GI Expert 45 ACP - User Reviews

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Para Ordnance GI Expert 45 ACP

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3	2296

Recommended By	Average Price	Average Rating
100% of reviewers	$532.00	8.0

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Ballistics Caliber: 45 ACP Capacity: 8+1 Dimensions Frame: Carbon Steel Weight: 39 ounces Length: 5 inches Barrel: Stainless Steel
Keywords:	1911 Para Ordnance GI Expert 45acp

Author

RackHunter

Firearm Enthusiast

Registered: September 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 188

Review Date: 3/13/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $532.00 | Rating: 8

Pros:	Price, lowered and flared ejection port, beveled magazine well.
Cons:	Finish and the factory mags.

The Para Ordnance GI Expert is a basic, no frills, full-size 1911 pistol aimed at the entry-level market. This is a basic 1911 pistol with a 5” barrel on a single stack frame. I paid $502.00 for this gun online at Bud's Gun Shop & an FFL fee of $30.00 putting it at $532.00. It came with 2 8rd magazines. it has a lowered and flared ejection port, beveled magazine well & flat mainspring housing. There are really not many other bells and whistles on this gun, it is a basic 1911 pistol. If it did have all that, it would not be a $500.00 pistol. Although the ability to add these features later on is available. The finish is what they call Paracote. I believe it is kinda like Duracote, but not as good .I think this is a great pistol for a basic 1911. It has a Standard barrel with no integral feed ramp but that's normal for a GI model anyway. There are no front cocking serrations on the slide (just rear), no full-length guide rod, no ambidextrous thumb safety and no tapered “combat” sights. Like I said before this is a basic GI Government 1911 waiting for a little love! The trigger is polymer not aluminum. The trigger however I believe has very little creep. It does not have the standard GI spur hammer or a traditional Commander hammer. I believe this is what they call an elongated loop “combat” hammer.
Taking it to the range for the first time I immediately found that it did not like the factory Para mags that came with it. I would get a FTF on the first round and every other round after that like clockwork with every mag. Maybe this would get better over time after it was broke in, but who knows. What I do know is I then tried an 8 rd Chip McCormick magazine on that same first day and out of about 75 rounds on only had 2 FTF and both times it was on the first round (mind you this gun is still considered not broke in). Besides that the gun liked the Chip McCormick mags very much. I have read that if you leave the factory Para mags loaded up for a week or two it will fix the problem, but at this time I have not tried it yet.I shot from ranges of 7, 10, 15, and 25 yards. I shot fairly tight groups standing with no rest at all except the 25 yards and they were decent groups then. I did not measure the groups or take pictures as at the time I was not planning to do a review. Next time I go out I will try to remember to do that and add it later on.
Overall I think it shot very well with the aftermarket mags and expect it to get better the more I feed it. I rated this an 8 for a 1911 in this price range, not against the higher dollar more expensive models. I would however recommend it to a friend if they were in the market for a 1911 in this price range. If I misspoke or used incorrect terms I apologize. I am not an expert and this is my first 1911 and I have only taken it to the range one time. So this is basically a first outing report. I just wanted to share my thoughts and research I had done in case anyone else was interested in this gun.

Thanks,
Eddie

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RackHunter

Firearm Enthusiast

Registered: September 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 188

Review Date: 3/13/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $532.00 | Rating: 0

Pros:
Cons:

Forgot to put the ammo I used. I used PMC 230 GR FMJ and Speer Gold Dot 155 GR HP.

RackHunter

Firearm Enthusiast

Registered: September 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 188

Review Date: 3/17/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: N/A | Rating: 0

Pros:
Cons:

Second range update. Put an additional 100 rounds of PMC 230 GR FMJ through the pistol. Had 2 FTFs using the Chip mag. Those two FTFs were on the first round out of the mag. Tried the factory Para mag again and still had FTFs every other round so stuck with the Chip mag for the remainder. Below is a pic. In this pic I shot from 10 yds away two mags standing shooting fairly quickly. I had taken a couple pics while sitting on a rest but for some reason they will not upload to my comp and say the file is corrupt so this is the only one I had. Thanks, Eddie