Pardini SP .22 lr - Amazing Gun

[Jebus35745]

This gun came up quick from a friend at the club that’s selling everything because he can’t shoot anymore. Former bullseye shooter. Came with a lot of extras plus 7 mags total. Been wanting a Hammerli 280 again, this gun is very similar “in a way” but parts are available if something goes wrong. With the Hammerli you’re SOL if something breaks.

The old guys meet every Tuesday morning at the club to shoot and BS with coffee. Shot it twice so far and totally love it. Able to keep most shots in the black which is unusual now but common when younger. Not getting into bullseye again, just wanted accuracy. Did some sanding on the grips so my hand fits comfortably, will adjust more as time passes.

The trigger I left as Gary had it adjusted. A small light first stage and about a 2 lb second stage. The trigger is adjustable forward and backwards in the trigger guard for finger length, up and down height wise and it can be tilted a little as shown in the pictures.

It has a dry fire insert to practice at home and is easy to cock after firing. Easy cocking is easy on my arthritic hands. I recently put all 6 weights in the front of the gun, 4 steel and two tungsten. It shot good with little muzzle rise, might just use the 6 steel weights and sell the 2 tungsten ones.

It came with an Ultra Dot mounted and has 4 dot sizes, the 2 moa is best for me. I like the style and the front magazine position.

Gonna shoot the S&W model 41 again next week and it it doesn’t shoot for me it will be for sale. I would never have bought one of these new, the price is 3 grand. Larry

 

[Engineer1911]

That is a used Bullseye gun? What does a new one look like?

Beautiful shootin' iron ! ! !

 

[bc1023]

Very nice!

Pardini builds outstanding pistols. I’m not a huge rimfire guy, but I love Pardini’s center fire handguns. None of their firearms are cheap, but well worth it.

 

[6string]

Pardini make great target pistols. Over the years, they have offered multiple models for all of the International shooting disciplines: Standard, Centerfire, Rapid Fire, Free Pistol, and Air.

I have shot most of them. My Pardini air pistols get daily use on my 10 meter basement range. I keep records of my shots fired, groupings, etc.
These are a few 10 and 25 shot offhand groups, using the K60 CO2 pistol. It’s from the 1980s/90s.
My Pardini SP22 is the preceding version to Larry’s shown in post #1. It’s about 25 years old.
I sold three pistols to raise the money: a Colt Woodsman, a T/C Contender, and a S&W .455 2nd model HE, all shooter grade guns.
I have no regrets!

A Pardini is a lifetime investment that will give you all the performance and shooting satisfaction you could hope for from a target pistol.

Nice acquisition, Larry!

PS: Now that you have the current Bullseye model, you might want to consider a .32 Conversion Unit. They are available in 32 S&W Long Wadcutter (for Int’l Centerfire) or 32 ACP (for American “2700” CF). The latter has a special fast twist barrel for the 50 yd line.

 

[6string]

Just to illustrate the pedigree of the Pardini pistol, here’s a video from the 2024 World Cup featuring the Men’s 25 Meter Rapid Fire Pistol final stage. The event was held that year in Baku, Azerbaijan.
At this point of the match, competitors from all over the world have already been eliminated in the semi-finals. These six guys are the finalists.
Every one of them is shooting the Pardini “SP Rapid”:

https://youtu.be/UHA8Vzm5YR4?si=N4OnMMPvs2FZgFeG

The SP Rapid and SP Bullseye (shown in the OP) are very similar, except the Rapid has a lighter bolt and heavier recoil spring. I think the chamber on the rapid is larger by .001”-.002” in a few critical areas. All of these mods make for a faster, lighter recoiling action cycle.

 

[SS336]

Wow, that’s sweet!
I know what you mean when you say Hammerli 280 parts are hard to come by. I have a complete upper barrel assembly and a complete slide tucked away. But it would sure be better to have a pistol like yours with the parts available. My 280 is from the middle 90s and has a lot of rounds through it.
Great acquisition.

 

[Jebus35745]

Looks like the Pardini SP is the gun to shoot in international events. Forget to mention the width of the rear sight is adjustable also. I may take the Ultra Dot off Tuesday morning and shoot with open sights once. Taking the model 41 also that has open sights, gonna have a shoot out. Normally me and open sights don’t get along well, large groups mysteriously appear on the target.

The extra firing pins, mag springs and recoil springs will come in handy over time. Glad CCI Standard velocity works good in it, have a lot of it. Posted a pic of the Hammerli and Pardini to show the similarities, Larry

 

[6string]

Adjusting the Pardini trigger, by Don Nygord

Hi Larry,
The Pardini sights are excellent.

Nice to have the extra parts, but, besides keeping up on the recoil spring, I doubt you’ll need them.

As you know, the trigger is also superb.
When I got mine, Don Nygord was the importer and gunsmith. Don was a world class shooter himself. So, he was a great source of information.
Provided here are Don’s personal instructions on adjusting the Pardini SP trigger.

ALSO(!): I have included a copy of Doug White’s diagram of the Pardini trigger mechanism. Doug is a great guy, a superb coach who possesses a wealth of information about target pistols and precision pistol shooting. He coaches the excellent collegiate Pistol Team at MIT.

PS: I don’t think most folks who shoot American made “target” pistols fully appreciate the benefits and quality of a truly world class adjustable trigger. This goes so far beyond utilizing a “drop in” trigger kit!


“ADJUSTING THE PARDINI SP/HP TRIGGER
This pistol is designed to have a two stage pull and most shooters who take the time to get acquainted with a two stage system end up liking it and doing better than with the American "High Standard/Model 41 " trigger. To use a two stage pull, you pull through or "take up" the longer "1st stage" quickly to where you feel the sudden increase in resistance which is the onset of the "2nd stage" which is short and crisp. As the 2nd stage is "squeezed" through more slowly, the gun fires. The take up of the 1st stage is automatic on recoil during timed and rapid fire and becomes hardly noticeable in a very short time.

OK. Lets take the Owners manual in hand and open it up to the middle of the book where it shows the trigger mechanism and the instructions on adjustment. As we will be doing lots of "dry-firing" be sure the dry fire plug is in the chamber of the pistol on the SP (not really necessary for the HP.) We need to start with screw "CP" which accessible only after taking the grip from the gun.


The SP trigger Assembly

1. Back out screw "CP" counterclockwise about 2 turns.

2. Back out strews "PG" and "TS" counterclockwise about 2 turns. At this point you should have play between the trigger bar/dis-connector and the sear and you should have plenty of sear engagement with the hammer. You may or may not have two stages to the trigger pull.

3. Back out "PS" counterclockwise about 2 turns. Back out "CS" a couple of turns. Now you should have a long continuous creepy pull with lots of "free-play" or take-up. At this point, while the trigger pull is like that of a double action revolver, you will at least have a "safe" gun. Now lets refine:

4. Turn "CS" in clockwise until you feel the "2nd stage" appear about at the end of the pull. (You will have contacted the spring loaded ball bearing inside "CS". The load on this ban is determined by "PS".) You can fine tune the length of this "2nd stage" by tiny adjustments in "CS" until you get the kind of feel you like. Most shooters want this to be "crisp" or in other words a short 2nd stage (the part you squeeze off at the end of the pull).

5. Now there are two parts to the "front" part of the pull. or "1st stage" . The initial part is the taking up of the gap between the trigger bar and the ear of the sear - this is usually called the "free play" The other part is the real "1st stage" and in this pistol design you are sliding the sear almost all the way out of the hammer notch during this stage. YOU MUST HAVE SOME OF THIS "1st STAGE"!! The most common error in trying to customize the feel of the trigger on this gun is to "dial out" all the 1st stage and make the trigger like a Model 41. This is what makes the gun "double" and not hold. etc. We control this amount of sear engagement and thus the "1st stage" with screw "CP". So, now:

6. Turn in screw "CP" so you have some definite 1st stage travel (after the free play take-up). Leave as much of this travel in as you can tolerate. At the end of this 1st stage travel and before the hammer falls you will contact the spring loaded ball bearing and be at the 2nd stage which is short and crisp. If not, go back to 3 and 4 and play around until you do.

7. Now turn in screw "PG" to adjust the free play or take-up. Make sure that the trigger bar will go up into position after the gun is cycled and the trigger released and then leave just a tiny bit more for reliability.

8. Now we are ready to adjust the weight of the total pull. This is to be 2 lbs. for NRA rules and 1000 grams for UIT rules (2 l/4Ibs). The weight of the 1st stage is controlled by the sear spring (which is essentially non adjustable) and by screw "PP". The weight of the 2nd stage is controlled by screw "PS" which is inside "CS". The total weight is usually divided up equally between the 1st stage and the 2nd stage. This makes the pull "self-calibrating". When you are in a match, the arousal level often creates deceptive sensory input and one day the trigger will feel very heavy and another day very light. With this kind of set-up at least you know that when you take up the 1st stage you have applied 1/2 the required pressure. This can be very comforting in a major match where you don't want to be too conservative on the trigger and lose time and yet also don't want to "shoot a snake in the nose" while at the 45 degree ready position. So, turn the appropriate screws the appropriate amount until you get the balance of weights on 1st and 2nd stage you prefer.

9. Finally, lets adjust the over-travel of the trigger after the hammer falls. This is done with screw "TS". Turn it in until you have the amount of over-travel you prefer (you have to leave some, you know!”

 

[Jebus35745]

Shot it 4 times so far, having stove pipes. Need to take the slide off and clean it especially around the extractor. I’ll put in a new recoil spring in reassembly.

This gun shoots nice and the trigger pull is light with a short /light first stage take up. Gonna leave the trigger alone, the previous owner did it right. I’ll leave the 6 steel weights in and sell the 2 tungsten weights.

Need to do a little more sanding on the grip, it’s close. Larry