TargetTalk

A friend of mine has an opportunity to buy a used SPE. I know there are some breakage problems somewhere. Is it in the frame or the slide? Can the cracks easily be seen? If purchased, do these pistols always break or can they be a sound investment? Are the SPE built the same as the SP, other than the frame enhancements? Last but not least, what kind of price should one gamble for one of these guns? Many thanks in advance to the Target Talk gurus who will know all...

dhurt wrote:A friend of mine has an opportunity to buy a used SPE. I know there are some breakage problems somewhere. Is it in the frame or the slide? Can the cracks easily be seen? If purchased, do these pistols always break or can they be a sound investment? Are the SPE built the same as the SP, other than the frame enhancements? Last but not least, what kind of price should one gamble for one of these guns? Many thanks in advance to the Target Talk gurus who will know all...

I am no Pardini expert but have never heard of an SPE. Using their normal naming convention that would indicate a Standard Pistol with an electronic trigger. I didn't think that gun, although they are probably developing one, had yet been released.

Are you sure that it is not a GPE. If it is then it is a specialised Rapid Fire gun chambered for the .22 short cartridge.

As from January the ISSF rules are changing and, apart from the Centre-Fire match, all ISSF 25m events will have to be shot using .22LR ammunition in Standard Pistols.

There are a lot of .22 short Rapid Fire guns available at bargain basement prices at the moment. You now know why.

The SPE is the predecessor to the current SP. It was available in 22lr and 32wc (under a different name).
The frames are a little lighter as they don't have the "racing stripes" around the mag well. This is the area which had the cracking problems. This problem only occured irregularly in the 32wc version, and was not a problem with the 22, to the best of my knowldge. The SPE in 22 is, in my opinion, an excellent value on the used market. They are often available from $500-700.
I think the mags and many other parts are interchangeable with the current SP, but you'd have to ask Don Nygord to be sure.

If the price is right, go for it!!

Jim

Jim Buckland wrote:The SPE is the predecessor to the current SP. It was available in 22lr and 32wc (under a different name).

I told you I was no Pardini expert. Always happy to learn.

Pardini SPE's in 1985 - I would have to check, but I believe mine has a 3-digit serial no. It has been in constant use since then, although now a bit less then in the past (tendinitis in the elbow). I only had some mag problems at the very beginning, which were promptly corrected (mag spring swap). Other than that, I changed my firing pin once, and renewed the mag springs - that's it. Always reliable, very accurate, excellent trigger, good grip... It will still shoot better than I can, and is as reliable as my HS - but eminently more shootable. Especially the trigger is excellent. With the .22, no frame problems whatsoever, and takedown is quite easy. Just bolt retainer manipulation takes some getting used to. But I do consider it as the best .22 match pistol I ever owned. This pistol just keeps on growing with you, my hat is off to the guy that can shoot it to its full potential! One can do much worse than a Pardini (back then, it was still called Pardini-Fiocchi...)