Pardini GT45 Durability

Hi all,

I do own several handguns in .45 ACP where one of them is a very accurate 1911. It has been shot about 30.000 to 60.000 rounds as it was and is my main competition gun. I really like it but due to ITAR regulations even buying a front post for it or even a quality sear are more and more turning into never ending nightmares. So I am looking for a very precise gun in .45 ACP and I had the opportunity to handle a Pardini GT45 6" at a gun store. I do like the gun and it points fine and it seems to fit my hands well. But when asked by the Salesperson about the volume of shooting I intended with that gun I estimated something in between 3.000 and 10.000 rounds per year. Then I was told while the GT9 was capable of withstanding that amount of use the GT45 was not really intended for that.

I am shooting 200grn .45ACP SWC copper plated bullets handloadad with 4.2 grn VV N310. This is a fairly soft target load but with enough energy to always cycle the gun if clean and lubed. This load is definitely not harder on a gun than 9mm rounds. 

So my question is if there are shooters having used the GT45 for at least 30.000 rounds or preferably many more and can comment, how well the gun stands up to wear and if precision ist still maintained.

TIA
Frank

I would ask Pardini directly. As an engineer, I would doubt that that usage is too extreme for the design of the Pardini, but then Alfa-Romeos seem to be always in the shop. Brownells does have an office in Europe so that may help in 1911 parts.
https://www.brownells.eu/

A few years ago I was at an ISSF World Cup at Fort Benning Moore Georgia to get a pistol serviced and was at the Pardini USA table trying to keep my credit cards from jumping out of my pocket. I asked several questions about the GT45 (which they unfortunately or fortunately did not have an example of on hand) and was assured the GT45 could be adjusted for wear due to the lock-up being in the breech area.

Not sure the exact method but it may be like a S&W M52 where the slide stop pin is ground so the barrel locks up. As the pistol wears a newer slide stop pin can be fitted to compensate for the wear.

Greetings,

I had a Pardini GT45 for a while.

The receiver is Aluminum and the slide hardened steel.

During cycling, the barrel has a tapered ramp on the bottom that raises the barrel up into the slide and upon closing fully the barrel is wedged between the slide and slide stop pin.

Also, the barrel is eight lands/grooves measuring 0.450".

There is a lot of surface contact between the receiver and slide.

Still, the receiver is Aluminum and will wear quicker than the steel slide.

I do not know for certain, but, Pardini might Hard Anodize the receiver for extended wear.

Cheers,

Dave

There are EU manufactures of parts for example LPA makes Sights and TISA, Lothar makes barrels and the Italians make fire control parts. With a little TLC if it is a forged frame that 1911 you have can shoot 30, to 100K more rounds. 

If you go to a 185 gn bullet or a stronger recoil spring that will help. The ammo you are running is a little hot.

Wobbley wrote:I would ask Pardini directly.  As an engineer, I would doubt that that usage is too extreme for the design of the Pardini, but then Alfa-Romeos seem to be always in the shop. Brownells does have an office in Europe so that may help in 1911 parts.

Hi,
Thank you for your advice. I am an engineer too and would also assume the usage to be within specs. But after the sales persons warning I am simply trying to get some field experience. Google search did not bring up any complaints or issues with the GT45. So I thought I ask the shooters themselves.

Brownells as you mentioned is the right place to turn to for imported US goods. The problem in the EU is that its members are not states similar to the states in US but sovereign nations as the whole US is. So if there is someone importing goods from the US to lets say Germany those goods may not be moved anywhere outside Germany even within the EU. These are the ITAR regulations. While Brownells does that kind of direct import from the US to my country of residence they do not stock everything needed and at the end they simply have to turn me down because they cannot buy non-stock  front posts for the minimum purchase order amount of US 2.000 just to supply me with the one front post I need.

fc60 wrote:Greetings,

I had a Pardini GT45 for a while.

Still, the receiver is Aluminum and will wear quicker than the steel slide.

I do not know for certain, but, Pardini might Hard Anodize the receiver for extended wear.

Dave

Hi Dave,
Pardini does hard anodize the receiver and they even state they create a quite strong layer of anodized aluminum. Technically the aluminum oxide created by anodizing is remarkably harder than even hardened steel. But it is still only a relatively thin layer of extremely hard material covering relatively soft aluminum. This can work very well but might not be too resistant when the underlying soft aluminum is being beaten permanently.

While in theory the Pardini GT should easily handle the shooting, older engineers (like me) tend to ask for real experience from long time users. We just have seen too much happen to really well planned and manufactured parts when everyday users get their hand on the products. 

So you sold the gun although it technically worked well. Could you eventually tell why?

rich.tullo wrote:There are EU manufactures of parts for example LPA makes Sights and TISA, Lothar makes barrels and the Italians make fire control parts. With a little TLC if it is a forged frame that 1911 you have can shoot 30, to 100K more rounds. 

If you go to a 185 gn bullet or a stronger recoil spring that will help. The ammo you are running is a little hot.

The gun is a LesBaer Premier League 2. It is just as precise as it was when new. At 25m it shoots into one hole. I was lucky to get it and it has served me very well. Unfortunately a really crisp 1911 trigger mechanism has to be made of high tensile strength materials and especially the sear and hammer hooks do not last forever. This limited life is acceptable BUT they will usually fail without any prior warning.

So I think I need a second gun in case my main gun fails in the middle of an important match. Due to very limited availability and problematic import- export procedures even within the EU I thought about a non- 1911 precision gun in .45 ACP preferably from Europe. This is currently only the GT45.


You are absolutely right. The ammo specs definitely seem to be a little hot - but in this case on paper. What makes them work around here is our climate. I usually shoot matches around 61 to 72 degrees F. Temperature may even be considerably lower. At lower temperatures lubes stiffen and the powder burns slower so that my gun has to be extremely well maintained to even cycle through a complete match. 

185 gr bullets instead of 200 gr bullets. Well - ITAR and EU hit again. I use copper plated SWC lead bullets. While there are several quality EU manufacturers for 200 grn SWC bullets there is none für 185 grn SWC bullets. The only 185 grn bullets available are made by Speer and imported into Germany. BUT those originate in the US and may not be reexported outside of Germany to where I live because of ITAR regulations.

Thank you very much for your advice. My lengthy reply is not to prove you wrong but in order to explain the limitations I am suspected to. Those might sound strange but this is my environment.