Pardini HP 32 ACP SWL 5 or 6 inch

I am considering buying a Pardini 32. Can anyone comment on the merits of 32 ACP vs 32SWL?  Also I have liked shooting 1911s in 6 inch barrel. Is there a reason to choose the 5 inch vs the 6 inch other than preference/weight?  Also any reason to not get the gas compensated version?  I have heard the acp is better at 50 yards?  Thanks.

For 50 yards the 32ACP is much better than 32SWL - some folks have perfected 32SWL barrel/bullet to work well, but most examples I've heard of required a custom barrel that is tighter bore than the standard Pardini barrels. Most owners have found that for 50 yards with a standard bore Pardini 32ACP barrel only ammo with Hornady XTP bullets works well - some like the XTP85's and they are normally (in non-C19 times) available for reloading - I prefer the XTP60's, but they are not currently available for reloading.

IMHO, if you only intend to shoot Bullseye competition then the 6" barrel is superior. I do not yet have any quantitative analysis of the comparative performance, but my 6" barrel just seems to perform better.

But - as far as I know - the 6" is not legal for ISSF and NRA International Competition - so if you intend to shoot those classes you are better to take the 5".

The one issue that I have found with the Pardini and 32ACP is that the ammo that is good at 50 yards was intended by the manufacturers to be a self defense round and it has quite sharp recoil impulse. I found that with the standard OEM grip or a standard angle Rink grip the recoil impulse shot straight though my wrist and up my forearm  - very quickly giving me indications of imminent tendinitis. I solved that problem by ordering Rink "upright" grips (Walther GSP style - closer to 1911 grip angle). But, then I encountered a problem with those grips failing under the repeated recoil impulses and I have had to come up with a mechanical system to counter that  - will be the subject of a forthcoming thread.

Unless there have been major changes, the 6” barrel is legal for ISSF. I shot 1911 6” long slide for international CF for many years. Has to fit in a dimensioned box and meet sight radius requirements.

I recommend a 5” barrel because they are easier and more forgiving from hand at 50 yds. I regret shooting long slides for too many years. A non 10 at 50 yds is usually 1 ring worse than a 5” gun on a bad shot. 
Jon

Jon,

I may be wrong, but I think that the Pardini HP with 6" will not fit in the ISSF box. Obviously quite a bit longer than a 1911 long slide overall.

Interesting comments though on the "from hand" performance at 50 yards. I need to evaluate that - I definitely prefer the 22 6" (especially with iron sights) - but I had jumped to the 6" 32ACP without really considering your point. Hmmm.

I am basing off my 22lr Pardini SP experience. 6" felt considerably heavier even with all weights removed than 5" with all weights intact. Has to do with center of gravity. Absolute weight 5" fully loaded = 6" with only 1 set of weights. It does not "feel" that way though. 

If I understand the shooting dynamics correctly then 6" will give you better aim due to larger sight radius. However, if using red dot where sight radius does not matter, then shorter barrel will be more precise (in shooter's hands, inherent accuracy is pretty much same) as the bullet flies out of the barrel faster and does not pick up as much gun vibration going that extra inch in the barrel. That's my understanding of it and yes, Pardini did shoot better with 5" in my hands. Bot barrels were exactly same off the bench rest.

Do a search.  There's another whole thread on this somewhere in here.

Looked. Couldn’t find it.

Search PARDINI

you’ll get 8 pages of Pardini posts.

Enjoy

I remembered a thread like that before I was considering this pistol but I can’t find it. 

Dr.Don wrote:Do a search.  There's another whole thread on this somewhere in here.

Ok so I am set on a 5 inch barrel and I think I want the 32 acp vice 32swl. Any input on to get the gas comp or not? Also I have a square deal B and 550b. Looks like the square deal b won’t do 32 acp. And is the consensus that Dillon dies are not the best for 32acp?

Don't buy a 6" gun just for the longer sight radius. Instead, pay some one to make you a custom front sight.  As it is, the stock Pardini front sight is shaped like a triangle, with the wide end closer to the shooter. If someone make a custom front sight with a post near the muzzle, you'd probably gain about an inch of sight radius without having all that extra weight out front.

mpolans wrote:Don't buy a 6" gun just for the longer sight radius. Instead, pay some one to make you a custom front sight.  As it is, the stock Pardini front sight is shaped like a triangle, with the wide end closer to the shooter. If someone make a custom front sight with a post near the muzzle, you'd probably gain about an inch of sight radius without having all that extra weight out front.

I will be using a red dot. So sight radius not an issue. I was considering a 6 inch for the balance and I generally like weight out front. But as Jon says above the extra barrel length amplifies your mistakes so I won’t be getting a 6 inch for that reason.

Lol! I would not trade my 6 inch Sp and Hp for anything! I respect Jon but I think in this case he is wrong!
Before anyone ask I did shoot a 5 inch Sp and Hp for several years before getting the 6 inch

Well - I need to do some more quantitative testing, but I have to say that I shot my Match Personal Best 884 with my Pardini SP22 and the 6" barrel last Saturday.

Jon E and others have been much better shooters than me and I also totally respect their opinion, but, like Jim Hensler, the 6" barrels are working good for me.

Once my life settles down a little I intend to train with 5" one day, 6" the next over a period of a couple of weeks and try to see if there is a noticeable difference - it will all be at 25 yards, unfortunately, but we'll see.