I know that Taurus handguns have their share of detractors, and much of the criticism has been deserved, to varying degrees, over the years. That said, and not wishing to re-hash that territory, I have found at least two Taurus handguns upon which I would stake my life.
The first one is a Taurus PT92 AF that on one occasion did indeed assist me in extricating myself from a very nasty situation. Foolishly I sold that gun only to, years later, as penance for my foolishness, find and refinish an identical pistol in dire need of cosmetic help. That pistol, now wearing a GunKote finish on the slide and barrel and outstanding Uncle Mike’s grips, continues to serve me well on a limited basis.
The pistol that I am primarily writing about is a Taurus PT111 Millennium Pro 12+1 capacity. I acquired a used second generation pistol some seven years ago for the princely sum of $219. This was the version that had the DAO trigger with no re-strike. At the time I wasn’t sure what to make of it but when I took it to the range the gun suited me amazingly well. The ergonomics were excellent and the gun perfectly reliable. The thing that really stood out was the accuracy which was startlingly good considering the trigger type. Slow fire and rapid fire at combat distances produced nice groups right over the ten ring. The gun served me on a daily basis for just over two years. Then, again foolishly, especially considering what I paid for the gun, I traded it away. Stupid, stupid, but sometimes other things catch our eye and we make mistakes. I’ve made my share over the past thirty-five years of shooting.
Before and since that PT111 Milpro I have and do own a lot of nice guns. SIG, HK, Walther, Beretta, Steyr, CZ, S&W, you get the idea. Despite having a stable with what most would consider desirable pedigrees, since disposing of the MilPro it has been the one gun that I couldn’t get out of my mind. So, I decided the next PT111 second generation pistol that I saw locally I would acquire. Surprisingly that took a good while and it was only last month that I ran across the right gun, and for just a few dollars more than I paid for the first one. Well, almost the right gun. Once I brought it home it realized it was the third generation gun with the DAO trigger with re-strike. While I loved the trigger on my former gun the newer trigger is actually much better, lighter, crisper, with a very short reset and re-strike. As highly as I regarded my first PT111, this one is a bell-ringer. It has a little holster wear, which doesn’t at all concern me, and the frame and internals are in near 100% condition. It came home as dirty as a pig, and that is how I like them.
First trip to the range the gun shot 100% reliable through 100 rounds of Georgia Arms 124 grain FMJ. I will test it with hollow points but that isn't so important as I use PowRBall. I was shooting at the seven yard mark and accuracy was even better than my first gun firing as fast as the range officer would allow, over maybe three inches. I was shooting more for reliability and could have probably squeezed out better performance with more effort. Nonetheless, the gun sang topping the performance of the one from years ago. When I look at the gun, sort of old school styling and high bore axis, I think that is shouldn’t shoot nearly as well as it does, but recoil is minimal, reliability is perfect, and accuracy exceeds my expectations.
For years the MilPro was painted by the same broad brush as the first non-Pro Millenniums that were prone to frame cracking. If it is the newer MilPro and you are looking for an excellent 9mm budget gun, you can’t go wrong with a PT111 Millennium Pro. I would add that the new G2 is reportedly a good performer, but it seems to be more of a version of the 24/7 than anything else, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Sorry to be so long winded, but I think that some guns need to get the credit that they deserve especially when they are often overlooked for one reason or another.
. Hopefully, by the time I can afford one, they'll be more plentiful.
