TargetTalk

Looking at buying a .22 Pardini SP New for B.E. Seems at present there are 2 ways to attach a dot sight to this pistol. Method A: Use rings made to fit the existing grooves in the barrel shroud. UPSIDE- Only the rings and sight will add extra weight to pistol. DOWNSIDE- Some say the shroud grooves are thin/shallow and that rings tend to "walk" forward over time. Method B: Use the scope base available from Larry's Guns. UPSIDE- This mount features a Weaver-type base, very secure/strong attachment system (no ring walk). DOWNSIDE-This adds more weight to pistol, probably changing the balance of it. I have never held an SP; have only seen photos of them. Looks like the top surface of the barrel shroud that extends forward from the rear sight is rather broad and flat. What would be wrong with just having 4 holes drilled and tapped into top of barrel shroud and then attaching a flat-bottomed section of Weaver scope base stock? The scope base could be a 1 piece section or, to further reduce weight, use 2 pieces. Use a dab of blue Loc-tite on the 4 mounting screws to keep everything secure. Is there a downside to doing this? Is the barrel shroud made of aluminum or steel and just how thick is it? Is it of sufficient dimension to allow enough threads to be machined into each hole in order to allow proper mounting/holding power? The UPSIDE- a light and strong mount that won't "walk" and does not change balance of pistol much. I have seen this done on 2 Walther pistols, but don't know if it could be done on an SP. What do you think?

Hello,
I have an SP-22 New, bought new this year from Larry. I too read all the horror stories, so when Larry shipped the SP to me with a new UltraDot 1" which I bought, due to being told by his shop that the 30mm wouldn't work, I also bought a set of "special" Pardini rings for the mounting of the 1" Ultradot. The Pardini arrived, and I decided to try one of my 30mm UltraDot Matchdots, which I prefer over the 1" UltraDot, just for fun. It fit on the Pardini with the supplied-by-Ultradot 30mm rings (everybody says they are cheap, but they work if you tighten them as directed, bottom first), and I have yet to find any ring walk, Ultradot looseness, or any other problem. All I know is I wasted money on rings I didn't need, and on a 1" Ultradot that I didn't really care for. The rings are on a shelf just in case I ever want to put them on my Nylon 66. The 1" Ultradot is on an old High Standard, doing fine even though it wasn't needed. Perhaps Pardini just product-improved the rail, but it has yet to have a problem, and I have over 5,000 rounds and a lot of banging around with it. Of course, until you try out your own gun, you'll just have to guess, but I would save my money and buy the SP-22, mount your favorite red-dot and see what happens. You can always add Larry's mount later, same price and a minor inconvenience. Sometime KISS really does work.
Good luck....Amanda4461

I purchased my Pardini SP from Don Nyhgord many years ago. It came with a pair of ADCO aluminum rings which Don modified by removing metal friom the bottom of the rings. They have served me well with a 30mm Tasco Big Dot for many years - no ring walk.

Amanda 4461
Thanks for your reply. I'm a little confused about something. You mounted a 30 mm Ultradot sight directly onto your SP using the "supplied-by-Ultradot 30 mm rings". Just how were you able to do that? I have used Ultradot's 1" sight along with their 1" rings on a HS Victor using a HS-made Weaver cantilever mount. As I understand it, the Ultradot rings are of a Weaver-pattern and will only fit onto a Weaver-type base, due to the fact that the ring bottoms have long screws (cross-screws) in them that must pass through corresponding cross-slots that are in the base. On the last photo I saw of an SP, there were no cross-slots machined into the top of the barrel shroud to accomodate the previously mentioned cross-screws. Also, I've read where people who used rings on the SP had to have the "claw" portion thinned in order to be able to properly clamp them into the shroud grooves for a good fit. Aren't your Ultradot's ring "claws" too large in dimension to properly engage the groove? When attached to your pistol the way you have it, do the cross-screws end up sitting above the shroud without contacting it? Or is Pardini now machining an integral Weaver base right into the top of the barrel shroud? Thanks again!

My SP-22 has the slots machined similar to my AR15 flat-top. If I get a chance tonight, I'll get it out and take a picture of the pistol with the Matchdot attached. I have to exercise and re-assemble my Clark Hardball first.
Amanda4461

I filed down some millet rings 10 years ago for my pardini and used the factory grooves, haven't touched it since then, no problems. FYI, I tightened the bottom screw first and used blue loctite.

Cheers,
Steve.

Maybe this will ease your mind. check out the pictures of the 30mm UltraDot MatchDot with UltraDot Rings on the SP-22. All OEM.
Sorry it took so long for the pics. I had to play with the Clark's 4-prong Sear spring last night, and it took longer than I figured to get it just right.
Amanda4461

Amanda,
That looks like a real solid rig.
Tony

Tony-
I have found this pistol every bit as solid as my old Benelli MP-90s was, only the Pardini is slightly more accurate, and more expensive. I don't know why Larry's told me to order the 1" Ultradot and PSR-1 1" Rings, when the SP-22 appears made for the 30mm Matchdot. Larry's told me back in May of this year, that "The rings that come with the UltraDots will not fit on the Pardini without the mount. The PSR-1 rings are an accessory." I just assumed that I got lucky, Pardini listened to early adopters, and product-improved the rail. I would recommend buying the SP-22, waiting until it was in-hand to verify the ring spacing, in case one receives an earlier, non-30mm-friendly rail, then adding the red dot. You will most likely wish to sight the Irons in first anyway, so a brief wait for red dot installation shouldn't be a big ordeal. As for the Pardini, if you like the grip angle, the pistol is extremely reliable and accurate, with a low muzzle rise. I tend to believe that the MP90s has a crisper trigger, but I haven't adjusted my SP-22's trigger yet either. Pardini parts are difficult to get, as I found out when trying to buy extra mags. Took Larry's from 7/07 until 10/25 to get my two measely magazines delivered. I think Pardini promises more Customer Service than they can deliver, but I give them an A+ on quality and exceptional functionality.
Amanda4461

Amanda4461
Thank you so very much for going to the trouble of posting the recent pics of your Pardini; truly appreciate your efforts to help. I now just looked at photos of SP pistols on the websites of Larry's Guns and Pardini USA. Trusting that both are current, neither 1 of them showed this pistol with the Weaver-type mount on it as your's has; I could see the longitudinal grooves that are factory-machined into the top of the barrel shroud, however. I am going to assume that prior to shipping your SP, Larry's installed his own aftermarket scope base onto it, which allowed you to easily attach your 30 mm Ultradot using the Ultradot-supplied rings. Thanks again.

Alexander, you are correct, Amanda's SP has Larry's weaver scope mount on the top. See the thread titled "Pardini Scope Mount" about half way down the page in this forum.

Alexander,
I was intrigued by your idea, so I did a small search this morning. The attached picture is of Larry's Guns' Pardini mount. It is even marked as such. While my SP-22 looks identical, it has no markings on the rail, as in the picture. I went back and looked at my invoice from 5/24/11. I bought this SP-22 during Larry's "Stimulous" program, receiving a $300 coupon on the price, and a $500 Tax Receipt for a donated High Standard Citation. The invoice lists the extra mag, firing pin, buffer, 1" Ultradot and 1" rings, but no mention of the sight rail. Guess Larry had an extra unmarked rail and let me have it. I know that it works with 30mm UltraDots, but don't know why I got a "free" mount.
Thanks for the heads-up.
Amanda4461