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One side reads Para 1911 and the other as GI Expert. The gun sports roll marks on both sides that slightly vain, and you expect vanity from a 1911 design.
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When I was young and poor this was the only handgun I had, and I shot it as much and as often as I could afford to do so. It’s a good finish, but I’ve also brutalized this gun quite a bit. It has plenty of scratches and gouges in the design. However, over the ten years, I’ve owned this gun the finish has taken a beating. The weapon has a consistent finish, and the stainless portions have a slight shine to them. The stainless steel and two-tone look are quite attractive. The grip safety has a little extended grip safety that disengages with ease. The safety is only on one side but is extended and the perfect shelf for resting your thumb. The trigger itself is skeletonized and very comfortable with its slight texturing. It makes shooting the gun more comfortable compared to a bone stock 1911. The trigger guard has a slight undercut that allows you to get a higher grip on the gun and exercise more control over the gun when firing.
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The sights are a simple full size three dot sights that are easy to use and quick to get on target. This allows the built-in beavertail and safety to keep the hammer from striking your hand. This prevents the hammer from coming rearward and striking the web of the palm. The hammer is also trimmed a bit, not bobbed, but trimmed. This is a small feature but a handy one at that. The chamber does have a small cut out that acts as a viewing window to allow the user o see if the chamber is loaded.
AUTO ORDNANCE 1911 REVIEWS SERIES
This does use the series 80 design which incorporates a superior safety system at the cost of a harder to tune trigger. The chamber itself is highly polished to increase reliability and is a standard 1911 barrel and chamber. This helps protect the barrel should it, unfortunately, fall muzzle first. The barrel uses a strong and durable stainless steel and has an 11-degree muzzle crown. Para Ordnance packed the GI Expert with features you won’t see in many stock 1911s. Luckily this doesn’t take away from the 1911 experience, it merely makes it more comfortable and safer overall. It simply improves upon the classic design with a few modern touches. The GI Expert has a very simple design and doesn’t do anything to change the 1911’s design. That being said, you can purchase extended magazines, including the famed Chip McCormick 10 round magazines which are reliable and functional. It has a low capacity compared to modern pistols with an 8 round single stack magazine. The 1911 is a big all-metal gun, made at a time when all guns were big and made of metal. The GI Expert is also a great starting point for making a custom gun. It’s a fun plinker and target gun as well as a casual competition gun. The Para Ordnance GI Expert is an affordable and fun gun if you want to add a 1911 to your collection. In my opinion, every gun collection needs a 1911 just for the historical perspective. The gun is a fan favorite for a variety of purposes, and the Para Ordnance GI Expert can serve a few different roles. The gun is still used routinely for concealed carry due to its thin design. It’s out of date by most standards, and other 45 ACP guns offer a higher capacity and more modern features and can still be carried in a holster. What is the purpose of a 1911? It’s an old gun, and the design is over a hundred and seven years old. Parting Shots on the Para Ordnance GI Expert.
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