[Chief47]

Just left my department's qualifying range. While qualifying with a 12-45 LDA, I repeatedly had failures to fire. Four out of every other magazine would fail to fire. Examining the cartridges indicated that the firing pin was not even touching the primer on the rounds that failed to fire. Anyone else out there had a similar problem? Any suggestions like replace firing pin spring or firing pin? Even with the problems, I qualified with a 99.7 score, but this is, or was, a carry weapon. I'm hesitant to trust my life to the gun now.

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Chief

 

[San Francisquito Bill]

That's odd.

I have sold several "small frame" LDA's an haven' had one complaint yet. In addition, I've shot, and seen shot, several LDA's, both big and small, and have never seen a problem like this. I'd get in contact with a Law Enforcement rep. for Para. They seem to be very helpful.


[This message has been edited by San Francisquito Bill (edited 09-28-2001).]

 

[bspring]

If the firing pin never hit the primer,
sounds like the firing saftey "stuff"
needs attention. It happened to me as well,
my cure for it was to junk all the "series 80" safety in the frame & slide. Pistol is much more reliable now.

Bill

 

[gm45]

Please don't let it continue to be a carry weapon until it's fixed. I won't say much more, because I've had Para's in the past and made lots of excuses for them, then fixed them. Finally had 2 of them die on me back to back. They don't slide into my carry holster any more. Space is now reserved for my Baer TRS (1st), or a Kimber CC with NiteSites (if I'm gonna be sweating).

 

[Chief47]

gm45. Not to worry. I have sent the LDA to para-ordnance and now carry my Les Baer Stinger. They assure me the gun will be fixed. Before I carry it again, it will get an extensive workout. Thanks for the concern.

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Chief

 

[Newton]

gm45......Can you tell us more about your 2 Para's? How long did you have them? How did they work? How many rounds did they see? What problems occured after x rounds? etc..

Thanks

 

[gm45]

Brief rundown: (OK...a rambling)
Blued (circa '94); wouldn't run anything except new hardball, or handload hardball in new brass. Friend of mine and I polished everything one at a time until I found main culprit which was a burr on the firing pin hole. But did get most of the tooling marks off the feed ramp and the sharp corner off the extractor and the breach face and chamber smoothed out. Fed pretty well for the next 10K rounds until the extractor quit at 12K (replaced), slide stop notch peened out at about 15K (recut notch and replaced slide stop), and then about 20K the sear rolled on me. That's when I found out that you can't swap small parts around 'cause the pin holes aren't all on the same centers, but did run my SS frame with my blue slide to keep going.

SS (circa '96); Ate flesh from the get go (had it and the blue one deburred after that). Grip safety wouldn't depress unless you pushed it to the left first (has a high spot in the frame, I won't cut it, so I modify my grip safety to work around it). Fed most everything except light wadcutters. Cleaned tooling off feedramp and would then feed them too. Factory recoil spring quit pushing it to battery at about 1K rounds (time for a replacement anyway). Front sight started backing out about 1500 rds. Sent to EB's for new nights (in Para's defense, even the nights from EB's have fallen off, my slide is there right now being repaired, again). Slide stop notch peened out on it at about 10K rounds. Caught it early and compared it's slide stop to old blue one to new Wilson bulletproof. The Para one's weren't coming all the way up in the notch, just about 2/3'rds up. Replaced slide stop, and recut notch on it. Runs fine now.

Got a Baer Thunder Ranch Special last Christmas. Took it and both Para's to H.I.T. at TRanch. Both Para's died (sear roll off on Blue, EB front sight bailout on SS) and ran the rest of the first day with the TRS...felt good and could shoot like nobodies business (Brand new too...had about 50-rds through it). Decided at that point in time I had been gunsmithing too much and making too many excuses (especially since my Para's were the odd-balls...they ran better than most other students Para's did). Only had enough mag holders for the Para's, so put the slide from Blue on SS frame (couldn't get a sear swap to work since the pins were off) and made rest of course with little more troubles. Went home, sent off SS slide, put new trigger parts in Blue (nice crisp let-off at 10 pounds now...eeks!) and put it in the safe. Carry the TRS and a Kimber now!

Sorry for the dissertation.