Taurus 1911 as good as the dealer said???

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

neededausername

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
249
Let me preface this by saying that I'm new to guns. All I own is a Ruger Mark III that I love. I went into a local gun store today and they showed me a Taurus 1911. I really liked the way it felt in my hand. I just want to get some opinions on this model. It was a Taurus PT 1911. They went on about how great of a gun it was. I was told an IDPA shooter bought one recently and said it was the only 1911 he would take to a competition stock. The dealer said he recently read in a gun mag that to buy a stock Colt and get it tricked out like the stock Taurus($599) would cost about $2,300.00. Just want to know everyone's opinion on Taurus 1911.

Please no replies saying you should buy this or that instead, I just want to know about this particular model, not what you think is the bestest of the best.
 
Although I don't own one, the consensus is it's an OK pistol, but it's not the most refined and may need some work.

The dealer said he recently read in a gun mag that to buy a stock Colt and get it tricked out like the stock Taurus($599) would cost about $2,300.00. Just want to know everyone's opinion on Taurus 1911.
Click to expand...

I believe thats what Taurus' ad says about the PT1911, but the PT is no $2,300 gun

HB
 
I don't have extensive experience, but have fired the taurus 1911 and several springfield 1911's that a co-worker owns. All are fine guns, but the taurus seemed to have slightly looser tolerances in the way it was built. I suppose in theory this would make it less accurate, but i will say the taurus was the only one of the 4 1911's i've fired that did NOT have a single malfunction during 100-200 rounds. It is on my list of guns I plan to buy.

Hope that helps.
 
It's a $500.00 gun that THINKS it's a $1,200.00 gun. Mine has had no burps, stutters or other malfunctioning, shoots pretty much right on and better than I can hold it. The Heine Sights are super to work with (check out the Heine website on how to use them as they are slightly different than normal sights as far as the hold goes). The ramp was so nicely polished I thought I was looking at the Hubble Telescope mirror (okay, a little exagerated). I think that the people who belittle the Taurus here have not shot the Taurus or are kicking themselves for spending more to get the same as a Taurus.

The Doc is out now. :cool:

PS, as for looser tolerances, I cannot budge the barrel or slide in lockup. Mine is tight, tight, tight!
 
Last edited:
I don't own one but it is the only taurus that with one exception I have never heard a bad thing about.
I don't think you can do wrong for the money.
 
1911s are supposed to rattle if you shake them. "Accurized" guns are too tight and reliability suffers. Sometimes a few hundred rounds loosens things up enough to function well enough if kept clean, sometimes not.

--wally.
 
If you're looking for a 1911 then I think your money is better spent on an RIA Tactical than a Taurus.

While some people say Taurus is great and some say they are junk, the nail in the coffin is always Taurus' poor customer support.
 
The dealer said he recently read in a gun mag that to buy a stock Colt and get it tricked out like the stock Taurus($599) would cost about $2,300.00.
Click to expand...

Wrong.

Check out the Colt Special Combat Government. Everything the Taurus has, PLUS a test target that is usually around 1 inch at 25 yards for five rounds. Utterly reliable.

1911s are supposed to rattle if you shake them. "Accurized" guns are too tight and reliability suffers.
Click to expand...

Respectfully, I beg to differ.

I have a "hardball" gun; a Springfield Armory GI model, rebuilt and accurized by a master pistolsmith. It is TIGHT--absolutely no perceptible play in ANY aspect; tight as a drum.

This gun will put 5 rounds of ball ammunition in a 1.5 inch group at 50 yards. Yes, I said YARDS, not feet. Yet, it is also utterly reliable--I have fired everything in it from wadcutters, to JHP, JSP, and of course, ball ammo. The gun runs like it's on rails and cycles like grease on glass.

Now, if you're talking about production guns, consider the Rock River Arms .45's, and also the guns from Les Baer. A properly fitted 1911 will give laserlike accuracy AND will be 100% reliable.
 
$600 for a PT1911 is getting to the high side. Not unreasonable, just a shade high (if he throws in a box or two of ammo, it would be reasonable).

While he may have "read in a magazine" that adding those things to a Colt would cost $2300, if you spent even $1000 in upgrades to a Colt or Springfield Milspec, you'd end up with a vastly superior gun (Taurus overstates just how "match" their upgrades are).

I like my PT1911 and it is a good shooter, it's no $2000 gun. It's no $1000 gun. It is a gun worth no more than $600 (maybe $650 if a railed model). While a good shooter, it's rougher than a Springfield or a S&W, with worse customer service than either.
 
If you go over to the 1911 Forum you'll find mixed opinions and more problems than I'd be comfortable with considering the overall quality of Taurus' customer service. After having done the research I took a PT1911 out of layaway and swapped it for another 1911 of a different brand.

If you do get a Tuarus PT1911 go with a stainless steel as the amount of wear to the finish that I have seen on a new blackened gun just from being in the case was ridiculous.

You will be getting exactly what you are paying for, not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
Just to play devil's advocate regarding Taurus's customer support, I've pasted an earlier post of mine below.



I'm not sure how to feel about the Taurus horror stories.

I've owned a PT92FS that was a friggin TANK. I put every bit of 6k rounds through it, and I got it used from a friend who put at least 2k rounds of his own through it. I never had to replace a recoil spring or anything. Never a barrel...nothing except 2 mags.

I've also owned a PT145 that had a few issues....the Heine sights were way the hell off (low & to the left) and the slide catch lever kept slipping under the mag follower, thus not allowing the slide to lock back and I had to physically pull the mag out whenever I wanted to.

Called Taurus, sent it to them (free of charge), didn't hear back in a few weeks, called, got the notorious lady customer service agent and she kept me informed and got the gun back to me. I got it back in 4-5 weeks, with the sights bang on (pun intended) and the slide follower issue fixed. It ran as good as new.

I don't judge a company/person/situation by their mistakes, it's how they deal with those mistakes that makes them worthwhile or not. Taurus...to me at any rate...has shown that they make quality firearms and stand by their product. It never cost me a dime, and I got it back in roughly a month.

My only gripe is that they sent it back to me dirtier than hell. It looked like they shot 1000 rounds of Wolf through it without so much as spitting on it.
 
Taurus 1911 as good as the dealer said???
Click to expand...
NOTHING is as good as the dealer says.
Write that down somewhere.



The Taurus 1911 can be hit or miss. It seems they have had more hits than misses as time has gone on, but if you do get a miss, you will have the pleasure of dealing with what is argueably the worst customer service department in the industry.

It's not a $2300 gun. If you took a Colt, Springfield Milspec, or the like, and dropped $1800 worth of work into it, you would end up with a gun incomparable to the Taurus.



1911s are supposed to rattle if you shake them. "Accurized" guns are too tight and reliability suffers.
Click to expand...
::sigh::
Another false 1911 myth. You can get an unreliable rattletrap of a 1911. You can get an uber-reliable 1911 that is tight as a drum. Either one can be accurate or inaccurate.
 
I have both a Taurus pt1911 and a SA GI, both in stainless, both made in Brazil. And I much prefer the pt1911. I have put 1500+ rounds through it, first 500 with out cleaning it. No FTF or FTE with different types of ammo. Can not say the same for the Springfield, it likes hardball more then JHP. And I also carry it as one of my CC weapons.
 
I have one; my experience has been about like Dr. Laws. Good gun, I'm keeping it, no problems at all.

I liked it more when you could get them under $500 though!
 
There is no free lunch. If Taurus is adding all the extras and only charging $600 you can bet they are cutting corners somewhere else. I would rather have a solid dependable gun with a good reputation for the same price with out the gadgets added.

There are a lot of happy Taurus owners out there have not had any problems with their guns. YET. There are too many who have had problems for me to take that chance. At least not at full price. I did find a used one in a pawn shop a few months ago for $350. Tried it and did not like it and was able to sell it at a gunshow for $375.
 
There is no free lunch. If Taurus is adding all the extras and only charging $600 you can bet they are cutting corners somewhere else.
Click to expand...

Maybe not as much as you imagine, cost of custom parts vs. standard parts in pretty minimal when your factory is making them and paying Brazilian wages on an assembly line, as opposed to removing and replacing functional parts one gun at a time in a small US gunsmith's shop.

if you do get a miss, you will have the pleasure of dealing with what is argueably the worst customer service department in the industry
Click to expand...
EAA is probably worse to deal with, but they will turn it around quicker than doesTaurus.

--wally.
 
The ones I've seen and shot and the people that I know that own them, like them. I guess, if you get a good one, great; if you get a bad one, watch out. You probably have a 60% chance or better of getting a good one.
 
I own a Taurus PT92AFS, I've been thinking off and on about the PT1911. I may or may not buy one, but in my humble opinion, Taurus is as good as ANY other firearm company in the products, and customer service.
 
I just took mine to the range earlier today. It was great as always. I've had it for over a year and a half now (~2500 rounds), with no issues. First hundred rounds or so the slide was very tight to rack but it loosened up. Otherwise, its very accurate, dependable, and an amazing trigger. If you get a chance rent one and see how it works for you.
As an add: $599 is a little steep, I'd check Gunsamerica or Gunbroker for a better price. I found mine brand new for $480. Even with s/h and ffl fee you should still come out ahead.
 
Just picked up a stainless PT1911w/rail. It may be a couple of days (or more) before I get to shoot it. It has a very attractive matte stainless finish. The sights are 3-dot with a similar profile to Novak as opposed to the standard straight-eight style sights. I suppose this is a relatively recent development. Doesn't really matter to me. The black plastic grips are going to go bye-bye (oh, I'll keep them but they actually detract from the look of the gun). I have some Kimber factory rubber grips somewhere around here. To be completely honest, if this gun had been priced at $2k like the ad and gun pushers say, I would not have given it a second look. I bought it b/c I consider it a good value for the money. Add to that I have had good experiences with my Taurus guns. Workmanship is not as nice as my Kimber TLE. Nor is it as nice as any of my 3 Colts. Then again none of those 4 can be had for the price of the Taurus. The frontstrap checkering on the Taurus is functional and decent, but not nearly as well executed as on the TLE. From a totally practical, utilitarian point of view, this should be a good gun. I closely examined the one I bought before taking delivery and fit/finish was quite well. I'd say to give it a try, but if the price gets closer to some of the competition, I wouldn't do it.
 
I guess no one wants to read and comment on my experience with their customer service.

All I hear is, 'their customer service sucks,' 'Taurus are bound to fail at some point,' yadda yadda.

Not many people are willing to offer personal experiences...just that they suck. ALL manufacturers are bound to have an issue or several, it's how they deal with the issues that are my measure for them. I've had 1 Taurus that was flawless through multiple thousands of rounds and one that had issues right out of the box...the customer service for me was fine. It took awhile and they didn't clean the gun, but it was free and I was out for a month. No big deal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
.22 conversion for a Taurus PT 1911
Replies
7
Views
5K
mljdeckard
mljdeckard
G
  • Locked
Taurus 1911
Replies
19
Views
889
Tomcat47
T
S
  • Locked
Taurus or Springfield 1911
2
Replies
43
Views
2K
cmw2212
C
G
  • Locked
Taurus pt-1911 question
Replies
0
Views
212
gunguy1991
G
H
  • Locked
Just ordered a new Taurus PT 1911
Replies
6
Views
810
Dallas Jack
D
Back
Top