Pardini SP

[pcomm]

I just purchased a nice Pardini SP and have a few questions since the user manual isn't very detailed...

1. CAN you dry fire the gun once in a while ? (same old question)

2. How often do you clean it? The manual mentions that the factory-applied oiling sould not be removed.

3. what ammo is best in terms of accuracy and reliability (...and availability in Canada...)

Thanks for your help!

[trinity]

I just purchased a nice Pardini SP and have a few questions since the user manual isn't very detailed...

1. CAN you dry fire the gun once in a while ? (same old question)

2. How often do you clean it? The manual mentions that the factory-applied oiling sould not be removed.

3. what ammo is best in terms of accuracy and reliability (...and availability in Canada...)

Thanks for your help!

1. sure you can dry fire the gun all the time, if you don't want to damage the firing pin, use a dry fire plug (ie, the little plastic plug that comes with it).

2. I clean it every thousand rounds or so, depends on if I remember :-) It is not a finicky gun.

3. I shoot Eley Target Pistol (yellow box) for matches, and the cheap Eley Practice (white box) for training. But I've also shot Lapua Pistol King, it is also excellent (but much more expensive). I shoot Eley mainly because it is cheap, and of course, it also functions quite well, but it IS very dirty ammo.

[top end]

I recently bought a SP New, and being interested in all things mechanical, took the firearm apart. I cleaned out the manufacuring swarf, degreased the tacky 'oil' that covered all surfaces, reoiled the gun, lubricated the sear surface and reseated the pins that hold various trigger components. I feel confident that the gun is as 'new' as it can be and that it will give me years of relaible service.

[Scott H.]

I believe that the "don't clean" comment in the manual concerns the factory lubrication of the trigger group. My SP is my gun of choice for bullseye matches. I only clean it when the chamber gets a significant amount of that "mud" that all .22 firearms seem to build up. When needed, I clean the barrel and chamber, wipe the slide, and oil it very lightly, and it functions perfectly.

And, like the earlier post, I've had best results with Eley Target Pistol/Rifle.

[F. Paul in Denver]

pcomm

I have had very good reliability in my SP with:

Wolf Match Target
Wolf Match Extra (more expensive)
RWS Target rifle


I also do a field strip cleaning between 750 - 1000 rounds. I have about 20-25 thousand rounds thru it and have never touched any part of the trigger mechanism. The only part I have replaced was the recoil spring after about 8 thousand rounds when I started getting light hits.


The SP is my favorite gun.

Paul

[pcomm]

thanks a lot for your replies - I appreciate it

[Mike T.]

I can add that the bulk-packaged Lapua Standard Club (500 rounds in a tin can) shoots to the same point-of-impact as Eley Target Pistol. However, the Lapua is more expensive and has a nasty (IMO) oily/greasy coating; so, of the two, my nod goes to the Eley.

[Nicole Hamilton]

Congratulations on your new SP. I think you'll be very happy with it. It's a fantastic gun with an absolutely exceptional rolling trigger.

My experience with my SP has been mostly in NRA-style .22 gallery. I have an Aimpoint 30mm red-dot mounted on mine using the modified rings Don Nygord used to sell. (Ordinary rings won't grip the SP securely enough to work.)

I love my SP, enough so that I also bought the HP (in .32) and am now thinking about buying a second SP to dedicate to shooting iron sights for international rules.

As already suggested, you can dry fire as much as you like using the plastic plug that comes with the gun.

I generally clean only once a season. With good ammo, it doesn't get very dirty, so it really won't need cleaning very often. When you do clean it, you'll need to run at least 10 or 20 "fouling shots" through it before the gun will settle down again. Never just clean the gun, then go straight into a match! You'll be very unhappy with all the flyers.

I shoot Federal Target for practice and Federal Match in competition. Both feed very reliably and perform more than adequately for my needs, shooting in the 270s and occasional 280s out of 300. If I was into the 290s, maybe I'd be more inclined to spend more on ammo to get another couple points. I find the most significant difference between Target and Match ammo is the number of duds. In competition, I'm willing to spend a little more to avoid alibis.

The one brand of ammo I can attest will not work in a Pardini is CCI, which, curiously enough, was the only ammo that would work in the gun I started with, a S&W 22A. The CCI is a little too long for the Pardini magazines, causing endless failures to feed.

[top end]

Can't agree that CCI ammo doesn't work - fits in mine, groups under 25mm @25m, havent had a malfunction yet and is economical to boot!

[Nicole Hamilton]

Can't agree that CCI ammo doesn't work - fits in mine, groups under 25mm @25m, havent had a malfunction yet and is economical to boot!

Perhaps I should have been more specific. My experience was with CCI blue label; I've heard that CCI green does work for some people (though I've never tried it myself.) Also, as usual, YMMV: Every gun is a little different, so what works in one might / might not in another.

That said, if you're using CCI blue in an SP and it works, I'd say that's very unusual based on comments from other users (including those on this board.) But you're right, if it works, great, because it is cheap.

[Tom]

Hi All,

Since we are on the topic of ammo in the Pardini's again, here is a copy of a post I did a while ago. I didn't do a "test", these comments are based on actual practice and match results from using the ammo in 3 different SP/SPE's over the time frame of 1985 through current date in all different weather and temps.

I'm have updated this with additional information I have found since the last time I have posted this.

I do want to stress that almost any brand of 22LR standard vel will group well enough to clean targets at 50' and 25 yards. The most important thing is that the ammo you choose to use works in the pistol 100% of the time and is also as close as you can get to going bang 100% of the time. If you shoot a 9 or even an 8 because your ammo groups a little larger but you are able to get all your shots off, your better off than the person on the side of you that chose ammo based on group size only, had a failure to fire and is now down 10 points because it didn't go bang.

Hope it helps,

Tom

(From 2005, original post May 2004)
==========================================
Hi,

I have been shooting SPE's and SP's since the 80's. This is what I have found with the ammo that I have tried. They are one of the least ammo sensative pistols I have ever used. At 50' to 25M, they all group well enough to clean targets if you do your part. I currently use Aguila SE Subsonic for practice and 50' NRA, I switch to Eley or RWS for the more important or longer yardage matches.

Eley: Works well, (except the new Tenex/EPS style bullet. The first round hangs up and slows feeding but #2-5 will chamber and fire) Eley shoots good to great depending on how much you spend.

RWS: Works well, shoots good to great. Again, depending on grade. The recoil seemed to vary between cases over time, never checked the vel #'s with a crono though.

SK: Works well however the subsonic, while I have found they go bang all the time and shoot well they don't fully cycle 100% when the gun is "cold" ie: first few shots. Shoots well to great. Again, spend more, get more. Weard feeling lube and lots of it.

Wolf: Same as SK as it's the same plant that makes it. Costs less most of the time and I have noticed that the "target" shoots slightly better than the "match" at the shorter distances however on the long targets, use the match.

PMC
Pistol Match: It works, Shoots OK. On par with the low end Europian stuff. The lot I tried did not go bang 100% of the time.
Score Master: Lots'a recoil, loads of flash but boy does it punch big holes on the paper, not 100% reliable going bang.

CCI
Standard: Doesn't work in any of the SPE or SP's that I have. Anyone else's I have seen either. It's too long to feed in the mags.
Green Tag: Works, lots of recoil, big flash. shoots well, compare to low to mid-range Eley. Keep your mags clean as the bullet points drag slightly in the mag, powered graphite helps them feed in the mag.
Pistol match: Functions, shoots less well than Green tag. I was disappointed. Less flash but heavy recoil. Same mag issues as the Green Tag

Remington
Target: Cheap and loud. Punishing recoil and flash. Beats the early SPE's to death. Does not go bang all the time. Super clean, very little residue, some people go a year or more between cleanings using Remington. (a side note, I have a Anschutz small bore rifle that will shoot one hole with this ammo and horribly with Eley or SK, go figure but it sure keeps my small bore cost's down...)

Made by Eley type: See Eley comments.

Federal 711B Cheap, soft recoil, Neither the flat or "Dimple bottom" were reliable as a match round. I turned in the remaining bricks for credit at the gun store. (yes they were that bad, about 2 out of every 10 were duds)

Aguila
SE Std Vel: Cheap, shoots well, reliable if kept dry in storage and warm in cold shooting conditions. Average recoil, bit of flash. A bit greasy, it leaves some residue in the mags. I have heard reports that the newer lots aren't as reliable as the old stuff.
SE Subsonic: Same as above except with much less recoil and flash. May not cycle in all guns. I currently use this for my NRA 50' matches.
GE and Match: Same as above but tighter groups at longer yardage sometimes, not always.

A special note on Aguila. The ammo is produced in one of the most humid areas of the world, it's stored in Texas, again, a very hot and humid area. Storage of the product before you get it seems to be an issue. I purchase all my Aguila in Feb or March in order to take advantage of the drier climate at that time and store it in US Mil ammo cans with a desicant.

[crapgame]

I also had problems with CCI ammo at first in the Pardini.The type of bullet they use makes the cartridge too long for the magazine.Then I started taking care of how I inserted the cartridges in the magazine.You have to tilt the bullet end upwards more than with other ammo while inserting and rack the spring up and down a couple of times to make sure all of the cartridges are at the right angle before inserting mag into the gun.Also the wax on the bullets will grease the magazine after a while and the bullets move better in the mag.So don´t clean your mags:) So for me no more feeding problems and I put maybe 3000 of them through.The batch of CCI they´re selling now here in Finland has a shorter type of bullet.

[ColinC]

Check the diameter of the CCI cases. I believe it is fractionally wider than most other brands which causes problems in tight chambers.
Regards the length problems, the CCI sold here is Oz is obviously still of the long type because it will not chamber in some free pistols at our club.

I think the main thing is with any handgun, try plenty of different types of ammo and when you find the one that has least misfires and best groups, then stick to it. It is gun by gun thing and what suits one pistol will not necessarily suit one of the same make and model.

I am still using a Unique DES-69U and while I usually use Ely or Fiocchi ammo which work the best, everything cycles through it except Winchester which has too many misfires. Others have Uniques which just love Winchester ammo.

[Wee Hooker]

Just to add to what Tom said, the AguillaSE is well worth a try for the average user. There may be better ammo out there but this stuff would be a bargan at twice it's $10 /brick price. My Pardini needed a good cleaning lube and a couple of hundred breakin rounds before I switched from the Blue /std velocity to the Purple/Subsonic. Now even the subsonic gives me boreing reliability (until the gun gets dirty every 600-700 rounds or so.)

p.s. Have also watched Tom consistantly kick butt with that "mexican ammo". Enought to know that my 8's are not the ammos fault!