# Para Ordnance P14.45 Review



## Dirty Dog (Oct 3, 2014)

So... once again I was in the right place at the right (or wrong...) time. 
Sue and I were in our favorite gun shop picking up some 380 ACP ammo for her Bersa Thunder in anticipation of some range time. Naturally, we wandered around. And naturally, I found something I wanted...

A customer had traded in a Para Ordnance P14.45. The P14.45 is a fairly standard 1911 (steel frame, SA, grip safety, 5" barrel, fixed sights...) with one major exception. They use a double stack magazine with a 14 round capacity.

I've never owned a 1911 before, in part because I didn't like the idea of a 7 round mag. 

The shop owner made me a good deal - $600 for the gun, 2 14 round magazines, a Desantis OWB holster, 100 rounds of FMJ and 40 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense. 

First Impressions: 
Damn... that's big. Loaded, this is a bit over 3lbs of gun. That's a lot to hang off your hip. This is the first gun I've ever owned that made me think a shoulder holster would be the ideal carry method.
I'm not crazy about the plastic grip panels and fixed sights, but those are easily replaced.
Field stripping and reassembly... A bit of a pain, compared to my other guns. There is a hinged lug on the barrel that has to be in *exactly* the right position during reassembly. I'm sure it'll get easier, but at this point it takes me 2-3 tries to get it back together properly. Add in the fact that (like most 1911s, as I understand it) you need a tool (I used a small screwdriver) to compress the cap over the recoil spring before you can take anything apart.

It shoots very nicely. The 3-dot fixed sights are pretty basic. By the end of my 100 rounds, I was getting 4-5" 14 shot groups at 50' with fairly rapid fire. 

And did I mention that it's big?

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase. I don't think I'm ever likely to carry it much, but it's going to be fun at the range. 

View attachment $P14-45.jpg


----------



## Grenadier (Oct 5, 2014)

Nice acquisition.  

While a lot of the 1911 purists don't like the idea of a double stack magazine, the extra weight makes this one of the softest-shooting stock .45 ACP handguns out there.  This would be a great gun as a teaching tool for introducing shooters who haven't had much experience with bigger bore weapons.


----------



## Dirty Dog (Oct 12, 2014)

I'm noticing a tendency to unintentionally release the mag when drawing it from the holster. I think it may be the way this particular holster fits me, causing my thumb to hit the button. I'm not crazy about OWB carry anyway, so I've ordered an Alien, which should be here soon.


----------



## Grenadier (Oct 13, 2014)

I actually had this same exact problem back when I owned a Ruger P95, where the mag release button was a bit light, and with the specific holster I was trying to use, I'd have an unintentional  magazine ejection. 




Dirty Dog said:


> I'm noticing a tendency to unintentionally release the mag when drawing it from the holster. I think it may be the way this particular holster fits me, causing my thumb to hit the button. I'm not crazy about OWB carry anyway, so I've ordered an Alien, which should be here soon.



Let us know how the Alien works out.  That looks like one of the most versatile holster designs I've ever seen.


----------



## Dirty Dog (Oct 13, 2014)

I expect good things from it. I have one for my Taurus PT111 G2 and really really like it. The one I have is leather with the kydex shell. The one I ordered will have their neoprene-combo base, which is supposedly even more comfortable. Since their shells can be swapped around between bases, if the neoprene is more comfortable I'll swap the Taurus shell to it, since it's my EDC, and leave the leather for the (much less commonly carried) Para.
The magazine release doesn't feel noticeably light, but that's not something I can measure other than with my carefully calibrated thumb-o-meter. That's why I assumed it was just a slightly misplaced grip related to the holster/gun/position combo.


----------



## Dirty Dog (Oct 29, 2014)

I thought I'd update these reviews. 
I'm still awaiting my AlienGear holster. I tweaked the Galco OWB and that fixed the mag release issue. 
I've put about 400 rounds through this gun so far and I'm pretty happy with the groupings. I'm getting consistent 3" groups out to 10m.







That's 10 rounds at 10m. 

I also got bored and color filled a few guns.


----------

