Paragon Sales

[KYGun]

Does anyone know if Paragon Sales is still in business. I use to love their ads in the Shotgun News, and miss em now. They had great prices on cheap military stuff.

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Keep on shooting, KYGun

[recon]

There gone!

[KYGun]

what happened to em? Did they sell their stock to another company or get in trouble or what?

They blew up to many peoples guns with there bogus surplus .308 and .223. They were selling surplus ammo that was overloaded that should have been sold for componets only and not as shooting ammo. But as their ads stated "great shooting ammo". Some lots were factory rejects and sold as the good stuff. $50 per 1000 for componets only Vs $150 per 1000 shotable ammo. This just goes to show you where greed gets you- out of buisness because of law suits.

[KYGun]

Hmmmm. I guess I got lucky. I got some great deals from em and never had any problems. If they were still open and I found this out though I would use them anymore. Faulty stuff and false advertising is no good. Wonder what they done with all the junk though. It was still good stuff for reloading etc.

[kit_gun_fun]

Paragon is back in business. They have an ad in the latest Shotgun News. I placed an order with them today for 900 rounds of Greek surplus .303 British and 2000 rounds of 7.62 x 54R. The 7.62 was sold as "component recovery only" ammo. This ad is not nearly as flamboyant as previous ones.

David

[Mr. Inbetween]

Kit gun,

lemme know how the .303 shoots.

[Mr. Inbetween]

Kit gun,

lemme know how the .303 shoots.

[Turbinator]

Guys.. Hate to rain on any parade, but if any of you have followed the posts on rec.guns about Paragon.. you'll hear about ammo that looked like it was waterlogged for years, scraped up off the ground (dirt included in the ammo can), or picked up from the battlefields of some foreign country.

I read enough bad about Paragon that I've stayed away, no matter how good their prices looked.

Your mileage will most likely vary, but take it as a word of caution if I may be so humble as to suggest it.

Turbinator

[recon]

There latest ad in the shotgun news says there liquidating there entire inventory so I assuming there going out of buisness again. go figure.

[KYGunz]

Man, with paragon though, their prices sorta draw you in huh? I've never got anything from them yet that I haven't been satisfied with. I hope they stay open myself. They do have a lot of good stuff, and luckily I've not ran upon any crap yet.

[kit_gun_fun]

As I reflect on my previous dealings with Paragon, I felt I always got exactly what was advertised. Usually, I purchased "for component recovery only" type ammo. .308 Win which turned out to be Bulgarian, 7.62 x 54R from which I recoverd projectiles only, Israeli "grab bag" which included a sample of absolutely everything you could hand or shoulder launch.

As for the "total liquidation" ploy, that's one of the oldest scams in retail sales. They will continue to stay in business as long as they can turn a buck.

It was a great deal of fun for the died in the wool handloader and serious hoarder.

My only complaint and it is a selfish one, is that I sometimes suspected that they would fill orders closer to their business address than ship to me on the west coast and lose money on their freight offer. Now the buyer pays 100% of freight so there won't be any more of this funny business.

I will continue to sift through their ads to find the "good deals" and take my chances.

David

[kit_gun_fun]

Mr. Inbetween,

I can usually expect UPS delivery in 5 days from the Midwest To the Portland, OR area, so if they shipped the day I placed my order, I should see it Thursday or maybe Friday.

I had recently purchased 600 rounds of Greek .303 British on Vickers cloth belts from AIM. Every fifth round out of a 250 round belt had been removed, tracers I'm guessing. This stuff is as close to perfect as I could ever expect to receive.

The stuff Paragon is offering is 300 rounds to a spam(?) can and is on Enfield stripper clips. It was a few cents a round cheaper than the AIM ammo.

I will respond as soon as I receive it and report on condition. I have relatives flying in from Denver for the weekend and if everything works out right, we'll run up to the range and test it out.

Half the fun in mail order is waiting to see what kind of a deal (screwing?) you got!!!!

David

[pasamson]

They could be doing the bankruptcy/reorganization thing. Have to shut down for inventory/? then reorganize with a new business plan. Just ordered some mags from them so I hope everything goes well.

[kit_gun_fun]

Some things never change. Specifically, Paragon's lackadaisical shipping record. If they had shipped on the 30th or the 1st like they promised, I would have my ammo order now. Oh, well. Cool my heels and wait.

David

[stahlhelm]

When I was at Knob Creek last Saturday I went in Paragons display tent. They had some decent stuff but alot of it looked rough. I say stay away from Paragon. A lady I know that runs a shop I frequent almost had to file a law suit on Paragon to get the merchandise she ordered. Theyre not the most ethical group of people out there.

[recon]

I called them today about mags as I thought they were out. Then I inqured about some other things and they said there in the process of liquadateing every thing. So it sounds like there on there way out again and probably for the last time.

[kit_gun_fun]

Hey Mr Inbetween!!!

Report on Paragon order!!

I received half my order yesterday, specifically the Greek .303.
(The Russian component junk is still missing as well as the packing slip and the credit card receipt!!)
The .303 was in tin cans/tin boxes, soldered shut, which easily opened when I pulled on the handle. The label on the cans was thus:
300 CTGS
CAL. 0.303"
BALL MK7Z
5 RD CLIPS
BANDOLEERS
LOT 33 HXP 73

Further it was packed six bandoleers to a tin, ten clips to a bandoleer. Bright, shiny, really pretty stuff. Zero corrosion. Primers laquered green.

In my zeal to inspect, I ripped open a tin which promptly reached out and cut the back side of my hand. Bled for 5 minutes. Damn sharp.

Be carefull!!!!

I have not had a chance to shoot any nor have I had a chance to break any down to see the exact bullet weight or the charge weight.

I got out my Military Small Arms Ammunition of the World, 1945 to 1980.

I looked up MXP.

It said "Greek manufactured".

I went to the Greek section. It said essentially if it had an HXP headstamp that is was made for "export" . God only knows who received it. Does anyone know?

The Vickers belted I received from AIM was not laquered and was "70" and it was every bit as pretty.

I think I will run the risk and call Paragon tomorrow and order another 900 rounds. I think at that point, I will feel secure with my .303 stock.

Incidentally, the cost difference between the AIM and the Paragon was a whomping $0.00825 difference or less than a penny a round, with Paragon holding the price edge. Keep in mind that the Paragon was in tins, bandoleers and clips.

I hope this helps some of you make your buying decisions.

Good Luck!!

David (didn't get burned this time!!! [yet])

[This message has been edited by kit_gun_fun (edited 10-12-1999).]

[This message has been edited by kit_gun_fun (edited 10-13-1999).]

[KYGunz]

Anybody know the history behind paragon? How long they been around?

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keep on Shooting, KYGunz

[v188]

I ordered some 40 round mags on Monday from Paragon and I got them today (Thursday). They were nice looking, one was slightly used, one was used, one was new and two were like new.

Paragon was quick efficient and gave me good stuff.

[kit_gun_fun]

KYgunz,

I have been subscribing to Shotgun News for way over ten years and I am sure they were advertising when I first subscribed.

My own opinion is that they tried to operate on too small a margin and are not making enough to get by. They used to pay the freight to all but the eight western states and now it is "FOB shipping point", you pay all freight. If this is what it takes to stay in business, great!! I still say I got just exactly what I paid for and expected on every sale.

I would have to go through a tall stack of receipts to be certain, but I would guess I have spent well over $1,500 with Paragon over the past ten plus years and never "blew up a gun".

David

[KYGunz]

That's me Kit, I've had the SGN for a good 5 years anyway and always saw their ads as one of my favs. I've ordered quite a bit off and on and never had any bad luck. I wonder when they first opened and is some of the stuff they sell today from when they opened up? LOL

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keep on Shooting, KYGunz

[pasamson]

I ordered 10 of the 30 rnd mags and they arrived last night packed 2 per plastic bag with the mags wrapped in anti-rust paper. I only opened one of the bags and the mags look new. Great deal for under (barely) $10.00 a mag including shipping, wished I'd ordered 20. I'm a happy camper.

[recon]

That`s exactly the kind I got. Your right should have order a lot more. Oh well.

[NetJunkie]

They were out of mags when I called...oh well. I still have my order in with Sarco for 22. I also just got 26 chinese mags I got from someone on the subguns board. $12.50 each shipped. Brand new still sealed up in bags of 5 with cosmoline. Very nice for long term storage.

[recon]

Sarco still has them? What about subguns web site or number do you have it. Thanks.

[NetJunkie]

Sarco said they had some in another warehouse...gonna be another month on my order which is annoying. I ordered before others on here and they got theirs.

The guy at subguns only had these 26. I believe you even responded to his post asking a question. http://www.ak-47.net/akcgi/smile.gif

I don't need this many, I'll probably end up selling off the mags from Sarco.

[kit_gun_fun]

It is interesting to see where this rabbit trail has wandered. It started with Paragon Sales.

David