taurus PT 1911

[rrflyer]

I bought one when the first came out a little over two years ago i think. I put about 6,000 rounds through it before I buldged the barrel with a squib. I really liked it.

[Tokarev]

I bought one when the first came out a little over two years ago i think. I put about 6,000 rounds through it before I buldged the barrel with a squib. I really liked it.

What did you do with it after this? Did you send it back to Taurus for repair?

[rrflyer]

I bought one when the first came out a little over two years ago i think. I put about 6,000 rounds through it before I buldged the barrel with a squib. I really liked it.

What did you do with it after this? Did you send it back to Taurus for repair?

Actually sold the reciever for about 350 bucks for a guy to build a carbine out of and put that cash toward an STI Trojan. Think I stilll have the slide...........

[pntbllr228]

I have a pt1911. Swapped out the safety, hammer, and added a magwell. I love it. No jams, very accurate, and nothing else Ive shot can beat it for the price.

[sperman]

I have a pt1911. Swapped out the safety, hammer, and added a magwell. I love it. No jams, very accurate, and nothing else Ive shot can beat it for the price.

Could you take the 9mm and re-barrel it for .40 S&W?

[Jamiethesquid]

Well this is my first post on the forum so here goes.

I bought a Taurus PT1911 stainless early 2008, as I was leaving the Navy after 13 years of service and looking to get into IDPA at my club up here in Maine. I was a Bullseye shooter and Service Rifle Competitor in the Navy and knew 1911 was the route for me. I love a great many pistol and rifle designs but the 1911 feesl so right to me in so many ways. All of my Bullseye guns were issued team guns that came from Top Notch, National Match, Navy Armorers in Crane Indiana. The last pistol I bought was quite a few years prior and that was a Glock .357 Sig.

Looking around at 1911s from the custom makers my heart sunk. No doubt about the quality and value of these custom pistols but WOW, my wallet was in big danger, I was looking for a new career and had no idea how long it would be until my next paycheck.

I saw that Taurus promo ad in the gun magazines and thought, I gotta see this, so off to the gun store I go. Good trigger, Heinie sights (this is a carry as well as a competition gun for me). Reasonable quality and the full list of promised features. $620 out the door. SOLD.

Since then I have shot the gun regularly in practice, IDPA matches (Monthly Club Matches, Maine State Match 2008/ 2nd place CDP MM and the 2009 S&W Indoor Nationals/4th Place CDP MM). I also shoot falling plate with it, and last weekend shot my first USPSA match in Augusta, Maine. Slow fire it will eat the center out of a shoot-n-see at 25 yards with any ammo I feed it, WWB, PMC, American Eagle, MagTech, Hydra Shoks, 185 gr. SWC Federal Gold medal match, My reloads: Berry's, Laser Cast, Montana Gold, A friends reloads, CCI primers, Federal Primers, Winchester Primers, Remington primers, Hodgdon Clay's, Bullseye Powder, 1.190"-1.250" OAL, Factory Crimp Die or not.....Am I happy with it....you bet your sweet bippy I am.

For Modifications: I ditched the stock plastic grips in favor of a set of Cocobolo Ahrends Tactical Checkered, Wilson SS hex grip screws, 7 Wilson Elite tactical Mags, Wilson Ez-Loader Magwell, Novak Fiber Front Sight, Wolff 18.5 pound recoil spring, Wolff extra power firing pin spring, and an Infinity Tri-glide trigger with the interchangable trigger shoes just because I wanted a short straight trigger. And a Pack of Shok-buffs. Function is great, like any 1911, it screams to be customized and tinkered with, I have taken my Dremel and emery cloth to the sharp edges, I have buffed it up until you could shave in the slide sides, I have rubbed it down with Maroon Scotch Brite Pads for that nice brushed look. The Passenger side thumb safety was a bit loose out of the box, I am a lefty so elimination was out of the question, I solved this in 2 minutes with a spring loaded center punch and a pair of needle nose pliers. I putt a single Peen in the center of each side of the blade and gently squeezed the slot side closed. Now when the two sides are put together they click together and stay married throughout any match or practice session. I can't imagine sending my gun all the way back to the factory for such a minor fix but some have gone to such extremes.

Now would I dare do this to a $2,000 dollar custom shop Blaster, No Way. I'm not stupid. Did I need any of the above mods. You bet. Cause now it's mine!

After talking to an accomplished fellow shooter here named "Tad", about some other mods I thought I might like, he recommended that I talk to his pistolsmith in Portsmouth NH. His Name is Steve Hutton, He started his gunsmithing career with EJ Churchill building $50,000 shotguns and later worked for Caspian, I think. He has built many custom guns for area shooters and knows his guns. A real Craftsman. I brought the pistol to him for a look see and asked him to evaluate the trigger, Slide to frame fit, Barrel Lockup, and Barrel Bushing. He weighed the factory hammer and sear out at 3.75 pounds, commented that it was very crisp, just the right amount of creep and overtravel. Then he asked me who had done the trigger job. I told him that besides dropping in a new trigger it was all factory parts, Including the Barrel and bushing, Which he found the barrel lockup to be tight with no detectable play, and the bushing also to be tight. What happened next made me smile. He flipped down his jewelers magnifier visor and gave it a closer look. Looking back at me he says, "This Is a Taurus?"

You couldn't have wiped the smile off my face with a 2 by 4. I wouldn't go any lighter on the trigger considering it is a Concealed Carry Gun and he agreed. He then flipped his visor back down, looked it over, Dry fired it a dozen more times. cycled the action, looked in the magwell, and down the barrel. He then handed it back to me smiled and said if I ever decided I "wanted" any work done on it, he'd be happy to oblige, but he couldn't see anything it "needed". I may have him build me a race-ready Hi-cap Caspian in the near future but as far as my Taurus is concerned, I have approximately 6000 rounds down range with it and I will keep shooting it until there is no rifling left in the barrel.

When I do my part, stay on the front sight, call my shots, and drive the gun it shoots as well as any gun I have ever owned.

That is just my 2 cents, plus a few bucks thrown in for good measure. Nice Soapbox you got here.

Edited June 19, 2009 by IDPA-nut

[Singlestack]

Welcome aboard IDPA-nut.

[TXMXRACER]

Does anyone have one of these in 9mm yet? If so how does it shoot.

shane

[mildot1]

Had mine for a few months now.

Never had any problem with the factory mags, moot point now since I added a magwell and they won't work now.

Would have rathered the pistol had novak sights but I guess I got an older stock model.

Added a set of Pachmayer grips and just shot it, good running gun till it broke.

Recoil guide rod came apart and is laying in the grass somewhere.

Finnally after some common sense talking to the rep I got them to mail me one instead of them paying to ship it both ways to install a drop in part.

At first they wanted me to pay for the part and shipping?? Since it was considered a purchase.

Very good gun for the money!

[twodownzero]

I tend to think that the Taurus is a cheap piece of crap.

Perhaps not a bad starter, but certainly nowhere near the fit and finish of a quality 1911.

[hk22045]

I just read the prom ad in American Rifleman on the

Taurus PT 1911. If all that is true then $700 sounds

pretty enticing. Anyone have some first hand

knowledge on this gun.

Yes i do. Bought one a year ago for my lady friend who wanted to get into a 45. She didnt like it so i started shooting it myself. Shoots like a dream , put a beveled mag well on it theirs really dosent count (way to small) than a nice pair of finger contoured grips, extended mag release and now it looks like my Les Baer for $1000 dollars less, shoots just as good as well, Buy one and you will love it. Happy Shooting

[sperman]

I tend to think that the Taurus is a cheap piece of crap.

Perhaps not a bad starter, but certainly nowhere near the fit and finish of a quality 1911.

What is this opinion based on? Have you actually fired one?

[jjanglin]

I hate to tell ya all this but the Taurus 1911 is every bit as good as a couple of other 1911's

that are popular , ive done some trigger work on a couple of them and they are a dang nice 1911!!

Nothing wrong with Taurus as a whole.

jim/Pa

Sailors

[twodownzero]

I tend to think that the Taurus is a cheap piece of crap.

Perhaps not a bad starter, but certainly nowhere near the fit and finish of a quality 1911.

What is this opinion based on? Have you actually fired one?

Yes. A very close friend of mine who shoots USPSA with me regularly owned one. I have not only fired it, but taken it apart and compared the parts very closely to the fit of my Kimber.

My conclusion was that it fits together like the cheap piece of crap that it is. The beavertail wobbled and was fitted poorly. The trigger was absolutely horrible. The slide stop did not fit into the slide properly when it locked open. The mag well was incompatible with certain types of magazine bump pads. The slide to frame fit was absolutely horrible.

There were a lot of good features on it. It has all of the features that you'd normally expect on a much more expensive gun. It also has the fit of a mechanical typewriter. My friend's gun was stainless so I can't say anything about the finish, but overall, the gun was a piece of junk and it's since been sold to another pistol newbie.

I own two Kimbers (series I Yonkers Kimbers) and it's a night and day difference between what $6-700 buys you and $1000.

YMMV.

[joetama]

I got one a while back and it was my first venture into the 1911 world. But, I must say that I really like it. I haven't had any jams, malfunctions, or other problems. The good news, as if the other stated points weren't enough, is I am an avid tinker and the gun as a whole isn't very expensive. So I can tinker away without worrying about destroying anything too bad.

[Jamiethesquid]

I tend to think that the Taurus is a cheap piece of crap.

Perhaps not a bad starter, but certainly nowhere near the fit and finish of a quality 1911.

Here we go again...

"You tend to think that the Taurus is a cheap piece of crap". Why? Do you own one? Have you shot one? (If so how many rounds down range a) 50-200 200-5000 c) 5000+. Any Competition time behind the trigger? Did it fail you in a life or death situation?

Are the materials sub-standard, are there mettalurgical defects, are the parts out of dimensional tolerance, are they Unsafe to shoot. Maybe you can tell me something about how their multi-million dollar manufacturing process is flawed....(I'll wait).

"No where near the fit and finish of a quality 1911l". I've shot in National Match competition, Stood guard in defence of this Nation during 13 years of US Navy service. Carry concealed to protect my family and unknowing strangers alike. Shoot IDPA, USPSA, Steel, and am a Certified Range Officer, Safety officer, Millitary Small Arms Marksmanship Instructor. And grad of numerous Anti terrorism and Close quarter battle courses with less than lethal / handguns / SMG / Carbines / Battle Rifles / Light and Heavy Machine Guns.

You know what, "fit and finish" is for safe queens, There is no argument, compared to a Custom Shop pistol that costs many times the cost of my Taurus, the sheen of the bluing is subpar, or the hand lapped slide to frame fit is not smooth as glass. Finishes are for lookers and not shooters, All parts are properly fitted from the factory for proper operation and accurate shooting. The barrel to bushing / bushing to slide fit is tight, the barrel to slide fit is also tight, slide stop and barrel link are also fit properly. Slide to frame fit is Looser than a 50 yard Bullseye guns, that lock up tight as a bank vault (I know this after having fired 10's of thousands of rounds in bullseye competition out of Mil-spec pistols built out of often mis matched parts, most of which looked like the finish had worn off on the beaches of Normandy, and had spent the rest of their years in the glove boxes and back pockets of our Veterans). Slide to frame fit matters little in a defensive / carry / combat role. The tighter they fit together the easier they are to foul up with grit. If you are Running a Frame mounted red dot sight then any 1911 could benefit from a squeeze and peen. But that's not the case here.

I have gone round and round over this topic and am frankly a little sick of it. Speak from experience, Speak of specific problems, Issues, Preferences. Come here to flame us on. Your Breaking the rules of the forum and pi$?ing me Off. Moderators??

I was at a gun shop the other day picking up a new 10/22 and enough ammo to keep the squirrels at bay for years to come. While the guy is doing the paperwork. I start to browse the used handgun case. Spotting 1 blued PT1911 I ask the guy to pull it out for me when he gets a minute. He proceeds to Rant and Rave about how "He heard from his buddy, about a guy that he shoots with, that shot him self in the behind with one of them while carrying it Mexican style and is going to sue Taurus. And how they are crap guns and how they are junk compared to XYZ. He even went so far as to say he wouldn't feel right selling it to me. I looked him dead in the eye, told him that I wouldn't feel right purchasing that or any other firearm from him that day, or in the future. I hiked up my pants tucked my shirt inside my OWB holster with my Stainless PT1911 inside, threw my wind breaker back on and left the store.

Anxoiusly awaiting your reply.

Jamie Blow

[ima45dv8]

I received a PM to come check out the back-and-forth in this thread.

All I have to say right now is, if twodownzero has a bad opinion of a Taurus, that's too bad but it is his opinion. He's allowed that. Expressing it isn't a slam on any particular person's sidearm except his buddy that had a poor example of the breed.

Everybody should take a deep breath and try not to take things like this as a personal insult.

[taco101]

Sure like mine.

[twodownzero]

Anxoiusly awaiting your reply.

Jamie Blow

Do yourself a favor and scroll down a few posts. All of your questions have already been answered.

I'm breaking the rules of the forum? Get over yourself. The fact of the matter is that there is a market for a $500-700 1911 and a market for a $5000 one. Plenty of people here are happy with a cheap one. I'm not. The Taurus is an absolute piece of crap compared to even a Springfield Loaded.

Edited June 26, 2009 by twodownzero

[Ross Carter]

I've had a few come thru my shop, there are worse out there. Not a bad starter 1911 but comparing the "custom" work and parts they come with to the work of a competent gunsmith is way over the top. Any custom shop I know of wouldn't let a checkering job like that out of their shop just as one example. You get what you pay for nothing more nothing less.

I did have a couple with oversize firing pin holes plus they had chamfered the crap of of them causing brass flow back. Taurus stood behind them and replaced the slides no problem but if your buying a used one you might look at the breach face carefully. Others had problems with poi and was solved by changing sights.

[Singlestack]

Posting Guidelines

Attitude

Please be polite. Or if not polite, at least respectful.

No bickering. Regardless of the subject matter.

Antagonistic, offensive, or quarrelsome tones are not acceptable.

[twodownzero]

Posting Guidelines

Attitude

Please be polite. Or if not polite, at least respectful.

No bickering. Regardless of the subject matter.

Antagonistic, offensive, or quarrelsome tones are not acceptable.

I have said nothing disrespectful, antagonistic, offensive, or quarrelsome. I have pointed out numerous empirical reasons why the Taurus PT 1911 is substandard when compared to its competition.

The Taurus is VERY nice for a starter 1911 (way nicer than an RIA or similar) but it's not even in the same league as most of the guns on the market.

[Singlestack]

Get over yourself.

That is what I was refering too. It crosses the line.

It is antagonistic.

[rduckwor]

Good ones run great, bad ones are a nightmare when couple with Taurus Customer Service. You never know which you are getting when you put your money down.

Yes, personal experience.

RMD

[Franklin D Wolverton]

The only problem I've had with mine is a broken ejector (even when it broke, it still ran... just freaked me out when I took it apart to clean it after Area 3 last year)... slapped in a new extended one (forged... not mim), and it still runs great.

This piece didn't break until well after 30,000 rounds... and I have another 10,000+ through it with no problems.

The only "work" I've done to mine is to put on some wrap around grips. My next project is a magwell. Yes... I use the sights that came with it. They aren't great, but they do the job once you get used to them.

This is the piece that I use for Single Stack competition, and occasionally L10...

Frank