Southpaws with Taurus PT111 Mil Pro?

[Quoheleth]

I'm wondering if there are any southpaws out there who own and use a Taurus PT111 Millennium Pro as a daily or semi-regular CCW. I got to handle & dry fire one last week. I like the size & weight; points well for me; trigger pull is long but OK. Plus, it's over $150 cheaper than the XD9sc. Not bad...except the safety is on the left side of the frame. I would like to hear from lefties who own/use a PT111 - what do you think of it as a carry piece?

Quoheleth

 

[Quoheleth]

Do I read the silence as there are no lefty PT111 owners, or no one wants to admit it

OK...let me open it up a bit. Anyone with experience with the PT111 - actually firing it? Whatcha think? (In other words, not your brother's wife's cousin's next-door-neighbor's mother's ex-husband's son's girlfriend's dogwalker's kid who once read about it in Postmodern Pistol Packing magazine)

Thanks!
Q

 

[JAB]

I have a pt111 mil pro, but im a righty. Its a decent gun imo. It gets the job done, period, no extras. Im not a dao fan for hobby shooting, but it works for ccw. I have put in enough time with it to become fairly accurate. I have a friend who shoots with me alot and he loves it, wants to buy it from me, but as much as I say I like my other guns better, I havent been able to part with it. Its my only 9mm compact, so Id need something to replace it, and it was such a good deal and serves its purpose so I havent been able to sell it just to pay more for something else, although a p99c is on my mind. He also shoots my walther p99, my buddys sig, etc, but he always likes the mil pro the best, so I guess it depends on what you want/need. mine has mag release on left only, not sure how that would work for you. Finish has held up better than my p99 and I dont take as good of care of it, thats a good thing.

 

[MICHAEL T]

My question do you really need the safety. It has a long DA trigger. Im sure has been droped tested and has some sort of firepin block. So why the safety. I carry a KT with out a safety and ain't no safety on a wheel gun.

 

[weregunner]

There are some lefty PT111 users at the www.taurusarmed.net forum. Lefties also with other Mil/pro pistols as well. Maybe they can help.Safties on Mil/pro guns can be reversed if necessary, but the slide release is a different story.

The 911, though may be a bit bulkier, has ambi controls on it and is a DA/SA type pistol.

 

[bb21]

I see your not getting much help on the matter so I will try to offer up some advice. I am not left handed but I do own a PT111, a couple of things come to my mind concerning your questions.
First of all I will assume you are looking at a new Mil Pro, so to Michael that would mean that the pistol is not Double Action but single action at least until you had a misfire. The 3rd Gen. Mil Pro's are single action. But Michael may be right in that you don't need to use the safety due to a long trigger pull and I am not sure what it breaks at but it is definitely not a 2 lb. trigger. Probably more like 4 or 5 lb. Otherwise you may want to check out a Kel Tec P11.
I personally think that Taurus handguns are a great value. I went with the PT-111 over the P11 because fit and finish seem to be better and the Mil Pro has the manual safety as well as loaded chamber indicator and for me a better grip. My only regret was I got the blued version instead of the stainless.
The capacity is great and mine has been very reliable, only 1 ammo related failure to extract in around 1000 rounds. I don't love to shoot it like I do my XD45 or Baby Eagle but it is what it is a very inexpensive sub-compact weapon, recoil is a little sharp but not bad even one handed. For me the XD is a better weapon, so if you can wait a week or two for funds you won't have to worry about the safety issue and you probably won't regret it. I hope this helped.
Good Luck and Be Safe!

 

[Quoheleth]

BB21, thanks for the note. I have been over at taurusarmed forum, and there are a couple posts there from lefties that have also been rather quiet.

I concur that a safety is a good feature on the new 3rd gen PT111s. Albeit long, the trigger is still SA. WHile a safety is only that - a "safety" - and not a "certainty", having that as a, well, safety device is important for me. If/when I get my CCL, I would carry it in a holster most of the time, but being able to drop it in a pants pocket for a quick run to the bank, store, or gas station across the street are all bonus. I wouldn't do that with a SA auto with no safety. (The other gun I'm considering is a 3" SP101, significantly heavier than the 9mm mil-pro). That's also why I don't want to go the PT911 (NOT 1911) route. I have a PT92 if I want full-size, large frame. I want something smaller.

I LOVE the XD9sc, but it's about $150 more around here. With it's passive safeties, I would feel OK doing an occassional pocket carry (yes, I know it is heavy). I don't like the little KelTeks. Haven't shot one, but they don't *feel* right. My theory is if it doesn't feel good, I won't carry it, etc... I like the RUger; no manual safety, either.

So, I'm window shopping. I appreciate the comments here and your patience.

Peace,
Q

 

[JAB]

Thats interesting that the 3rd gen are sa, didnt know that. Does it have a decocker so you can load the chamber and then return it to da for first shot? Are all shots sa, or just after first or if cocked? Mine must be first or 2nd gen, dao with safety. WIth mine I dont even use the safety.

 

[Quoheleth]

Nope - all 3rd gen are what they call "SA/DA" meaning after manually loading a round (rack the slide), the pistol is good-to-go SA. If there is a misfire, the gun becomes a DA - no need to rack the slide and dump the round. The Taurus literature cites this as a good feature because "most" misfires (I think they give a percentage - 95%???) will fire with a second firing pin strike. I would say in my own experience that is usually true.

Q

 

[wally]

The Taurus literature cites this as a good feature because "most" misfires (I think they give a percentage - 95%???) will fire with a second firing pin strike. I would say in my own experience that is usually true.

In my experience, I'd say its only true with reloads. On the very rare factory loads that didn't go, can't say I've had any that went on a second strike, unless the gun was defective from a trigger lightening gone too far.

If you are comfortable with a Glock trigger, the SA/DA Taurus guns operate the same way. Most folks wonder why the safety is even there in the first place. I think it may have to do with having enough "import points" -- an external safety adds some.

In dry fire, I liked the Taurus SA/DA trigger better than the XD, but at the range, the XD trigger actually works better for me. YMMV, see if you can rent each to try before you decide if the extra $150+ is worth it or not. The proof is in the shooting.

--wally.