toddrod Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 While reading my Front Sight magazine yestrday I noticed that Para is now making the TJ edition of the P16-40 with a price I believe was $1700. In my opinion this is a crying shame. Now, to let everyone know, I am the owner of a P14-45 and P 16-40 Limited, both which I love to shoot. But for this price I believe they will price themselves out of the mark for this gun, especially when you can get a tuned Edge for just $100 more. Now when Dawson was making this gun, it had lots of custom features on it and he was selling it for $1000. So what else is Para doing that is so special to charge an extra $700 for basically the same gun? Unless TJ delivers it to my house and gives a free shooting lesson with it I sure would not be buying this model from Para. What is everyone elses feeling on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I guffawed when I saw that ad. I guffawed even louder when I saw that the single stack had the same MSRP. Todd Jarrett's a good shooter, no doubt, but he will never have the marketability of TGO and certainly not while his name is associated with Para. It's truly unfortunate that USPSA allowed Para the exclusive use of its logo. All those involved are borderline delusional if they think this was a good marketing alliance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Para makes a very good gun....but......$1,700.00???? As Toddrod pointed out the Dawson version is lots less $$$. I would think that most would opt for the Dawson - or similar - and have bucks left for mags, pouches, belt and holster - for the same money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 Para makes a very good gun....but......$1,700.00???? As Toddrod pointed out the Dawson version is lots less $$$. I would think that most would opt for the Dawson - or similar - and have bucks left for mags, pouches, belt and holster - for the same money. Except there is no Dawson gun anymore: http://www.dawsonprecision.com/custompisto...sonjarrett.aspx And I'll have to disagree. Para doesn't make a very good gun. They make a mediocre gun, at best. STI makes a good gun, SV makes a good gun, and most recognizable custom 'smiths make very good guns. There're a few custom 'smiths that make great guns. I'd say that the big name 1911 manufacturers (Springfield and Kimber) make decent guns with their "custom"-ish models ranging from good to very good. You really can't put Para in the same league, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrod Posted October 31, 2005 Author Share Posted October 31, 2005 Para may not be a very good gun when compared to the custom STI/SVI guns out there, but it IS an excellent starter gun for those of use who do not have the money to go the other route. I really did not want this thread to start an argument about quality, I intended it to discuss Para reasoning for charging what they are charging for a gun that was being sold by an excellent gunsmith for a 1000 dollars just a few monthes ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 The ad says $1599 - and that's "suggested retail price". Which means the street price is likely closer to $1000-1200 (at least, if gun MSRP is anything like other MSRPs...). One would expect that it should be a nicer gun than the stock Paras - perhaps they hired someone who knows what they're doing to smith the things. It's not a suprise the single stack is the same price - they haven't done anything trick to either one that would cause one to be more expensive than the other, and basically the same work goes into each. The sad part is, you can have a nicer factory single stack for likely less money, with checkering, relieved trigger guard, Bo-Mar-ish sight, and all the other features they have. It'll have to be a high quality gun to compete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Para may not be a very good gun when compared to the custom STI/SVI guns out there, but it IS an excellent starter gun for those of use who do not have the money to go the other route. I really did not want this thread to start an argument about quality, I intended it to discuss Para reasoning for charging what they are charging for a gun that was being sold by an excellent gunsmith for a 1000 dollars just a few monthes ago. My point was only this: with Dawson's hands on it for ~$600 less (it's listed at $1599, btw, not $1699), it was a decent gun and a good value. With the variance in Para's QC, nothing warrants the price tag. The USPSA logo, Todd's name, and a very few quality aftermarket parts can't conceivably be worth that price tag, particularly when you consider the lackluster reputation that Para has as a manufacturer. If it were being put together by a big name 'smith (i.e. Dawson) for Para, and advertised as such, it might be considered a value at ~$1300, with 4 mags with aftermarket basepads. BTW, note that neither gun has any checkering on the frame, which, IIRC, was something that Dawson did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Except there is no Dawson gun anymore: http://www.dawsonprecision.com/custompisto...sonjarrett.aspx Did Dawson and Jarrett have a parting of the ways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genghis Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 $1,340.00 "Just out from the Para customer shop. Todd Jarrett USPSA edition Para ordnance. Caliber: 40S&W doubel stack, 5" barrel, Sterling/Black finsh. New in case." http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976651570.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huston in Austin Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 Dawson dropped the Dawson Jarret because of the Power extractor. Dave doesn't like it at all and won't work on it. Huston in Austin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BismarckC Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 (edited) Just out of curiousity, where did you see the ad? I could not find the ad in my issue of Front Sight. Edited November 1, 2005 by BismarckC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 It's in the Sept/Oct issue, not the newly arriving Nov/Dec issue w/ J-Go on the cover.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmon Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 i hear STI's cash register go "cha Ching" again... 1600 for a para aint gonna cut it. hopefully springfield wont overprice the TGO pistol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted November 4, 2005 Share Posted November 4, 2005 And I'll have to disagree. Para doesn't make a very good gun. They make a mediocre gun, at best. STI makes a good gun, SV makes a good gun, and most recognizable custom 'smiths make very good guns. There're a few custom 'smiths that make great guns. I'd say that the big name 1911 manufacturers (Springfield and Kimber) make decent guns with their "custom"-ish models ranging from good to very good. You really can't put Para in the same league, IMO. Well, you already wrote what I was thinking.You can put any bells and whistles you want on a Para and it's still a Para. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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