Pardini HP, a target pistol chambered in 32 S&W. Any knowledge here?

[corbinace]

In the LGS today and saw this very interesting target pistol on the shelf. This is a wadcutter only gun.

It has a carved grip, with an adjustable base. The grip fits my hands "Oh so well".

It has the stock open sights along with an older dot sight. Probably state of the art back in the day.

It comes with about 500 loaded wadcutter rds and 2k wadcutter boolits for future loads.

Only two five-round magazines.

I have not shot Bullseye for years, but they are shooting it in town and I could again.

It seems to be fairly priced if not a bit rich for my blood.

What do you know about this pistol?

https://www.pardiniguns.com/hp-hpe/

[Driver man]

They like a 98grain HBWC driven by 1.5 grains of W231. At 25 yards will shoot the centre out of a target. Do not oil the action just keep clean.
I have found a 98grain dewc mould made by MIHEC which shoots to the same point of aim with the same load. The palm shelf adjustment must be a tight fit to get the wrist into the correct alignment for this pistol. A very very accurate target pistol. Trigger adjustment can be a challenge if you dont understand the mechanism and if the double action trigger is comfortable I would suggest not playing with the trigger at all.

[corbinace]

Thank you Driver Man.

I have been trying to do a little learning on the internet with minimal success.

Your information is very welcome.

[fc60]

Greetings,

There are several variations of the HP pistol.

A photo would help determine the vintage.

Pardini does not support the older pistols parts-wise.

Underneath the pistol, stamped into the frame is a rectangular box with two letters. This is the proof code. It will tell you when it was proofed which should be close to the manufacture date.

https://www.rem870.com/gun-manufacture-date/italian-firearms-year-of-manufacture-look-up/

The above has the proof codes with year.

Cheers,

Dave

[corbinace]

If I had to guess, I would say it is likely older. Due to some clues mentioned by the seller.

I took a couple of pictures of the writing on the side.

MOD. HP CAL 32 W.C. CAT. 6934 MADE IN ITAY

NYGORD PRECISION PRODUCTS PRESCOTT, AZ on the other side is the import mark.

He is only open Friday and Saturday, so it will be a bit until I can look at it again.

Thank you for the information.

[Green Frog]

I have never owned or even shot a Pardini due to a severe chronic case of Lackabux disorder. :cry: A friend of mine bought a used combo model (22 LR & 32 S&W L) many years ago for a casual Bullseye campaign, but I only saw him shoot it as a 22. I did (and sill do) sincerely lust after one and have never heard anything negative about them except their price. I have several Target grade 32 S&W Long revolvers, but if I could get a Pardini without giving up a couple of limbs or vital organs, I’d jump on it. :bigsmyl2:

Froggie

[Mk42gunner]

I like oddball stuff in general and guns specifically. I have no earthly use for one of these target pistols, but I would very much like to have one to play around (I mean seriously test out) with.

Unfortunately I suffer from the same disorder that Froggie does.

Robert

[45workhorse]

Sweet!
Like MK, I have no good reason to own one, but...

[30calflash]

I worked at one of the importers for Pardini years back. It's been over 25 years, this is from memory.

The older ones were HPE's and SPE's. They lack the raised portions on the frame alongside the mag well. The pic you posted has the 3 ribs to beef up the frame. These were added to strengthen the frame as they were known to crack there. Especially the 32's. Not all but I did see a couple that did.

Bolts can also crack alongside the 2 handles on the side of the bolt. Again, older models.

Most likely newer parts will fit or can be made to do so with minimal work. Unless they did a major redesign parts shouldn't be a problem. Grips fit all the semi autos and mags interchanged between old and new of the same type, 32, 22LR or 22 short.

Nygord imported them after Fiocchi did, then MCS imported them before Nygord got the west coast distribution again. Not sure past that point of who handled the product and service.

Very nice pistols to use, I've an older SPE that I acquired from a friend years back. I fired better slow fire scores with Hi Standard but my timed and rapids shot up considerable more so it was win for me.


Thought about it more. In 32 cal the HP's were the newer model and MP's the older.

[Driver man]

I am off to the range to shoot a competition today. I have several competition .32 target pistols but the Pardini is my favorite. I have a Walther GSP and a Benelli world cup but the Pardini has better recoil control and wrist alignment.

[6string]

The Pardini .32, like most European target .32 semiauto pistols have a slow barrel twist intended to stabilize HBWCs out to 25 Meters. They work fine for indoor NRA style bullseye. But, outdoors, the 50 yd accuracy is usually pretty bad. Bore dimensions vary immensely with these pistols, running from .308" to .314". That's a huge range given how small the bore is to begin with! You need to slug your barrel and choose your molds, dies, and even brass accordingly.
There are a few folks who have vastly improved the performance of these pistols by making new barrels out of blanks. You can choose anything from a Lothar Walther blank to a cut-off section of an old 1903-a3 Springfield barrel. On the Pardini, the actual barrel is just press fit and lightly epoxied into the barrel shroud. A bit of heat makes them easy to remove. Just turn your blank for a press fit, with allowance for the shoulder ring. There is no feed ramp, just a cut for the extractor, and of course, the chamber itself.
With a fast twist .308" barrel, and cast wadcutters from .308-.310" (after experimenting with alloy hardness and lube) 10 shot 50 yd. machine rest groups from 1-1.5" are possible.

By the way, Don Nygord did an excellent job with sales and service on these back in the late 90s/early 2000s before his untimely passing. The Pardini .32 you mention was sold by Don for about $1450 then. It was available with a UIT grip or the wraparound Nygord Master grip. The latter grip is incredible!!
Up until then, Pardini in Italy had a pledge to always supply parts for all of their firearms, including long discontinued models. Larry Carter took over after Don, and he loused it up. Guns and parts were hard to come by, and Larry could be very difficult to deal with for service. Now, there is Pardini USA in Florida. They do a good job on technical support for competitors and new products. They don't care about the older guns at all, and will barely give you the time of day if you inquire. My phone calls and emails, while promptly responded to, never get better than : "Oh, that's an old gun. Parts are hard to come by. Pardini doesn't supply them anymore. We'll check what we have and get back with you."
After, several such conversations, I have yet to receive anything more than that.
Remember, even the most current model will eventually become a discontinued model. Then what? That's when customer service really counts!
Emil and Alex at Pardini USA are excellent pistol shooters/competitors, but as salesmen or for technical support they're terrible. Totally unacceptable given the price tags on these guns!

[Driver man]

I have pretty much the same problem in NZ