DanB35

I like the idea of 18+1 in 45, but it doesn't look like Grams is making those parts any more. I finally figured out the problem with the Dawsons, though--it was cartridge length. Last night I loaded up 100 rounds for this morning's match, and on a lark, decided to measure the length. They came in at 1.270, which sounded a bit long. I checked my Hornady manual, and sure enough, the max length with the 230 gr FMJ is listed at 1.240. I adjusted the length to 1.235, and now they feed fine, at least with me manually cycling the action. I'll have to try them next time I'm at the range to make sure, but it looks like this is fixed. It would also explain why live rounds would often hang on the ejection port. Thanks for the help!

Trying to increase the capacity of my Para P14 mags, I recently ordered a couple of the Dawson basepads from Brownell's. Installation was simple, so I figured everything was fine. At yesterday morning's match, I found out otherwise--the first three rounds won't feed from either mag. The rounds seem to be entering the chamber at too high of an angle--the bullet is contacting the top of the chamber, while the case head is near the bottom of the breech face. It seems as though the next round is not pushing up the case head to help it chamber. If I remove three rounds from the mag, it will feed fine, at least in hand-cycling the action. The mags were otherwise completely stock Para, with nickel-plated tubes. I tried replacing the spring with a Wolff spring, which had no effect on this problem. Reinstalling the factory basepad, however, seems to have solved it completely. Any ideas on this? I tried looking through the Para threads from the mag FAQ, and didn't see anything that seemed to adress my issue. Thanks for any suggestions!

I'd expect this to be a FAQ, but I don't see it over there. I've been shooting cast bullets for the last 18 months or so, and they work fine, but they're a bit messy. I'm now looking for an economical supplier of jacketed bullets. I currently shoot 230 gr RN, but I could work with 200s as well. I guess, given the weight, that a supplier that either has free shipping or is located in or near Ohio would be a good idea. I've checked out Montana Gold and Precision Delta. What other sources are available? Thanks for any suggestions!

Tried this--went to the range yesterday to try it out, and the gun worked fine. Left the gun that way and shot today's match with it, and it continued to work fine. Time to take a closer look at those two disconnectors... Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Thanks for all the suggestions; sounds like the sear spring is a common suspect. Here are the pictures I have. First, here's the picture with the old parts installed (the ones that work): Now, here's the picture with the new parts: The sear spring is the same in both cases. I compared it to the stock spring, and if anything, the stock spring seems a little bit shorter than the new one. I left the new spring in for the remainder of Saturday's match, and it worked just fine with the old sear and disconnector.

In an attempt to improve the trigger on my Para-Ordnance P14-45, I purchased and installed the Nowlin drop-in trigger job, which replaces the hammer, sear, disconnector, sear spring, and mainspring. Dry-fire testing indicated that everything was fine, and the trigger was much better. Everything looked fine, in fact, until stage 1 of yesterday's match. I shot a couple of rounds, and then the trigger didn't work any more--I could pull it, but it wouldn't drop the hammer. Fortunately, I kept the original parts, and had brought them with me, along with the tools I'd need to change them. I replaced the sear and disconnector, and shot the rest of the match without incident. Now, of course, I'd like to figure out what happened. I measured the lengths of the two disconnectors, and they were within 0.001" of each other. The "tail", or flat piece on the bottom, was wider on the old part than the new--.172" on the old disconnector, .164" on the new. What else should I check? I'd thought it could be disconnector length, but that doesn't seem to be the case. If it helps, I have pictures of the parts as installed. Thanks for any suggestions!

FWIW, I've been shooting with that holster for about a year now, and I bought it from Botach. I'm sure there are much better holsters to be had, but I don't think it's slowing me down yet. Thanks for the heads-up about the sale price; I needed a holster for my Glock as well as another for the 1911 and a few mag pouches.

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but it looked like the closest from what I could see. I'm looking for a gunsmith in the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio to install new sights on my Para-Ordnance P14-45. This will involve milling the slide, and I didn't think it was worth buying a milling machine for just this job. I suppose I could just start going through the phone book, but I'd like to hear of any recommendations in the area (or within a radius of around 100 miles). I'd prefer somebody with a relatively quick turnaround time, of course--I don't need the job to be done immediately, but I'd rather not wait a month from when I drop the gun off. Thanks for any suggestions on this!

Thanks for all the quick, and informative, responses! I just ordered the Brazos microdot, 0.200", with the Kimber/Novak dovetail. Looking forward to having it installed!

I'm planning on installing new sights on my Para-Ordnance P14-45. For the rear I'm pretty much settled on a Bo-Mar; for the front, I'd like to go with a fiber optic model. Biggest question is, which one? I've seen a number of threads discussing the color and the width, but nothing discussing manufacturers. Is this something where one is just as good as another, or are some better than others (and if so, which are better)? Secondly, my slide is not dovetailed for a front sight (my gun is about 10 years old). I see that there appear to be three different types of dovetails available--Kimber/Novak, STI/SV, and Para-Ordnance. Since I'll have to have the dovetail milled anyway, is there any preference for one of these over the others? I'm inclined to go with the Kimber/Novak cut, as it has the largest dovetail base--any thoughts on this? Finally, height. Brownell's recommends a .210" high front sight to go with a low-mounted Bo-Mar--does this sound right? Thanks for any help on these questions!

My press has the holes, but it was too late--I'd run the grease dry, so the link arms were galling on the upper pins. Fortunately, Dillon's legendary customer service came through and got me the replacement parts today, and the press is back in business (with all parts well lubricated). Don't think I'll make that mistake again. Is there a recommended lubrication schedule, either by number of rounds or period of time? Thanks Dillon!

I've seen in posts here, as well as in the manual, the advice that the main shaft on the RL 550B should be lubed with 30 weight motor oil, and that grease should be used on the pivot pins. What I don't see, though, is how I'm supposed to get the grease onto the pins. Removing the main shaft pivot pin is easy enough, but the link arms are not moving freely at the top. Is there any way of getting to those pins that does not involve a hammer and a long punch?

Well, went to a match yesterday morning and made it through maybe a dozen rounds before the gun broke again. This time, it was the barrel link. Probably should have looked at that more closely when I was putting it back together with the spare slide stop. Parts on order, hope this will take care of it...

I've got a box of 500 155 gr LWSCs in .45, so I'd like to come up with a load that reliably makes major from my Para-Ordnance P14-45--ideally with a powder that I have already (N340, Win 231, and TiteGroup). The VihtsVouri load data that I have (dated 2/00) says that 7.7 gr of N340 will yield 1145 fps, up to a max load of 8.3 gr for 1227 fps. So, I loaded a few rounds with 7.7, a few with 7.9, and a few with 8.1 grains and headed out to the range this morning with the chrono. Not happy with the results. Based on the book, the 7.7 gr load should easily make major, with a PF of 176. Average velocity for those loads out of my Para was only 914 fps, for a PF of only 141. The 8.1 gr loads were better, but not by much--they only averaged 982 fps. Interestingly, those same loads out of an Argentine Sistema Colt averaged 1064 fps--still not quite fast enough, but quite a bit closer. Now, I read in the VV material that their test gun has a 6" barrel, while mine is 5"--I expect that accounts for much of the difference. I'm less sure about the difference between my two .45s, which seems fairly significant. In any case, though, I'd like to come up with something I can use in the Para to make major. I'll definitely try 8.3 gr of N340 (the max according to VV's data), but I'm not too optimistic about it after this morning's results. The Lee loading manual lists a load of up to 6.2 gr of TiteGroup for 1132 fps which I'll also try. I can't find any data for 231 for these bullets; is any available? Thanks for any suggestions!

This was it. I'd tried most of the other things already (but rechecked them to be sure), but the slide stop was dragging on the inside of the slide rail. A few minutes of work with a needle file, and the problem is solved. Thanks! Any suggestions for the replacement part? I'm sure there's more difference than just price, but I'm not sure that $50 for the part is completely justified. While I'm ordering from Brownell's anyway, are there any other parts in the slide I should replace on a precautionary basis?