Taurus 1911...Is it too good to be true???

[barres]

Found a PT1911 at Powderhorn in San Antonio to look over. I am impressed. Fit was quite good. Finish was about what I would expect on a $500 gun. A few minor tool marks with fairly good parkerization. I did not get to break the gun down to see the innards. Trigger was crisp and felt like around 3 - 4 pounds (no guage, just feel).

Lockup was good, with no discernable play. Safeties all worked as they should, and the thumb safety was not the least bit "mushy."

I'm impressed. For a savings of about $200 or so compared to S&W's low-end 1911, SA's loaded models, Kimber's Custom II, or Sig's GSR Revolution XO, I'll certainly consider it when I get around to getting a 1911, again.

[stevie_d_64]

I saw 3 of them at the last gunshow here in Houston this last weekend...

Two at one vendor for $499 NIB, and one at another for $470 NIB...

Felt good...Like a standard 1911 (go figure, ), but for some reason it felt a little lighter than your average clone...Which I am thinking that can't be a bad thing...

The ambidexterous thumb safety was easy to operate, not much to think about there...

The finish I thought was adequate, parkerized is something I am attracted to for some silly reason... (its funny to me! dirnit!)

The grips seem to also be a little on the cheap end...Too much like extruded plastic to me...That can be remedied...

The sights leave something to be desired, so that will have to be replaced...IMO...Something named "Heinie" on any firearm I own just doesn't sound right for some reason...

All in all I am getting closer...One or both of these vendors should be at the Pasadena show here in a couple of weekends...So we'll see if they have moved these products and have a couple more ready to fly...

Just an FYI post...

[Mike1951]

For anyone who might be interested.

Yesterday afternoon, Tomball Pawn had two of the PT1911's at $449.

[j1132s]

GT Distributors here in Austin seems to carry it for $429.95.
I'm planning to go there tomorrow (not for the Taurus), so I might see if they have any inventory and handle one. You can alway call them too.

http://www.gtdist.com/ProductDetail.asp ... =TAU-1911B

I have not connection w/ them besides that I bought my last gun from them and received good service.

[Mike1951]

Just a few notes to go along with the praise I've been posting.

The black finish rusts very easily. This is not really a problem for me, since sooner or later, I plan on getting both of mine done in Black-T.
But, until then, extra care will be required.

If you decide to change grips, you will need to buy a set of grip screws.
The heads on the Taurus screws are too large to fit other grips.

On one of mine, removing the ambi safety for disassembly was extremely difficult. Once I successfully removed the grip safety from the other PT1911 and could see how it was made, I had the courage to force the stubborn one. The right side should come out with jiggling and tugging. I eventually gained enough clearance to get a flat bladed screwdriver with a business card folded around it underneath and pried it loose. It should not require that and I suggest long periods of tugging before going that route. Position of the safety did not seem to matter for the right side. Once the right side is removed, the left side removes as a normal safety from the position between off and on.

From what I could tell after disassembly, Taurus looks to have changed the shape of the Series 80 parts enough to claim that it's not Series 80. But I would say the function is the same.

The Series 80 system is pretty much a non-issue.

The disassembly problem shouldn't reoccur and the grip screws is a one time thing.

The finish won't bother anyone who goes shooting and then thoroughly cleans the gun. It might be an issue for a carry gun, where it is handled a lot and not cleaned as often.

I still think the PT1911's are an excellent bargain and recommend them.

[Johnny]

Taurus looks to have changed the shape of the Series 80 parts enough to claim that it's not Series 80

Is it a redesign of the S80, or is it a Swartz? I've seen more manufacturers adopt the Swartz system lately since the market seems to want FP blocking safeties.

[Mike1951]

Just a redesign.

It has the same two pieces, just shaped slightly different.

One is held by the sear pin, the other by the hammer pin.

The PT1911 manual is available at the following:

http://www.taurususa.com/pdf/1911manual.pdf

Look on PDF pages 4 and 5 (manual page numbers 24 and 25).

Item numbers 4.16 and 4.17.

[Johnny]

Yup, you're right. Definitely a S80 type thing.

[stevie_d_64]

Just a few notes to go along with the praise I've been posting.

The black finish rusts very easily. This is not really a problem for me, since sooner or later, I plan on getting both of mine done in Black-T.
But, until then, extra care will be required.

If you decide to change grips, you will need to buy a set of grip screws.
The heads on the Taurus screws are too large to fit other grips.

On one of mine, removing the ambi safety for disassembly was extremely difficult. Once I successfully removed the grip safety from the other PT1911 and could see how it was made, I had the courage to force the stubborn one. The right side should come out with jiggling and tugging. I eventually gained enough clearance to get a flat bladed screwdriver with a business card folded around it underneath and pried it loose. It should not require that and I suggest long periods of tugging before going that route. Position of the safety did not seem to matter for the right side. Once the right side is removed, the left side removes as a normal safety from the position between off and on.

From what I could tell after disassembly, Taurus looks to have changed the shape of the Series 80 parts enough to claim that it's not Series 80. But I would say the function is the same.

The Series 80 system is pretty much a non-issue.

The disassembly problem shouldn't reoccur and the grip screws is a one time thing.

The finish won't bother anyone who goes shooting and then thoroughly cleans the gun. It might be an issue for a carry gun, where it is handled a lot and not cleaned as often.

I still think the PT1911's are an excellent bargain and recommend them.

Thanks for the breakdown report...

You just bullet pointed just about everything I saw in my cursory inspection that last weekend...Since I didn't get a chance to field strip it This nagging little voice in my head told me there had to be something funky in there that would get someones attention...

But then again, nothing I have heard is a show stopper on this pistol...

- New grips and screws (cosmetic)

- New finish depending on the intended use...

And boom, you may have a pretty good firearm there...

I'd almost see if there was anything that could be done to tighten it up even more tolerance-wise, maybe even a trigger job???

Who knows...

With how fast this thing is getting attention, should be fun to check out...

[HankB]

GT Distributors here in Austin seems to carry it for $429.95.

I thought GT only sold to LEOs? Was this a myth, or have they opened their doors to everyone?

[j1132s]

GT sells some pistols to LEOs only due to contract, but other guns are available to the public. I bought a pistol from them and I'm not a LEO.

I did end up visiting them last friday, but I forgot to look for the Taurus. I bought a Glock light w/ free holster, so light (including spare bulb, 2 cr123) + 2 extra cr123 + uncle mike's light holster + Glock goodies (patch, sticker, pins) = $75. They were also having a 5.11 sale where everything was 15% off and you get free 5.11 goodies (Tshirt,mug, and cap).

[stevie_d_64]

Sure, don't look at the pistols...But accessorize!!!

[Venus Pax]

Mike,
I'm not completely clear on your post about Taurus's 1911.
Are you saying that their version of the 1911 may be a pain in the rear to take apart and clean?
(I don't need anything to give me a headache.)

[Mike1951]

Venus,

Just being forthright. The only issue that was any different from any 1911 was removal of the ambi safety. One of my PT1911's was a pain, the other wasn't. In any case, the stubborn one should disassemble normally now. It was just info for anyone else that might encounter it.

I do think that anyone considering the PT1911 should be willing to at least partially disassemble the frame periodically, as with any 1911.

For someone disassembling a 1911 for the first time, it's an endeavor.

There are online instructions, as well as various videotapes than show step by step. Curiously, none of these showed how to remove the ambi safety.

[Mike1951]

Thought I'd revive an old thread with some news on sights.

Taurus chose a proprietary dovetail design for the sights on the PT1911 and until now, aftermarket sights have not been available for it.

A few days ago, Heinie announced two different styles of night sights to fit the PT1911.

One is the Straight 8 design in the same fashion as the original sights.

The other is a typical 3 dot set.

Knowledge of this came about while trying to assist a forum member equip his pistol, but I thought it might be of interest to others.

http://tinyurl.com/yrvkfm