New Pardini SP

I bought a new SP22 about a month ago and get to the range for the first time last Saturday.  I was surprisingly disappointed as I had stovepipes and misfeeds every clip I shot.  I shot over 200 rounds through it with Aguilla ammo, (I realize not the best stuff), without a clean magazine.  I spoke to Vladamir at Pardini and he says this is normal for the first 500 rounds and would like to hear if anyone had similar experience and that the gun performed as expected after this break-in period.  Thanks for your help.

Tim;
This old document from Don Nygord isvery true: Match grade chambers require premium ammunition..  Jerry

Tim,

It is true and I had to do the same break in for a GT45 and GT9 as well as my SP.

Be patient and you will see it start to run after some rounds are put through.



Paul

Try putting a drop of Shooters Choice FP-10 on the top round in the magazine before loading. FP-10 is the recommended lubricant of Pardini USA and is available through them. You have a great gun that loves good ammo so stay away from the cheap stuff and you will be able to shoot high master scores everyday all day long. If you want to shoot cheap ammo try a Hammerli 208s they will shoot anything and everything 22, the cheap stuff may not group all that well but it will go bang.

My SP New shoots Aguila black box match and Aguila SV (blue and yellow box) fine. Doesn't like Aguila blue box match. Magazines are finicky when they get dirty.

Thank you for the quick responses, I feel better that I didn't get a lemon.  Ordered some RWS yesterday.

While on the Pardini subject:
A common negative factor for the Pardini, is the Euro grip angle. It does have its advantages, but is a distraction as the shooter moves from the .22 stage to the 1911 .45 grip. Dick Horton offers a remedy for this with  grips that are adjusted to duplicate the angle of the 1911. The pics below are a set of ambidextrous. I have bought several of these grips, and the quality, and workmanship  is outstanding.. 

timkr wrote:Thank you for the quick responses, I feel better that I didn't get a lemon.  Ordered some RWS yesterday.

Tim;
I have written before on the .22 chamber/ammo subject.. Few pay much attention to the numerous .22 idiosyncrasies. The variations between ammo manufacturers, and chamber designs is amazing..if you can get your hands on a  number of various barrels, dissect them, and measure the chambers... All over the chart... A true match chamber must match the ammo used. Reamer design is unique to the ammo selected..Once the chamber is cut, switching to another manufacturer is most likely going to cause feeding issues. A gun that feeds anything is not going to provide the accuracy desired for competition. Most Pardinis I have tested shoot well under an inch at 50..w/Eley red..
Jerry

Replace the extractor and extractor spring. You will find that both are damaged.

No expert pistol smith here - this is just from my experiences.
Keep the chamber clean & polished - Check the extractor is sharp & square - Match your ammo to the recoil spring.

Boring details:
Problem might be tight, rough, or fouled chamber or chamber mouth. - After regular chamber cleaning I polish it(chamber & mouth only)with a couple small patches of lead clean gun cloth, a plastic jag, and cordless drill. - Done slowly & carefully it's cured more than one cranky 22. - I only do this if a pistol is not reliable. -   Maybe I'll detail my method in another post. -Don't try this at home-check with your Dr-'er pistolsmith 1st, etc...

My current Pardini was used. The original owner had been thru it all with unreliability. - Many different expensive ammos- calls to mfr, etc.. --He hadn't shot for a couple years when I purchased it from him. - A new extractor and the pistol is now 100% reliable with yellow/blue box Aguila SE.

My 1st Pardini was reliable with Wolf MT, but when I put in a new recoil spring the Wolf MT didn't have enough oomph to run the pistol. I tried Eley Sport and it worked well. - After a few bricks of E'Sport the pistol began mal-functioning occasionally. - I polished the chamber & it's still running fine as far as I know. (my brother purchased it from me).

2¢ - YMMV,   When that Pardini gets reliable, you're going to love it! - Good luck, Russ

Ordered new grips from dick today.  Those are gorgeous

I just ordered a set of pardini dick Horton grips as well.

Anybody know what the recent delivery times are?

Thank you,

I believe the wait time is now four weeks.

Chip

I was wondering if anyone has gotten their Dick Horton grips yet. I am interested in seeing any pictures of a right hand grip, and also the delivery time.
Thanks
Wayne

wreindol wrote:I was wondering if anyone has gotten their Dick Horton grips yet. I am interested in seeing any pictures of a right hand grip, and also the delivery time.
Thanks
Wayne

Received mine about 2 months ago- about 11 weeks after ordering. BTW, the ones Jerry Keefer shows are the grips made for me.

I got mine yesterday, about 3 weeks. They fit great, look beautiful. I asked for a 1911 style and what I got seems to be in the Pardini and 1911 in terms of angle. Will see how it works out.

Speaking of Horton Grips....They are excellent, beautiful work.  When ordering though, discuss grip volume, or girth.  i.e. the resulting openness or closed amount of the hand when gripping.  My hand is large but not so long.  Dicks grips fit like a glove but with a too open fist.

timkr wrote:Ordered new grips from dick today.  Those are gorgeous

I don't seem to be able to find a link to these grips. A little help please.

Jack H wrote:Speaking of Horton Grips....They are excellent, beautiful work.  When ordering though, discuss grip volume, or girth.  i.e. the resulting openness or closed amount of the hand when gripping.  My hand is large but not so long.  Dicks grips fit like a glove but with a too open fist.

Do you mean a space in the palm when you're gripping the gun? If so, Rink gives you the option of a bulge in the palm or a flat there.
See this data sheet from Rink: http://www.formgriffe.de/u/leaflet-rink.pdf

mparker - I mean the overall diameter of the grip.  Like fat broom handle vs skinny broom handle.  My hand is wide and meaty needing L-XL across the knuckles.  But hand length needs s-m with the Nills and Rinks.  Hammerli does a good fit with this one

I need to reduce the Nills to match the Hammerli

The Pardini is a tight gun, a lighter oil will work great for this pistol. I use Hoppe's oil, not No9 solvent, for lube and I stopped getting jams. When you clean the gun locate all the wear marks, put oil there! I always lube before and during the match, and wet my left index finger with oil and smear a thin layer on the top round in the magazines. I run all my guns like a camshaft, on a thin layer of oil.


On the ammo, I use Aguila Rifle Match, black box, for both practice and matches. Standard velocity, I believe they have it listed as 1080 fps. At $3.35 a box and a 10 shot 3/8" group at 50 yards, its hard to argue against!

Grips for the Pardini SP ( as well as the Benelli and Walther GSP) have an inherent advantage over many of the larger framed models, due to their magazine being located forward. Grips can be made to accommodate virtually any size hand with a near perfect fit since the only internal obstacle is the retaining screw. Pistols such as Hi-Standard Military's and the 1911's they emulate, present problems for grip makers trying to achieve proper finger to trigger engagement. The frame is a limiting factor for people with small or even medium hands. That being said, Horton grip with the 1911 style grip angle on the Pardini makes it a real pleasure to shoot, particularly if you are trying to move away from the European style rake.