The things I do for money – spend about 4 hours playing with a 1911 – tough job – but here I am willing to take one for the team ( Go Team Bruce! ) and run through the gentleman’s purchase for him . . .

Let me get this out here right up front – I am NOT a fan of the “chopped” 1911’s – my focus is with the full sized 1911 – commander sized – officer sized – etc. I don’t care for them – that being said – marketing is as marketing does . . . “On With The Show!”

First things first – the pistol is an unknown to me – nobody I know has fired it – nor have I – so we do a function check – {{ GO HERE AND SEE WHAT THAT IS }} – Neat isn’t it – think of it as shaking hands with a stranger – as in the case of the stranger – a lot is learned from a certain friendly grip of the hand – and with the 1911 platform you now know it is “safe” as far as functioning aspects – as the pistol was fairly dry I pulled the slide off and ran a lightly oiled patch and then a dry patch down the barrel – put a touch of grease on the barrel/bushing contact area and a touch on the rails and barrel lugs – so let’s take a look at the little darling and see what makes it different – shall we?

A good looker . . .

The grips are real nice – finish is real good for a 6 or 7 year old pistol – 2 dot rear sights – red fiber optic front sight – beaver tail grip safety/commander style hammer – skeletonized trigger with over travel adjustment – nice stuff . . .

Let’s take a look at what makes this “different” . . .

It’s a full size frame but the slide and barrel are 3/4 of an inch shorter – the recoil spring is shorter as well as the guide rod – if it were a Colt 1911 it would be called a “Commander” – but it is a Para Ordinance so they call it an “LTC” – for Lieutenant Colonel” – an equivalent rank to commander – ( Colt trademarked “commander” in this usage )

And not only is it 3/4 of an inch shorter . . .

The frame of the Para Ordinance is made out of an aluminum alloy – Weighs almost 7 oz less than the Colt and since it’s shorter – the slide and barrel weighs less as well . . .

Where you really notice the difference is in the empty assembled pistols . . .

Over a 1/2 lb difference in weight – to say there is a difference in recoil is an understatement . . .

Enough already Bruce – how does it shoot?? Off to the range we go!! – I ran through 3 mags/24 rounds – 8 rounds on each target. . .

Target #1 – 6 o’clock hold on the red dot – 2 went low off the target – printing real low . . .

Target #2 – holding about 1/2 up on the red dot – I keep forgetting to bring thumb tacks to pin the bottom corners – the temp and humidity difference between the sales area and the range makes them want to curl up on you . . .

And yes – the recoil is starting to affect aim and grip – it slaps pretty hard . . .

Target #3 – Finally said the Hell With It and covered the target center dot up completely with the sight – almost on the red line – Really needs an adjustable rear sight to be anything beyond a point and shoot pistol – it prints that low . . .

Let’s wrap this up – OK?? – Brace yourselves – random thoughts on the way . . .

Do you remember Spaceballs ?? This whole down sized pistol thing – micro this and sub compact that – and we have just released the pocket MLRS – be the first one to own it!! – BUT WAIT!! – THERE”S MORE!! For just a few dollars more we can upgrade the warheads to tactical nukes! – Come On Folks – it’s called “Merchandising – Merchandising” – “The Secret of The Schwartz” – Full size pistols are quite able to be concealed and carried – why sacrifice sight radius? – follow up shot(s) control-ability? – lose velocity? – Let me stop my little whiny bitch thing and look at some of the plus side stuff – Fit and finish are a solid “very good” – sights are very visible – good consistent trigger break at 5 lbs – which I am sure will improve with several hundred rounds down range – and I assure you that I am NOT shooting this particular pistol through a “break in” period – orthopedic intervention is not cheap!!/LMAO -real low round count gun – if I had to guess ?? 200 rounds or less – and with the recoil that this has, I can understand THAT – I would buy a Para Ordinance full size steel framed 1911 if I found a decent one – they are no longer in production but I believe most everything but the double stack frame pistols are compatible with aftermarket “stuff” . . .

Bottom Line?? – Never ran across one before but I’m impressed – if you run across one and it scratches the itch AND it’s not ridiculous on price – Sure – pick one up and enjoy it – it needs a good home and it is lonely in the display case even with all these other guns because no one ever shoots me or cleans me or . . .

Come on folks – I’m an enabler – You know that by now – “Well I just can’t decide between these two” – Really?? – Buy them BOTH – YOU have MY Permission – LOL!

Pretty decent history of Para Ordinance on Wiki – kind of a sad end -Remington couldn’t build a better product so they bought them and killed off the line – If you can’t beat them – buy them and take the product off the market – there were actually tears around here here when Remington went bankrupt this last time – tears of joy!!

I might just do a “clean and lube for a 1911” type post – depends on how energetic I feel and it gives me an excuse to play with my real camera some more.

Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!