Para Tac-Four LDA

[fullautovalmet76]

There is nothing on the Para site about the Tac-S, although I came up with search hits on the net, one from 2004. Apparently the Tac-S were also used in the gun bloggers shoot last year too. Anyone enlighten me as to what the TAC-S is - or was? It looks a lot like the Companion, only OD. Has a similar model number too.

I found a picture of it on one Para's older web sites: http://www.paraord.com/new/product.php

From what I see it is a Commander size 1911 with a LDA trigger; a slimmer version of the TAC-Four. At $850 for the gun, that seems a bit steep though. The advantage to this gun is that it should conceal better and you should be able to get laser grips for the gun too. I asked Michael to mention laser grips for the Carry 9 and TAC-Four at SHOT but he failed me.... 

When I bought the Carry 9, it came with a DVD showing how to field strip various models from the Para line. For those who know how to field strip a 1911 it would not show you much, but for a beginner or someone new to 1911s, it is a very helpful resource. And the DVD has some shooting tips from Todd Jarrett.

[Glock21]

I own a Colonel. Same pistol, but double stack. I like the LDA Trigger!

[metamurph]

Carry a Carry 9 LDA every day. Love it.

mb

So, I have shot the LDA Carry .45 and really like it but the guys at the range are negative on the pistol from a reliability perspective a "you will have a close personal relationship with your gunsmith if you get one of those".  Sig's new 250 is somewhat similar triggerwise but from an accuracy and shootability perspective I like the Para a lot more.  I have been catching up on back issues of the podcast and I know that you really really like the Paras (and that they are big sponsors) and I would trust you carry something you feel is reliable so what can you say reliability wise?  I run 50-100 rounds a week right now.

tom

[Michael Bane]

In truth, Para has had some issues in the past, but then, who hasn't? Ten years ago or so I hammered Para mercilessly on their quality control. They now have my old friend Dino Evangelinos in charge of QC. Dino was a major IPSC guy and one of the forces behind the International Range Officer Institute. Consequently, Dino has a DNA-level understanding of both the 1911 platform and what it takes to make it run.

This is going to sound a little equivocal, but the more guns I've shot, the less sanguine I am about pointing at any brand and saying "this one is better than that one." I have owned and shot 1911s from every major maker and most of the minor ones. Some have been great out of the box; some took just short of an Act of God to get running...and the problems were independent of the brand of the 1911 or to a large extent the pricing! If you follow the podcast and the blog, I've talked about this a bunch (because it interests me). I have owned Kimbers that wouldn't shoot and cheapo Philippine guns that ran like Swiss watches. However, I have friends who have exactly the same model guns, but with their experiences completely reversed — their Kimbers were 100% out of the box; the RRIs stuttered constantly.

I tested 2 Paras recently, one of the first of Para's entry into the $600 1911 sweepstakes, the GI Expert .45s, and a 9mm LTC, their lightweight "Commander-sized" 9mm. The GI Expert stuttered; the LTC shot so well I decided to buy the gun and shoot it in the upcoming Single Stack Classic. There was nothing wrong with the GI Expert I couldn't have fixed in 10 minutes, but I sent the gun back. When it was returned, it was 100%. The Expert, BTW, was out-of-the-box one of the most accurate 1911s I've shot in a while.

1911 platform guns have quirks that Glocks and Sig Classics and other modern service-style pistols don't have. Those quirks come from having most of the design work on the gun done before Henry Ford debuted the Model T in 1908. There is an element of synchronicity in the creation of a great 1911 that goes beyond part spec'ing and modern assembly methods. Look at Sig's journey on 1911s...it's instructive.

I've read repeatedly that Para's LDA system is fragile...that has not been my experience, and that's pretty much the only viewpoint that I'm qualified to give. My P18 competition LDA has never had the slightest problem, and it has thousands of rounds through it. We used one of the early LDA .45 Companions for years in the NSSF Media Education Program...those guns were sloppily maintained (I was in charge if it!), battered around by travel and newbies, dropped on concrete, generally abused and fed a steady diet of 230-grain ball. The gun had exactly ZERO problems and is still a superb carry gun. We had other guns literally fall apart from the rigors of the program.

I won't carry a gun that is not 100%, because I'm rather fond of my ass. I liked the Carry 9 platform as soon as I shot one, and within the year I had one of my own. It's probably at 1000 rounds or so...mostly white box ball, but a healthy dose of Corbon and Hornady hot carry ammo. It has never had any problem. I can make it jam with Fiocchi 147-grain truncated cone ammo, but my experience has been that ammo will jam up anything but a Glock, which doesn't seem to care (different feed ramp geometry). The solution to this problem is DON'T BUY 147-GR TC AMMO! I've seen countless threads on "my gun should run with anything." No gun will...give me a little time and I can find something that will choke up even a Glock (like my late Father's reloads, which were frighteningly bad swaged pure lead bullets).

My carry gun genesis has been pretty straightforward: Colt Officer's .45 SA to S&W J-Frame to STI LS-9 9mm 1911 SA to Sig 225 9mm single stack to the current Carry 9 single stack 9mm LDA. I wanted 9mm and the LS-9 size and feel with a DA trigger system like the Sig to allow me to have more options for off-body carry, say in a SafePacker. That's what's sitting on my desk right now in that Five Shot Leather IWB.

In general, I want to make my sponsors happy, because media is hellishly expensive to produce and they pay the freight. I use their products when I can and when I think it's appropriate. I do not and will not recommend crap...people use this gear at the worst moment of their lives, and to suggest something that I would not personally use "in the gravest extreme" is both unethical and morally wrong. Wouldn't want to face myself in the mirror...



Michael B

[Overload]

I saw the PDA models this weekend.  Perfect carry gun for me, but no ambi safety.  Yes, I know you really don't need/use one with the LDA system, but as a lefty, I want a lefty usable thumb safety if available.

On a related note: Para changes models.   A lot.  In their 2009 catalog there only ONE P14/45 LDA listed, and it's a limited edition that won't be out til the end of the year.  For their arch-typical model (LDA and wide body 45)?  Unacceptable.  My only solace is that since they change models so often, I may be able to find an older model at a local merchant.

[Sponsor]

[weatherbyman]

I am wanting to buy the para s14 limited hi cap any thoughts on this gun. It is a single action but it seems nice. I havent got to shoot one yet but am really interested in it

[metamurph]

thanks for the very complete reply Michael.  I listened through both of those podcasts which is part of what prompted me.  I really like the LDA.  I shot a Sig 250 the other day from a compare perspective and it isn't the same.  In some ways I should just do the normal thing and get a glock, I have big (relatively) hands so they fit me well but it isn't my favorite trigger feel though I am pretty accurate and I guess that is what counts. 

tom

[Pathfinder]

thanks for the very complete reply Michael.  I listened through both of those podcasts which is part of what prompted me.  I really like the LDA.  I shot a Sig 250 the other day from a compare perspective and it isn't the same.  In some ways I should just do the normal thing and get a glock, I have big (relatively) hands so they fit me well but it isn't my favorite trigger feel though I am pretty accurate and I guess that is what counts. 

tom

Welcome to the forum Tom. With big hands, look at a full-size double stack 1911. Whoever designed the 1911 (I know, John Moses Browning, just kidding) knew something about the human hands.

Me, my hands are small, to this day I cannot comfortably handle a Baretta 92FS, and it's a 9mm. The Sig P220 in .45ACP - no problem. The little mutant CZ-40P fits me like a glove.

Even over-priced, I am gong with the Para TAC-S. I just wish the mag capacity was higher, but damn, that is a nice handling gun. Will post porn once it is truly mine - I just paid for the pickup's new tranny and I have 3 large in property taxes due next week.