Range Report - New Taurus PT 1911

[Tomcat47]

This is a much anticipated Range Report for my new Birthday Present: A 45 for my 45th...kinda neat hey!

My PT1911 BHW .45 Auto.

All Who Have seen me here on THR know pretty well I am a satisfied Taurus Customer!

The Following Range Report is a difficult pill to swallow, but this is The High Road and I am among its members.

I am first and foremost satisfied with my new PT1911....with that said I have been bitten, or educated in MIM parts. These parts may have there place on a firearm, however I do not think it should be placed in a critical point, such as the slide stop!

The following picture was at round 16!

The slide stop broke right off.....sad panda! (something my kid said when he got sad..."Dad i'm a sad panda!")

However! , this did not stop my Range Outing!

I seen it, took a picture put it in my pocket thought dang MIM! :banghead: and the guys on THR are gonna give this Taurus enthusiast H@!! and continued sending 150 rounds through the gun!

No Failure to Feed, No Failure to Fire, No Failure to Eject!

Gun was very accurate out of box and sights were nice, gun had wonderful trigger and I was very fast back on target. I loved the Walnut Bulls Head grips, It also came with standard plastic grips and I did notice that one screw was not all the way in when I pulled it out of box? I do not know if dealer installed the walnut grips or if it was shipped from Taurus that way?

This Range trip was simply plinking - I was just checking the gun out. It was very accurate at aprox 25 yards - will try to print some paper next weekend!

Now back to the problem! It was admittedly disappointing at round 16! But I am very pleased with the gun. I can honestly see all the bitterness towards those who are using MIM parts now...Colt is among this group! This part in particular disappointed me due to my mechanical background in manufacturing and a 25 year veteran machinist!

I question WHY! MIM in such a critical area! A safety,a beaver tail, a sight.. not so much concern but this part takes a beating on a firearm! I have already emailed Taurus and as I have stated there CS has always done right by me.

(My PT92's and PT58's Are Not MIM parts...so why do this on the PT1911)

I will NOT even bother asking for another Slide Stop from them as I do not want the inadequate part on my gun! And that is what I told them! I told them on and Engineering Level they should be ashamed! ( And So Should Colt ) I did not know until today that Colt as well uses MIM's.. I do not know about there slide stop?

I am now looking at Ed Brown Hardcore and the Wilson Combat Bulletproof Slide Stops?

Quiet a bit of difference in price...but I am thinking that the Ed Brown is a cating or forging? It is Guaranteed against breakage ....

But The Wilson states "machined" and I like that...especially now!

Now you all can let me have it! But I still like my Taurus!

 

[jgiehl]

I myself am not a very big Taurus fan but I do like those grip panels.
Your money who cares what someone else says, happy with your purchase? Enough said then.
Slap a new stop in and bang away.
Personally I would lean towards the Ed Brown stop. Always had good luck with his stuff.

 

[Tomcat47]

I Just ordered replacements from Midway Supply....

Dont want MIM replacement from Taurus unless they will send it to me?
(For sure will not send Gun back to them for this!)

But FOR SURE let them know it broke!

Ordered a Swenson Extended $14.99 (Cheap on Sale) Cast?
(This one had satisfied user review with PT1911)

Ed Brown Hardcore (Guaranteed) $36.99 Cast-Forged?

Wilson Combat Bulletproof $59.99 (Machined)

 

[KAS1981]

Whoa.....definitely haven't seen that yet on my PT1911. That sucks!

At least it's a cheap fix.

 

[Tomcat47]

Update!

So I Contacted Taurus and discussed the Slide Stop!

They claim this is the first Broken Slide Stop, they apologized for the problem and was starting the process to return the pistol. I stated that I did not think this was big enough problem for a warranty return. And ask if they could just send me a new replacement part.

They said it would ship immediately! ?

It is in the mail from them as well as my order from Midway with the Swenson, Ed Brown, and Wilson.

They ask me to please return the broken Slide Stop for repair dept. to inspect and analyze why it broke?

I have ran about another 50 rounds through it the way it is. Still no FTF FTF FTE. Mixed it up this time with Wally world Champion FMJ & Winchester Hollow Point.

I Shall Return!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Eh, not enough of a big deal for a Taurus bashfest, IMO.

 

[Tomcat47]

^^ Thanks for the ettiquette ^^

Its bad enough my Birthday Present broke!

 

[Snowdog]

I've not had any poor service from Taurus products, though this only includes a M85CH and an early model (pre-decocker) PT-99. Both have provided excellent service at an agreeable price.

Sorry to read about your slide stop. I don't know much about MIM parts, but I believe my Kimber Classic Custom 1st series has such parts. So far I haven't had any problems and I understand MIM is considered acceptable if the process is done "correctly", but I confess that I find every report of MIM parts breakage unnerving.

 

[Tomcat47]

I have had many Taurus firearms and still have many!

This is the first thing that has broken on any of my Taurus!

It is a MIM part and a lot of manufacturers are using them now, but I am wondering if the assembler cracked it putting the gun together?

I have heard no one else with this issue? On A PT1911! I have heard of Slide Stops breaking on 1911 platforms though! I guess thats why there is pages of aftermarket stops!

The pistol was still operable! and I had fun with it. But I ordered a after market custom that should be here tomorrow.

 

[dcarch]

That great of an interaction with their CS astounds me! I've heard things have been looking up for Taurus, but that is some GREAT service. Just too bad you had to need it. That being said, I have a PT 140 with over 500 rounds through it with nary a failure. Would I CCW it? Probably not, (that's what my .380 is for) but I've had no reason to complain about the Tauruses (Tauri? Anyone know the plural of Taurus?) I've personally shot. Enjoy your new gun!

 

[jpwilly]

Replace the part and keep banging away. MY PT1911 has been 100%. It's even fired quite a few rounds of 400corbon with a drop in barrel and 22lb spring of course. I'm at 5200ish rnds downrange and no broken parts.

Here it is:

 

[KC.45]

I, too, have a pt1911 and could not be happier with the gun. I have probably put 1000-1200 rounds through it without a problem to speak of. Congrats on the new gun.

 

[0to60]

I think MIM gets a bad rap in the gun community. I've read about the manufacturing process known as MIM, and I've learned that its a cost effective way of making quality parts to exact specs. I'm guessing that materials is where it can go wrong. To reduce the cost of MIM parts, budget manufacturers prolly use cheaper metal and then you see the occasional failure.

 

[bbuddtec]

Tauri Although the "i" should be one of those weird double dot i's...

I am looking to get a decent 1911 on a budget, and have been considering these, was it a good deal?


PS- nice one too, jpwilly!

 

[iblong]

The Taurus 1911 was my first and it ran flawless,my slide stop broke at about 6500 rounds.I called Taurus and they had a new one out to me within a week.
I never installed it,I bought a willson and kept the other for a back up.Sold the taurus at 10,000 plus to up grade and it was still running strong.I own much nicer ones now but they are no more accurate than the Taurus was.

 

[Tomcat47]

I Have $624.00 In mine

And I am happy with that price for The Bulls Head Walnut Edition which states discontinued on Taurus website? and I have not seen many of them around?

I found this one on Gunbroker.com and it was a Layaway bid option and my first purchase on GB. I really love the grip panels.

The price includes shipping of $25 to local dealer.

I was getting ready to buy a Kimber Eclipse but I spotted this one and Loved them grips and the price?? The Kimber was bumping $1100.00

I would still like to get a Kimber too even though they are catching some flack right now. Maybe later in the year??

 

[BP Hunter]

Hey, has anybody greeted him yet

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMCAT!!

I have had my PT 1911 for a couple of years and trust my life in it!!

 

[Tomcat47]

Update! PT1911

Thanks BP!

Today is my birthday!!! and my shipment from Midway came!

Below is picture of the Swenson Extended Slide Stop!

It is my favorite so far! The others are great but I like the extension and it is almost a spot on match on the Taurus.

It is matte as is This BHW model! and the grip lines are very close! Exactly 1 line difference between the Taurus safety and the Swenson slide stop.

The colors match real close with the stop being just a touch more blue to me. But looks great! Had to do no fitting to gun or trimming of grips (which I was concerned about)....did not want to trim on the walnut anyway. It came with extra factory black plastic, but no worries! perfect fit!

Any way off to the brothers tomorrow for a little lead throwing!

All have a good weekend and Happy Mothers Day to all the Mothers!
(I know there is a few here!) And for everyone else Happy Mothers Day to your Mothers!

 

[jahwarrior]

thanks for your report. i've never heard of a slide stop breaking on a 1911 before, so this is a first for me. i might take a look at mine later, when i clean it. i've had the PT191 for a few years now, and have had no problems with it, except for a bad magazine.

 

[kragluver]

This is the first I've heard of a PT1911 slide stop breaking. The main parts problem I've read about (and personally experienced) on the Taurus pistol is the ambi-safety (mine now wears a new one from Wilson Combat - no other issues in 5 years of use).

From what I've read regarding MIM - there's good MIM and there's bad MIM. When MIM first came out, folks made the mistake of attempting to do a trigger job or polish an MIM-sear. This leads to trouble. With MIM parts - leave 'em alone. The hard surface finish is thin and if you file or grind on it you can ruin the part. Also, I'm not 100% sure the slide stop on a Taurus would necessarily be MIM. Hammer and sear parts, sure, but not certain about the slide stop.