It is a well-known fact that I love Commander-length pistols. I like them because they balance better in my hand than their full-size brothers (the Government ones), they point more naturally for me and I find them aesthetically pleasant. For equally well-known reasons, acquiring a Colt Combat Commander doesn't look to be something I can expect to happen in the near future, so in the past few months, I've tried to satisfy my desire for those Commanders, by acquiring some airsoft models. One of them is the subject of this review, the Para Ordnance P14.45 Combat Carry (or P14.45CC for short) from Western Arms.
Mike Cripps of Elite Shooting Center in UK mentioned me the Para P14.45CC from Western Arms, when discussing my Commander love affair with him. This is a Commander length pistol, with most of the features I wanted, except for its short sights. For some reason WA had used the tiny GI sights on this pistol, while they use the taller ones on the 5" P14.45 that Ted Szabo had brought me two years ago. I have never before heard about this pistol, so, I told Mike to order one for me. I considered it another small tribute to my beloved, late friend Ted and I wanted to add it to my airsoft exhibition display shelf.
The pistol arrived (together with several other boxes which contained parts for my Commander project, more about this in another article, soon to appear in here) and upon opening the uninspiring WA box, here is what I found inside.
I must admit the pistol looked terrific. And when I picked it up, I was pleasently surprised from its weight. My not-so-accurate scale showed 980 grs for it, with a loaded magazine in place (which can take up to 25 BBs).
A little discussion here is in order, regarding the authenticity of this pistol. As far as I know, Para Ordnance never produced a pistol called P14.45CC (for Combat Carry, as it says on the box). Actually, Para never produced a pistol with a Commander-length slide matted to a P14 frame. The Para Commander-length pistol of that era was the Para P13.45, which had a shorter frame than the P14 and accepted magazines with one less round than its bigger stablemate. So, as far as authenticity, this pistol looses some points, since it doesn't represent any real Para Ordnance model. For me however, the usage of the P14 frame for this pistol, was not only acceptable but rather welcome. You see, my P14.45 which was donated to me by my Ted Szabo was the only pistol in my collection, for which I had only one magazine (I always try to have at least two magazines for each airsoft pistol I own). The P14.45CC gave me the second magazine I needed.
Here are some more pictures of the P14.45CC.
Typical muzzle end with bushing and the short recoil spring guide rod and checkered recoil spring plug. Plus one for these features, I do not fancy the full-length guide rods.
Nicely checkered main spring housing, very correct-looking Commander grip safety and round Para Ordnance hammer, very much like the original items used on the Para pistols of that era.
The sights were the only parts of this pistol that left a lot to be desired. They are the old, WWII, GI style sights, that I find impossible to use. A set of new, taller ones was ordered from Elite Shooting Center, in order to replace these.
The 25 rounds magazine is the usual, staggered column thing that WA supplies with the P14s. The one that came with this pistol had a problematic filing valve, which was easily replaced with one from a damaged Wilson Combat magazine I had in my parts box. The replacement valve worked fine, so my second P14 magazine was added to my collection.
Overall, I just liked the P14.45CC. I started carrying it in the house, and it provided a great fun while plinking in my garden. I could hit moving targets at distances of 8-10 meters with unaimed firing easily. I liked it so much, that I decided to ask Mike to try and find me a metal frame/slide kit for it. Unfortunately, Mike confirmed my suspission, that it would be too difficult to find such a kit for this old airsoft pistol. They were no longer available. Not that it is absolutely necessary, since the pistol is heavy enough as it came from the factory, but it would be nice if I could find such a kit.
With the pistol being so nice, I had to do something about those horrible sights. Well, an email to Mike was enough to bring me a set of taller sights from a 5" P14.45, which of course were fitted on the short pistol. The rear one was a direct swap, but the front required some ... dremel work. Nothing serious, but the sight on the P14.45CC was fixed, an extension of the slide, so I had to do some inventive work and use some JB Weld to secure the taller sight in place. Here is the end result.
With this change completed, I took the pistol to my "personal firing range", in other words my garden. Shooting the P14.45CC for score was what one would expect from an older WA model. Groups between 1.5" and 2.5" are normal from this pistol.
Power-wise, the pistol was comparable to other WA pistols we've tried punching through one side of the Coke can, bulging the other side, but didn't exit.
Overall, this pistol has earned its place not only in my airsoft collection display cabinet but also in my heart. I just like this Commander-size pistol a lot, mainly because of its handling characteristics. Ted Szabo was correct when he told me once, that the fat grip of the Para double-column pistols is not a disadvantage, but for some people it can be a definite plus. Rest in peace my friend, your creations are appreciated.
Accuracy: 3
Upgradeability: 3
Training Capability: 5
Realism: 4
Quality: 4
Power: 2
Overall: 21
Note on Gas
With all Western Arms pistols, you are supposed to use the HFC 134A gas. Using Green gas in them, will cause problems, premature wear etc. HFC 134A is giving slightly less performance (lower BB speed), when compared to Green Gas. Green Gas should not be used in unaltered pistols made in Japan, like the WA ones.
With the above warning noted, I have to admit that I am testing all pistols using ... propane. Green Gas is in reality propane, with a little silicone oil added, to lubricate the pistols. So instead of paying for Green Gas, I bought a canister of propane, like the ones sold in US for the camping stoves, or flame torches, and a special valve adaptor, which allows me to use the much cheaper propane instead of Green Gas. In this site, you can read more on this issue:
http://www.airsoft-innovations.com
The reason I am ignoring the manufacturer's recommendation, as far as gas is concerned, is two-fold. First, I want to have consistent environment for all the tests (some of the pistols we'll test here use HFC 134A, some use Green Gas), and second it's plain difficult to find HFC 134A in Greece. Also, I plan to upgrade all the standard pistols (like this one) so that it is safe to use Green Gas (and thus propane) with them.
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