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I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with Para 1911's, specifically the GI Expert. I'm interested in getting a 1911 next year after the holidays so I'm starting to research them. If you have owned any of their guns I would appreciate your take on reliability, feed problems, anything you might have experienced. Thanks..

The one's I've handled have been decent pistols. Reliable with both FMJ & hollow points. Sights are good for a GI design. Grips & trigger are plastic but are easily changed. Upgraded hammer installed. At less than $500 it bears inspection.

For the same price (or a lot less actually) I'd opt for one of the Philippine imports from Armscor (RIA, High Standard, Cimarron & more), Metroarms (American Classic or Bersa Firestorm) or Southern Arms (American Tactical) in one their tactical offerings.

I'm no expert, but I have two Para 1911 LDAs. I've had no trouble from either shooting FMJ or Hollow Points. I like the LDA trigger a lot. No problems with FTF or FTE. Hope that helps,
Happy Trails! N

I've had one for about a year and a half. The first thing I did with it is take the ugly black plastic grips off and replace them with a pair of 50% smooth / 50% checkered rosewood grips - great low-cost upgrade ($50.00) makes it look like a completey different gun.

As far as the important shooting part goes I had problems with the cartridge only going about halfway into the chamber with the first round in the mag. After about 300 rounds that problem seem to have resolved itself. I put 50 rounds through it last week without a hiccup. This is a great shooting 1911 for the price. The only complaint I have about this Para and Para 1911's in general is that .22 conversion kits will not fit in them.

My uncle carries a 4" model that is 100% reliable. His is an earlier model being at least 8+ years old. On the newer ones I think the finish is poor quality, but the LDA trigger is good enough to consider for carry but not comparable to a single action only model. I personally like the LDA trigger better for carry, but would never buy one for a range toy.

RECIT wrote:My uncle carries a 4" model that is 100% reliable. His is an earlier model being at least 8+ years old. On the newer ones I think the finish is poor quality, but the LDA trigger is good enough to consider for carry but not comparable to a single action only model. I personally like the LDA trigger better for carry, but would never buy one for a range toy.

The Para GI Expert comes in 5" only and is single action.

My father has a GI Expert that I’ve shot quite a bit. I love that gun. The only issue I ever had was once the slide-stop engaged with one round still left in the magazine. I also had a P12 that worked flawlessly. My only complaints on that one were the poor finish and it liked to eject an unusual number of casings right at my forehead.