TargetTalk

Hello everyone,

I recently inherited a Pardini Fiocchi MP .32 pistol with a Tasco Pro Point Laser from my grandfather who was an avid competition marksman back in the day. I only wish I would have asked him to show me more about the gun when I had the chance...

Can someone please tell me how to properly care for a gun of this type? In particular, how do I clean it? Is it easy to field strip and do I need to? What methods do I use for care and how do I do it? I recently fired 50 rounds or so through it and prior to that it sat for a good year, if not a little bit longer. Would a pistol bore snake be a good idea to run through it? My grandfather took very good care of his guns, I hope I can do the same...


Please forgive my many questions, I am only used to the care and use of my newer Springfield Armory XD 9mm gun. I'm not at all familiar with how to take care of the Pardini.

I also own both Pardini SP new .22 and the .32. These guns are very simple to field strip. Remove the magazine, safety issues, then remove the screw in the muzzle end which will allow the barrel and slide to come off. Make sure when it pops out that it does not hit the floor. You now have three parts to clean. You should not put oil in the frame where it can slide down into the trigger group as this is lubbed from the factory and does not require extra oil. Just use a good gun cleaner to remove the powder residues. The bolt only needs slight lube, none in the frame where the bolt slides in. These guns have tight tolerances and do not need a lot of lube which just attracts more gunk which causes feeding issues. I usually clean mine every 500 rounds or so. I have not had leading issues with my gun, so I only use a nylon brush to clean barrel. Im not a big fan of brass brushes in target barrells and I dont think it is necessary. I think some good guns get killed with kindness. Make sure you do a bit of research on an appropriate load for the gun, mild target loads for these guns, NOT heavy loads as gun will be damaged. Some of the early Pardini .32 had cracking frame issues, probably helped by too heavy of loads. I use 1.2 or 1.3 of N310 with H&N 100 gr HBWC. You should be able to get a manual from the U.S. dealer or go online and down load one. Springs and firing pins are available from Pardini. The company is quite good at responding to issues I have found. I have the newer .32 but gun is quite similar to the older model. I can honestly say that I have fired the gun about 7000 rounds and have not had one failure to feed or eject. Hope your gun serves you well.

Rob

www.larrysguns.com is the US importer. You should have little issue if you take the advice from custom945 on soft loads. Fiocchi and Lapua make good factory loads too.

customs954 wrote:I also own both Pardini SP new .22 and the .32. These guns are very simple to field strip. Remove the magazine, safety issues, then remove the screw in the muzzle end which will allow the barrel and slide to come off. Make sure when it pops out that it does not hit the floor. You now have three parts to clean. You should not put oil in the frame where it can slide down into the trigger group as this is lubbed from the factory and does not require extra oil. Just use a good gun cleaner to remove the powder residues. The bolt only needs slight lube, none in the frame where the bolt slides in. These guns have tight tolerances and do not need a lot of lube which just attracts more gunk which causes feeding issues. I usually clean mine every 500 rounds or so. I have not had leading issues with my gun, so I only use a nylon brush to clean barrel. Im not a big fan of brass brushes in target barrells and I dont think it is necessary. I think some good guns get killed with kindness. Make sure you do a bit of research on an appropriate load for the gun, mild target loads for these guns, NOT heavy loads as gun will be damaged. Some of the early Pardini .32 had cracking frame issues, probably helped by too heavy of loads. I use 1.2 or 1.3 of N310 with H&N 100 gr HBWC. You should be able to get a manual from the U.S. dealer or go online and down load one. Springs and firing pins are available from Pardini. The company is quite good at responding to issues I have found. I have the newer .32 but gun is quite similar to the older model. I can honestly say that I have fired the gun about 7000 rounds and have not had one failure to feed or eject. Hope your gun serves you well.

Rob

Thank you for the reply Rob, I greatly appreciate it.

When you reference not using to heavy of loads, please forgive my ignorance but are you referring to the weight of the bullet? I have some WinChester 32 AUTO 71 GR. FMJ I planned on shooting through it if possible.

Seeing this is a target barrel would you advise against using a bore snake for intermediate cleanings on this gun or is that acceptable to use?

yoohoo wrote:.
When you reference not using to heavy of loads, please forgive my ignorance but are you referring to the weight of the bullet? I have some WinChester 32 AUTO 71 GR. FMJ I planned on shooting through it if possible.

DO NOT SHOOT .32 AUTO AMMUNITION IN A .32 S&W PISTOL!!!

Sorry for yelling but it's warranted in this case.

Get an owner's manual and read it. And keep asking questions :)

john bickar wrote:

yoohoo wrote:.
When you reference not using to heavy of loads, please forgive my ignorance but are you referring to the weight of the bullet? I have some WinChester 32 AUTO 71 GR. FMJ I planned on shooting through it if possible.

DO NOT SHOOT .32 AUTO AMMUNITION IN A .32 S&W PISTOL!!!

Sorry for yelling but it's warranted in this case.

Get an owner's manual and read it. And keep asking questions :)

Thank John, Im trying to get educated in all of this stuff.

Can you please explain why the Auto Ammunition is bad? What should I be buying instead?

It's built to shoot the .32 S&W Long wadcutter ammo (see below)

or

Ok, good to know.

So not only does it have to be S&W LONG but it must also be the leadwadcutter version????

Thank you guys so much I'm really learning alot and hope to transfer this knowledge into taking care of a wonderful firearm.

Sorry I was not more specific re the loads. Yes the gun shoots only SMITH AND WESSON LONG .32 HBWC. That means flush mounted wadcutters only for the pistol. If you review many of the fine comments on this site regards loads for the S&W long .32 for guns such as the Pardini you will have a better understanding of the accuracy of that round and the sport of ISSF style shooting. You are obviously a new shooter, so you are doing the right things in asking questions. Better safe than sorry.My choice is to never put a bore snake down a fine target barrell. It is not necessary to clean it. This is just me, others may beg to differ on that subject. There is lots of info in the history search on this site regards, guns, rules ammunition etc for ISSF shooting, the type your gun was made for. If it is mounted with the dot scope, that is for NRA 2700 style of shooting. Again this site is useful for educating on the differences in the two styles. You will find that there are a lot of folks that know a lot about target shooting(way more than I ever will) and are very willing to share.

Rob

Be careful not to stick the allen key in the barrel when stripping, its easily done.

JamesH wrote:Be careful not to stick the allen key in the barrel when stripping, its easily done.

Quite true!!

Some more suggestions:

When cleaning, pay particular attention to the bolt face (where the firing pin pops out to strike the primer), as well as the chamber portion of the barrel (the first inch or so) and the extractor hook. These areas need a thorough cleaning as they are the most likely causes of malfunctions if enough residue is allowed to accumulate.

Dont forget to scrub those magazines clean as well.

Get yourself a schematic of the firearm to acquaint yourself with all the parts.

You have in your hands a real treasure - not just because it's a fine firearm but that it came from your grandpa. WOW!!.

You are doing the right thing by asking questions - no matter how basic they may seem, they are all important and indicate how much you value what you have.

Good luck!!

JamesH wrote:Be careful not to stick the allen key in the barrel when stripping, its easily done.

Quite true!!

Some more suggestions:

When cleaning, pay particular attention to the bolt face (where the firing pin pops out to strike the primer), as well as the chamber portion of the barrel (the first inch or so) and the extractor hook. These areas need a thorough cleaning as they are the most likely causes of malfunctions if enough residue is allowed to accumulate.

Dont forget to scrub those magazines clean as well.

Get yourself a schematic of the firearm to acquaint yourself with all the parts.

You have in your hands a real treasure - not just because it's a fine firearm but that it came from your grandpa. WOW!!.

You are doing the right thing by asking questions - no matter how basic they may seem, they are all important and indicate how much you value what you have.

Good luck!!

JamesH wrote:Be careful not to stick the allen key in the barrel when stripping, its easily done.

Quite true!!

Some more suggestions:

When cleaning, pay particular attention to the bolt face (where the firing pin pops out to strike the primer), as well as the chamber portion of the barrel (the first inch or so) and the extractor hook. These areas need a thorough cleaning as they are the most likely causes of malfunctions if enough residue is allowed to accumulate.

Dont forget to scrub those magazines clean as well.

Get yourself a schematic of the firearm to acquaint yourself with all the parts.

You have in your hands a real treasure - not just because it's a fine firearm but that it came from your grandpa. WOW!!.

You are doing the right thing by asking questions - no matter how basic they may seem, they are all important and indicate how much you value what you have.

Good luck!!

Sorry for the multiple posts - what I had to say wasnt nearly THAT important

Extremely soft loads only! The old Pardinis were known for frame cracking. Some combination of metallurgy, thin castings and maybe poorly thought out angles.

If you want to preserve the legacy treat it gently.