New Addition/Warm Months CC

First of all thanks to all that contributed to my several threads about smaller CC and what to get.

I went today to the one LGS that still had PT111's in stock with the intention of buying one and low and behold they were out of stock. I was just there yesterday and they had them but wanted to sleep on it and get some advice from THR, so I waited and missed out.

So I decided to go with my 3rd back up option. I posted a thread a while back on this gun and nobody seemed to have any experience with one so I guess I'll be the test buyer. Haven't read much negative from other sources so I went for it.

Enter the Taurus PT709 Slim. My initial unboxing was similar to CounterZero's with his PT111. Excessive grease and those darned little pellets that were everywhere. The trigger would not even function out of the box because there were pellets down in the workings. Spent an hour cleaning it and installed one of the grip extensions that I bought and have been playing with it for a bit now.

First impressions are, with the grip extension I think I'll be able to make this small gun work. May need some additional grip enhancement, won't know til I shoot it. I LIKE the SA trigger. It's not as nice as my full size but it's not bad. Kind of bummed about coming with only one mag and only 7+1 capacity, but I've found aftermarket mags aren't terribly expensive and there are 8 and 10 round options available.


First order of business will be getting a few boxes through this thing to the point it meets my satisfaction to carry, then order probably a couple more mags. Will update with range report when I get to it.


Few pictures. Last one is next to the full size.

So over a month from when I bought this gun and today I finally get to shoot it. Unfortunately not much though. Spent most of my time with my full size and only got two mags through the 709.

However, it ate the cheapest ammo I had (PMC) with no problems whatsoever. Recoil was not nearly what I thought it would be. I could easily run 100rds through this in a session. Accuracy was good for first time shooting it and so little. At 15ft I had 4" or less groups.

With some more seat time I think I'll be able to get out to 15yrds with decent groups, which is really about all these small guns are designed for.


I know it's not much of a report but I'll update once I get back to the range with it. I plan on spending a lot more time with it next go around.

And for those wondering about what Blaker55 is referring to here's the link..

http://www.gunsandammo.com/handguns/compacts/single-stack-9mm-shootout/



And I just read in a recent article Sunday that they took the same gun and ran it another 1000 rounds with zero issues.

Just another update from the G&A link above, I got my latest issue today and while skimming through noticed a review on a new pocket holster and instantly recognized the grip of the 709 hanging out.

The article said that they have now put over 3000 rounds through it with not a single issue.


I'm going back to the range Monday so I'll report back with my own findings then.

Got a call last night from a "friend with farm" asking if I wanted to shoot this morning. Silly question right?

Spent about half my time with my full size but got 5 mags through the 709, and my buddy shot a mag. So that brings the grand total to 8 mags at 7rds equals 56rds. Nothing to get excited about but with a single mag and only 7rds it's a bit tedious.

Still, no problems whatsoever with a mix of Whitebox, PMC and Tula. I'm really liking this little pistol, no complaints so far.

Picked up 3 boxes of Browning target ammo in 115g this afternoon and will be going to the indoor range tomorrow. It'll be a mix of the Browning and the last box of PMC I have.

I'm going to warm up with 1 mag through my full size and spend the remaining 90% of my hour with the 709. If the 709 continues as it has I'll be content with 200rds or so to start EDC. It'll probably take a couple more trips to the range to get there but I'm in no rush.

Picked up a second mag today at the LGS. Put 82rds more through it this afternoon.

Still no issues or complaints but it was a work out. Hand wasn't "sore" but more like "tired". I think 100rds in a session would be about all I'd want to do at this point. Who knows though, maybe my stamina will get better with time?

I'll continue to update even though it seems nobody is really interested.


Pick of my holster that came in for it. Very pleased.

It's a Front Line brand holster off Ebay. So far I've just carried it around the house as I was in the market for a new belt and am still putting the gun through its paces. Got a new belt today so once I get another couple of range sessions with the gun with the same success I've been having it'll start going with me.

It just about disappears at AIWB. If everything works out I may just carry it mostly year round as it's just so comfortable/concealable with this holster.