lock-up for accuracy. My recoil spring guide also has a "Shok-Buff" plastic buffer installed on the back end (recommended).
Below: The standard Colt G.I. slide shows the size and location of the new high visibilty 3-dot sighting system. The sights of the G.I. M1911A1 are almost useless (and those of the M1911 are even smaller!). Good, modern sights are a "must" for a pistol. Fixed sights that adjust for windage are OK, because they will be targeted when the front sight is installed and peened into the front of the slide (elevation is determined by the height of the blade). Fully adjustable rear sights are OK also, but they add bulk and some require the back of the slide be modified to accomodate them.
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