anyone shoot/handle the taurus 1911 ?

[mike in co]

any comments on this 5 in 8 shot 45 acp ??


they have a 12 shot comming out...but was looking for a sorta 1911....


mike in co

[MtGun44]

A friend bought one used for $200. Worth it, but not really up to par on other
1911s. Every corner that could be cut to lower price was. Not junk but not a
fine piece of equipment either. His works now that I replaced the *** safety,
he is a lefty and it was coming apart. Possible that new grips would have helped,
grips are crappy grade plastic, chipping and may have added to the left side
safety disconnect problem. Feeds and fires fine, an OK gun but not remotely in
the class of a Colt, Springfield Armory, Kimber or esp. the ultra fine Dan Wessons.
Smith & Wesson is making a really nice 1911, too, if you can warm up to their
extractor. If you can't afford a good 1911, the Taurus is a workable substitute,
esp if you can dink with it yourself if it needs fiddling. Not nearly as crappy as
a LLama, but not first class, either.

Bill

[S.R.Custom]

Comments? Oh yeah... http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=35488 (http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=35488&highlight=taurus)

I'll spare you a repeat of my old rants and merely offer this for you to ponder... When they first came out, everybody bought into the gunrag hype and bought the hell out of 'em. Me included. But now, as Bill alluded to, you can find used ones for $200. And the last I heard, Taurus was giving $75 factory rebates on the new ones, which should put the price of base models under $400. Considering the way guns are otherwise flying off the shelves, that should tell you something.

On the other hand, if cheese is the game, Taurus has you covered! :mrgreen:

http://pics.gunbroker.com/GB/121675000/121675970/pix333651203.jpg

[Triggerhappy]

Is that intended as a pimp gun or what?

[Rick N Bama]

Is that intended as a pimp gun or what?

I have a feeling (& hope) that is NOT SuperMag's gun[smilie=1:

Rick

[Throwback]

Their quality is improving but as noted above, not up to the better makes. My knowledge is annecdotal but I have compared 5 or 6 in the shop and I owned one for a year and a half, trading it about a week ago.

My evaluation: It always worked. It was surprisingly accurate with jacketed and cast. It had a GENROUS funnel-shaped chamber that resulted in overworked brass in the reloading process. I fit a KART barrel to it to rectify that issue. Unsurprisingly accuracy improved (but it was already satisfactory). The bushing fit poorly because the keyway in the slide was not milled correctly. I had to weld up a new key on the bushing and re-cut it. The safety is crap (again, as noted above). It is a MIM part (not always fish or fowl) and likes to come apart. Fitting a new safety was more of a bear than usual because frame walls are thicker than "GI spec". Other dimensions are also not quite to standard. The factory hammer has a safety lock which adds weight and significantly slows lock time. I replaced it with a Wilson, which installed easily and worked very well. I replaced the mainspriing housing with a Smith Alexander lanyard ring model. This also installed without issue and fit the frame perfectly. I also used a standard spring guide. The result was a perfectly useable pistol with less effort than say an old Auto Ordnance. One last pain in the adze was the firing pin hole being over spec. Even the occasional standard pressure load would sometimes extrude the primer and then nip off the extrusion as the action opened. Damndest thing! Hotter rounds' primers really looked wierd. I welded up the hole and re-cut it.

Long story short - This is more effort than I wanted to expend when I got into it, but I like a project. I have to wonder if it was a "Monday/Friday gun". I think that you could just as easily get a good Taurus as a bad one and I would recommend inspecting your purchase carefully with the knowledge that you may need to replace the safety along the way.

[S.R.Custom]

I have a feeling (& hope) that is NOT SuperMag's gun[smilie=1:

Oh hell no!


Nope, this is my gun. (Below) It's the Rock Island Arsenal A2 (wide body 14 +1). Six months after I first mentioned it in the original Taurus thread, I still love it. I haven't had to replace anything on it, it's as reliable as any 1911 I've ever owned --there's been more than a few over the years-- and it didn't break the bank. What's not to love? And it's purdy, in an ominous black blaster sort of way.

http://www.centerfiresystems.com/ProductImages/handguns/AC-RI1911-HICAP-B.jpg

[jdgabbard]

I've always hated 1911s, due to every gun mag in the US that you pick up always had 4-5 different article in it about the newest "GREAT 1911" model. But after seeing that $200 price tag on select "project" models I might buy one.

I'll just have to hide it from my wheelies and HK, as they tend to get upset when I adopt bastard children ;)

[yondering]

If any of you guys have one of these for sale for $200, I'll take it! In fact, I'll take two! Seriously. Can't say I've ever seen a used one around here for much less than retail.
The one my buddy bought needed a tighter bushing to be really accurate, but that was it. The checkering isn't even on the front and back straps, but that's about it.

jdgabbard, ever wonder why there's so many 1911's in the magazines? Maybe it's cause they work so well. Seems kinda funny to hate something just because it's common and works well. To each his own though.

[jdgabbard]

jdgabbard, ever wonder why there's so many 1911's in the magazines? Maybe it's cause they work so well. Seems kinda funny to hate something just because it's common and works well. To each his own though.

Not because its common or works well. I've never doubted any browning design. I simple got sick and tired of hearing about it in a magazine ever time a company came out with a new model. Like it was supposed to be so much superior to every other 1911 made by high end producers out there. Think about any gun magazine you pick up on the racks of any store. Their going to have at least one article each about a new 1911. Who cares really.

We know exactly what they are and how they function, and we know what is to be expected for the price tag. How about an article about it that has one or two paragraphs telling us the UNIQUE features. And 3-5 paragraphs telling us how it shot. Saving the rest of the authors hard labors to give us an insight to some other aspect to shooting sports, or handloading, or antique rifles, or (insert subject here).

It's more along the lines of too much of a good thing. I've never doubted it's effectiveness, nor it's reliability. But I will say I've always thought the Hi-Powers to be prettier [smilie=1:

Ok, you can have your thread back now...

[mike in co]

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO SHOOT 1911'S WELL, i cannot stand the way the hi power (does not) fit my hand.

and i will not pay 1000 bucks for a 1911......
they are suppose to be tools, not jewlery.

so i want a plain jane fucntional tool.

thought this might fit the bill

mike in co

[trickyasafox]

Supermag- are those 14 mags specific to the gun, or will any wide body 1911 mag fit? I assumed they were standard just like single stack 1911 mags, but now that I think about I have no idea.

[looseprojectile]

I have some limited experience with Taurus PT 1911s.
A friend paid full retail for one about a year ago. It had the safety issue and was an easy fix, used an old GI safety from the junk box, no issues after that and it is all you could want in a fullsize 1911. Lots of whistles and bells.
I bought a Taurus PT 1911 at a funshow for $425. and my number two son ended up with it.
No issues, runs good. I particurlarly like the Heine sights.
I just bought a Taurus PT 145 Pro with two mags at a pawnshop for $275. and really like it as it fits in my back pocket and features 10 +1 capacity. Very comforting to have it there when I go to town at night. It runs infallably with all the reloads that I use in my Para ord P 14 and the other 45 autos.[cast boolits]. In all, I think the Taurus guns are a great buy and reliable.
My feeling is that those that pay more for their 1911s are into the egofeed mode and want to justify spending more for their hyped brands. A friend in Idaho bought a Kimber 1911 and has some small issues and is having buyers remorse. He says it is not as good as his AMT hardballer.
I think you would be well armed with Taurus.
Life is good

[S.R.Custom]

Supermag- are those 14 mags specific to the gun, or will any wide body 1911 mag fit? I assumed they were standard just like single stack 1911 mags, but now that I think about I have no idea.

They use regular P-14 Mags. Before the election I bought a few Mec-Gar P-14 mags from Midway, and they work great. (For just over $18. They've probably gone up since then.) I've not had any mag related problems from them or the stock mag.

[looseprojectile]

fit and function in the Taurus PT 145 PR0 but stick out a lot:drinks:

Life is good

[revolver junkie]

got rid of mine after the safety issue, and an extractor issue, and although the barrel was match grade the frame was garbage the barrel lug slot was 2x over tolerance for a standard 1911. i had enough of not being able to shoot at least 2 mags before something went wrong traded it in and bought a blackhawk much better investment and a $200 lesson, you get what you pay for.
then i bought a smith 625. now im thinkin about either a springfield XD or a springfiled or rock Island double stack. im leaning tward the XD