First off I would like to say great forum!

Now, I am thinking strongly about purchasing a new P16-40 LIMITED. (stainless)

Just wondering what your guys/gals opinions are of this firearm???   Pros & Cons???

Keep in mind that I will be using this gun for IPSC / competition purposes ONLY!
NOT for concealed carry or a duty weapon.

Thanks,
Pitbull

I think the para is a great pistol myself, and it is in a .40.

The only other thing better would be a Glock.

I knew I was going to get the Glock talk.  :)
LOL

Thanks VA-gunnut

Since you knew you were going to get the lecture on Glock. Have you thought about the G35. I myself haven't gotten to try one yet, but they are supposed to work well for such things. Granted it isn't a race gun but hey its a Glock.

Do the right thing, get a Beretta 96FS.

BKVic

I am a Glock 35 owner, and I used to play the IPSC/USPSA game with mine in limited class, before all the new classes were introduced.  I no longer play since I moved to PRK!

On one occassion I used a Para P16/40 Limited that a friend of mine owned to try it out.  I liked the gun, and it was flawless for me.  I scored much better with my Glock though, since I was more used to shooting it.  I'm not a 1911 shooter at all (yet)!

I would suggest trying one of these guns out before laying the cash down on the counter.  Decide what class you are going to shoot the gun in, and read the IPSC/USPSA rules carefully.  

There are a bunch of aftermarket parts asvailable to customize and accurize the 1911's and the Glocks, but the Beretta has been left out of the aftermarket.  I really don't understand this either, because they are an awesome weapon.  

If I were to start all over and the parts were available, I would own a Beretta 96 for my IPSC gun, simply due to the availability of "high cap" magazines.  I went through several expensive Glock magazines before I gave up on it.

Now with the limited 10 class, I would think of re-joining IPSC, if it weren't such a long drive to a club.  For me driving 2 hours is way too long, just to shoot in the sport.  But that's just me.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Except you Striker!

Pitbull

If you buy one GEt rid of
the plastic
magazine catch
and replace it with a steel
one with an extended
checkered button and a lighter
spring.
Then, if you want to,
readjust your trigger overtravel
to the new catch.

The plastic one will
wear out very quickly
if you do a lot of
mag changes during practice
and your
loaded magazines will begin to drop
free after one or two shots.

Keep in mind that I will be using this gun for IPSC / competition purposes ONLY! NOT for concealed carry or a duty weapon.

Had one, sunk a bunch of money into it. After I replaced everything but the frame, slide, and barrel, it wasn't a bad gun. When it became time to deal with the flyer every third or fourth round, the expense of a new barrel, bushing, and accurails just wasn't worth it. I got an STI Edge which was a far, far better gun right out of the box though much more expensive too.

A stock Para will not take heavy IPSC use. Enough parts fail on Paras and consistantly enough that several aftermarket parts makers are making replacements just for the Para. Other problems are soft frames and slides (why accurail is not optional if you want it to stay tight...) and holes drilled all over the place.

I know several guys who have had to had things like custom drilled sears because the frame dimensions are off that much. Several top smiths will not do a trigger job on a Para without replacing the sear and the hammer because the metal is so soft.

That said, Todd Jarrett wins everything in sight but I know for a fact his frames are hand picked for dimensional accuracy and everything else but the slide is aftermarket.

Now depending on your usage, it still might not be a bad choice for you. If you're only going to shoot a couple matches a year, it will probably be satisfactory (until you want a trigger job ), it's just not going to handle high shooting volume without parts failures (which I've found usually happen in a match instead of practice).

I was shooting over 10,000 rounds a year with that gun and there are 6 or 8 other guys in my club shooting similar round counts and their experiences were similar to mine. A couple of the guns are okay but chances are over 50/50 you'll have to put money into the gun that you weren't expecting.

If something in the STI or SV hi-cap product lines is more of an investment than you are willing to make, I'd suggest a good single stack 1911. Since the USPSA has implemented the Limited 10 division, you can compete using a single stack without having to deal with the disadvantage of everybody else shooting hicaps. My personal feeling is in 2 or 3 years, Limited and Limited 10 will become one again but with a 10 round capacity limit.

Kimbers will do all right for you though you'll probably replace the barrel bushing and the slide stop not too far out. STI makes a great single stack in their Trojan 1911 (I have 2 Kimbers and my Trojan which is a much better gun in terms of fit and finish - no reliablilty problem with either BTW).