Wife's trying to decide between Springfield EMP or Para PDA....

[Guest HexHead]

Any word on your EMP?

Nope. I spoke to the gunsmith Friday and he hadn't even looked at it yet. Said he would and call me either Friday afternoon or probably Sat. to let me know if it needs to go back to SA. Never heard from him. 10 days now and counting. Maybe I'll hear something today.

I originally suspected magazine problems and had suggested they just order me 3 new mags under warranty, but they wanted their smith to look at it first and let him make the call.

I'm beginning to think I should have bought the new Para. I'm not impressed with the service I'v gotten.

[Guest HexHead]

Have you held a EMP? I guarantee its easier to conceal that your Berettas.

I used to have a Beretta 9000, and ANY 1911 is easier to conceal. It's a question of thickness more than anything else.

[Guest eyebedam]

Nope. I spoke to the gunsmith Friday and he hadn't even looked at it yet. Said he would and call me either Friday afternoon or probably Sat. to let me know if it needs to go back to SA. Never heard from him. 10 days now and counting. Maybe I'll hear something today.

I originally suspected magazine problems and had suggested they just order me 3 new mags under warranty, but they wanted their smith to look at it first and let him make the call.

I'm beginning to think I should have bought the new Para. I'm not impressed with the service I'v gotten.

It def sounds like piss poor customer service ESP since you never even left the shop with it. Seems like they wouldve made it a priority to have it inspected. I hope you hear something soon.

[Mike]

I'm beginning to think I should have bought the new Para. I'm not impressed with the service I'v gotten.

I've yet to have a problem with my Para.

[Guest HexHead]

Any word on your EMP?

Update.

I spoke with the gunsmith today and apparently when he looked at it last Friday, he sent it back home to SA and just forgot to call me to let me know. I'm happy it got sent back, SA has a reputation for good customer service, quick turnaround and they usually do more than just the minimum to ensure it's done right the first time.

It looks like I'll see it again in a couple of weeks. I guess now it'll be my wife's Xmas present.

[Guest Boomhower]

It looks like I'll see it again in a couple of weeks. I guess now it'll be my wife's Xmas present.

Sorry to hear that......I'd be willing to bet that if you had a little time and ammo to put thru it, you would see different results....but I also feel that when you spend that kind of money, you want it to work right out of the box.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on its performance when you get it back from SA. They will do you right!......I let my wife's uncle shoot my EMP this past weekend, and he was very impressed with its performance. His daily carry is a Kimber Custom CDP II.

[Guest HexHead]

Sorry to hear that......I'd be willing to bet that if you had a little time and ammo to put thru it, you would see different results....but I also feel that when you spend that kind of money, you want it to work right out of the box.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on its performance when you get it back from SA. They will do you right!......I let my wife's uncle shoot my EMP this past weekend, and he was very impressed with its performance. His daily carry is a Kimber Custom CDP II.

I did put a box and a half through it before I said anything about the problems. It does shoot great and is very accurate for a sub-4" barrel.

[Guest eyebedam]

I did put a box and a half through it before I said anything about the problems. It does shoot great and is very accurate for a sub-4" barrel.

I think Boom was leaning more towards a few hundred rounds.

[towerclimber37]

I think Boom was leaning more towards a few hundred rounds.

I'm sorry you had to send it back also!

Like I said..it took me about 800 rounds before mine was broken in..after that..nary a hiccup. I think the MINIMUM you should put through it before you send it off is probably around 500 rounds...

I also Echo what Boomhower said..if you pay that much, it should work right out of the box.

as for the Para's...one of the things I didn't like was the bluing. In every pic I've seen the bluing is coming off somewhere on the pistol. I've never shot one, but I have heard mixed reviews about them...I'm leaning towards buying a used hawg though..and just parkerizing the sucker!

[Guest SigGrl]

I have to say from a woman's point of view (since Towerclimber was nice enough to let me shoot his EMP at the range), that I prefer the EMP. Buk had the full size Para and the compact P14 45 for carry. I've shot all of them. The EMP was much easier for me to make an accurate hit with than the Paras. The Paras seemed to have a lot of recoil to them for me to shoot accurately with any speed. Shhhhh, don't tell Buk, he's a Para lover.

Hope your EMP shoots better, when you get it back.

[Guest HexHead]

I'm sorry you had to send it back also!

Like I said..it took me about 800 rounds before mine was broken in..after that..nary a hiccup. I think the MINIMUM you should put through it before you send it off is probably around 500 rounds...

I also Echo what Boomhower said..if you pay that much, it should work right out of the box.

This was pre-owned (LNIB) so I have to figure it's had some rounds through it before I got to it. In any event, it's my fifth 1911. All of the others were trouble free from day one, other than some mag problems with my Nighthawk that were solved by switching to Wilson mags. Wilson doesn't make mags for the EMP, so I really had no choice.

I'm sure it'll come back better than new.

[Guest Boomhower]

Your right, most 1911's are great OTB.....but this isn't exaclty the same as all the other 1911's. As Tower has stated before, Springfield re-built this particular 1911 from the ground up using the 9mm cartiage instead of the .45. That has made for a lot tighter of tolerances than the "usual" 1911.

As for the magazine's, yeah I wish someone else did make them. AFAIK, Mec-Gar is the only one that makes them. I'm sure there still isn't enough of a demand for them yet for other company's to join in. I've always kinda figured that's the reason SA gives you 3 magazines with each gun. I know you pay for them in the price of the gun, but I'm glad they came with 3!

[cadillacdude1975]

any gun that requires a break in period to be reliable is a useless gun to me. just my 2 cents.

[Guest HexHead]

any gun that requires a break in period to be reliable is a useless gun to me. just my 2 cents.

With the exception of my little S&W revolver, I break in ALL my semi-autos with several hundred rounds before I stake my life on them. I would do the same with a Glock or whatever.

[Guest Boomhower]

With the exception of my little S&W revolver, I break in ALL my semi-autos with several hundred rounds before I stake my life on them. I would do the same with a Glock or whatever.

+1.......to trust your life to a gun that hasn't 1st hand proven itself to function reliably, is a little frightening to think about. In my mind, all guns have a break in period. YMMV?!?!?!...........But then again, not everybody carries every gun they buy.

[Guest Boomhower]

To save from thread drift, I created another thread concerning the EMP magazine. Since we have quite a few EMP owners on here now, take a look...

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showthread.php?p=187729#post187729

[323ssplt]

I finally got my wife to wrap her tiny little munchkin hands around the EMP that was in the case at Range Usa tonight. She loved the way it flt. She has finally found a gun that fits her hands. I guess I'll have to order her one in 40 (so I can then custom order a 357 sig barrel for it because she is IN LOVE with that cartridge) and maybe I can get it under the tee by Christmas..

[Guest HogMan]

EMP!!! What else

[Guest Halfpint]

I finally got my wife to wrap her tiny little munchkin hands around the EMP that was in the case at Range Usa tonight. She loved the way it flt. She has finally found a gun that fits her hands. [...]

I was there earlier that afternoon with Tink, finally found one for her to hold after a gun show and repeated attempts to locate one from a distributor. Since we started dating, she's given me a hard time about my "expensive" H&K and Kimber, saying she doesn't see why I'd pay so much... I just told her it's something she has to experience for herself. I covered the tag when she held the EMP and asked her what she thought, she just smiled at first.

Then I showed her the tag: "It's worth it! Okay, yeah, I understand now," was all she said.

[Guest TinkerBell]

ya... hes right... the EMP was nice.. its definately something to think about down the road when one of us can better afford it... I loved the way it felt in my hand... mayb an xmas idea for next year, who knows :-p

[Guest HexHead]

Well, the Springfield came back tonight and I was still disappointed with it's performance, and the shells hitting us in the head. Since I never got to take it home, I was able to unravel the deal and get the Para PDA instead.

It's got some breaking in to do as well, but at least the shells are going off to the side.

I really wanted to like the EMP, I think it's more accurate than the Para and has a great trigger, but the shells hitting in the head after just getting it back from the factory was a non-starter.

[musicman]

Bummer. Sounds like an extractor tuning needed to take place. I had that happen to me all of a sudden with a Sigma in .40. It started flinging forties right into my forehead! Going through the second mag after that started happening, the gun just stopped ejecting period. Borken extractor. I guess it just bent a little at first or something, then snapped.

So tell us about the Para! How did it shoot for you?

[Guest HexHead]

Bummer. Sounds like an extractor tuning needed to take place. I had that happen to me all of a sudden with a Sigma in .40. It started flinging forties right into my forehead! Going through the second mag after that started happening, the gun just stopped ejecting period. Borken extractor. I guess it just bent a little at first or something, then snapped.

So tell us about the Para! How did it shoot for you?

Extractor tuning was one of the things on the list Springfield said they did. Throat barrel, polish ramp, tune extractor and set ejector. It should have been perfect.

The Para needs to break in before I can really evaluate it. I had some issues with it, maybe I was tired or it doesn't like WWB?

[Guest Boomhower]

Well that sucks to hear Hex...Hopefully the Para will give you the satisfaction you are looking for.

[towerclimber37]

Extractor tuning was one of the things on the list Springfield said they did. Throat barrel, polish ramp, tune extractor and set ejector. It should have been perfect.

The Para needs to break in before I can really evaluate it. I had some issues with it, maybe I was tired or it doesn't like WWB?

chances are, it just needs to be broken in. My EMP was the same way...it was kind of a pain, with issues and I was upset...then I started working on it...just shooting it more..and it came together and now it shoots perfectly.