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Thread: Taurus PT1911, feasible 1911 for defense?

  1. #11
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    well, my .02...
    I've put about 1K rounds through one since I bought it slightly used over a year ago. I have had no problems or breakages. The trigger is nice and smooth, and I have no complaints so far. I have a couple of Taurus 92's, and while the triggers aren't as crisp on those as the Italian Beretta 92 import guns from a couple years ago (I have a pair of them), the quality on the Taurus 92's has been good also. I haven't had any problems with them either.
    Now granted, when I carry, I carry a small Glock 26 or 31SF because I have a small frame and the 1911 or FS92's would print like hell, but I have the Taurus' sitting around as home defense guns with tac lights on them, and I'd trust them to solve problems that came through the door.

  2. #12
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    Wow it's amazing just how much the Taurus name causes a decent gun to crash & burn in so many opinions. True there are a bunch of folks that have has bad experiences with them.....but there are just as many....actually more that have had experiences from good to great. I just happen to be in the latter group. I am on my 2nd PT-1911. The first a Christmas gift from me to my younger son, who today has over 5000 rounds through his. I am an old 1911 guy from a long way back so before I bought the gun I detailed stripped it, in front of the gunstore clerk, after I signed a paper stating I would buy it if I could not get it back together without any extra parts laying around. I visually inspected those parts and compared them to my Wilson Combat CQB. Yes there were a bunch of MIM parts, but the same can be said for some other popular 1911's out there. I was a little disappointed in the tooling marks I found in areas that were not affected by them, just used to not seeing them. The gun came apart and went back together just like it was supposed to. The barrek lock up was as tight as a vault, and there was no more slide looseness than any other non custom 1911 I have owned. I had heard about the front cocking grooves not being even on both sides, that was not the case on this particular gun. It looked and felt like a run of the mill 1911, most certainly not a custom or a semi-custom.....but then I was not paying for one either. The tale of the tape was to be on the range in how it functioned and how accurate it was. Accuracy was on par with either my Kimber TLE II or my Springfield Loaded and there was only one malfunction in 6 different brands of 230gr. ammo. One of my Winchester White Box JHP's split a case and had to be driven out with a wooden dowell. I could not believe that they would stick such a cheap pair of plastic grip panels on such a loaded gun but I was not about to give it to my son with them on. I had a nice set of cocobolo double diamond checkered wood panels I put on the gun. My son still thinks his dear old Dad is the greatest for giving him such a good gun for his first 1911. Well I liked it so mch that I came across the stainless railed version of the same gun and bought it for myself. So far the gun has been great. One complaint I had was the barrel bushing fit to the slide. It was a bit loose for my tastes, so I replaced it with an Ed Brown bushing I fit into place and other that some cosmetic custom changed I made for my own personal touch...it has run like the proverbial Timex watch. Last weekend I was at the range with it again, since I added the magwell and flat bottom grips, and put another 100 rounds through it which comes to a grand total of 750. No problems whatsoever. I truly like this gun and it is doing duty as my home defense weapon with a TRL-2 light/laser mounted on the rail. I have 5 other 1911's that I could also call upon to do so, but this gun is the one that just feels right and keeps proving the naysayers wrong...over & over again.
    Is this gun the do all, for all and be all.....not many can claim that, but for the money paid to purchase it......well I got more than my money's worth. One big issue is the Taurus customer service. Barring any frame/slide cracking or some major issue like that, the gun is, for the most part just like any other 1911 out ther so most aftermarket parts are interchangable with it.

    tex45acp
    All it takes for evil to occur, is for good men to stand by and do nothing!!

  3. #13
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    tex,

    Exactly the kind of comments I was hoping for, thank you Sir. Keep em coming.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by SW-Shooter View Post
    tex,

    Exactly the kind of comments I was hoping for, thank you Sir. Keep em coming.
    You're looking for validation on a purchase that you've already made.

    I know of no serious smith/1911 guru who has anything positive to say about them. Taurus has a well deserved reputation for putting out crap semi auto pistols, that's just the way it is.

    I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just understand that while yes, it is certainly possible to get one that is well put together and reliable, the chances of getting one that isn't is much greater than it should be.
    Employee of colonialshooting.com

  5. #15
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    I think if you know the weapons limitations you'll be good to go. Of the two different PT 1911's I've shot I think "run of the mill" sums their lineup best. They're certainly not the worst of the breed. As far as upgrading goes I would shoot the s@#$ out of it, and replace whatever breaks, if anything, or whatever makes the gun more user friendly.
    Good luck and burn up lots of ammo

  6. #16
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    One of the guys at my local fun shop, who is actually a shooter and not a gun shop commando, and whose opinion I trust told me that they had almost every PT1911 they sold back in for some repair or another. He couldn't and wouldn't recommend it even as a base gun.

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bantee View Post
    I think if you know the weapons limitations you'll be good to go. Of the two different PT 1911's I've shot I think "run of the mill" sums their lineup best. They're certainly not the worst of the breed. As far as upgrading goes I would shoot the s@#$ out of it, and replace whatever breaks, if anything, or whatever makes the gun more user friendly.
    Good luck and burn up lots of ammo
    you can't fix a broken part if you're dead. advice like this totally ignores Murphy's Law. the "limitation" in question is whether or not the gun will fire a round when needed- that's not something you can just work with.

    if your budget is $600 for a carry weapon, there's fantastic options available to you. if it's not to be a weapon you'll use in defense of yours or your life, and the money's just burning a hole in your pocket- go for it. see what you can pull off... but please don't hang lives on notoriously poor manufacturing.

  8. #18
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    My CCW is a Glock 30SF, and has been for the past year. I'd bet some people would say that it is a poor choice as well. As far as the Taurus goes it will reside in a drawer next to the entry way, my door gun.

    I'll do what i do with every gun I own, shoot the crap out of it and test its reliability. I really wanted to hear from those that owned them.

    I just can't get past all of the Taurus bashing even from those that don't even own one. That's why I made it clear that I wanted real world owners/shooters to chime in. I guess you can't always get what you ask for.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx7HY...eature=related
    Last edited by SW-Shooter; 11-23-09 at 21:09.

  9. #19
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    I tend to judge a gun on it's own individual merits. If you are wanting to use this gun for self defense, run several hundred rounds of your defense ammo through it, or find an ammo it likes. If it proves reliable, why not carry it. If it doesn't prove 100% reliable, get it fixed or find a different carry weapon.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by SW-Shooter View Post
    Can I put good parts on it and make it as good as some of the quality 1911's?
    The short answer is "No." With 1911 pistols, it's not just a question of part selection, it's an issue of how well they are fit together to avoid cycling issues. Holes drilled at improper angles, barrels not being properly fit, an improper cut in the slide or frame are not going to be cured by good parts alone.

    Spending hundreds of dollars on parts and gunsmithing to try to upgrade your PT1911 is basically going to be an education for you. It seems that you don't want to hear from anyone who had a bad experience doing what you are contemplating so I don't know that you will learn the lessons.

    I would recommend against investing any money trying to change a Taurus PT1911 into anything other than what it is. It's an entry level 1911 with some of the popular upgrades. That's it. It does not compare well to the better examples of the 1911 design. Putting in extra money for work and parts undoes whatever bargain you think you got by buying a PT1911.

    Shoot it to learn what you like and don't like about the 1911 design. When you decide you want a better 1911, sell it and save your money for a better 1911. Don't waste your money doing custom work on a PT1911.
    "Looks like I'm the only one here with a mug full of antidote."

    "If I'm standing on it, it's America..."

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