2001 "Innovator of the Year"

Having won back-to-back "Handgun of the Year" awards many companies might have stopped there, but Para has a tradition of always bringing leading-edge technology to the firearms world. At the 2001 SHOT Show Para showed two prototype models of compact .45 ACP pistols to dealers, distributors and writers to get their feedback on the new pistols. Those pistols, the new Para Companion and the Parry Carry, were released in 2001 and received rave reviews from handgunners around the world.

The Para Carry was proclaimed the “World’s Smallest DAO .45 Auto” by the editors of GUNS & AMMO magazine when it was introduced in 2001. “Rapid fire groups at 7 yards testified to the surprising controllability of the little pistol and the continually improving evolution of the LDA trigger…” reported the magazine in its August issue. It went on to win Para its third consecutive “Gunny” award for “Innovation of the Year ” from the magazine.

There is no question that the LDA trigger system makes the Para Carry the safest sub-compact, big-bore autoloader to carry with its triple safety system (slide lock safety, grip safety and internal firing pin safety) and flush hammer. Innovation like this is what everyone has come to expect from Para. But the innovation never stops and in 2004, continuing with the award-winning tradition, Para has improved upon the Para Carry’s design even further by adding not only the Power Extractor but the new GRIPTOR™ grasping grooves on the slide and the front strap as well. GRIPTOR™ gives your hand more holding surface on the front strap of the pistol, and their horizontal ridges help you to naturally control recoil.