my review when i first got my 24/7 9b in november, now it has 950 rounds through it without a failure of any kind:
TAURUS PT 24/7 9mm Blue
From first sight I knew that the Taurus 24/7 9B looked like it had a lot to offer the shooter, but after making my purchase I still had a little hesitation in the back of my mind on whether the pistol would function as good as it looked, because lets face it, the 24/7 looks like a million bucks.
The first thing one notices is the “ribber†rubber grip molded onto the polymer frame which certainly does “fill your hand.†It makes this gun so comfortable to shoot that I’ll miss it on any gun I fire from now on, it’s that comfortable. Other than the big beefy sights, there are no sharp or pointy edges to snag on anything, and the rest of the curves and lines on the gun are tactically smooth and stylish. The polymer frame weighs about as much as a feather and incorporates a picatinny rail for mounting those flashy accessories like lights and lasers. The mag release button is not ambidextrous which is a slight let down, but it’s nicely recessed and light to the touch. Speaking of the mags, they hold a very capable 17 rounds. The springs were very tight on them when first trying to load and I could only get 10 rounds in them, but then after leaving the mag with 10 rounds in it overnight, I was able to get 13 the next day, and then the full 17 the day after that; they just need to be loosened up a little. Now one of the biggest reasons that I purchased the 24/7 was because of its manual thumb safety. Finding a polymer pistol with a true manual safety is a pretty rare find if you’re not willing to spend upwards of $700 on an H&K. Another feature worth mentioning is the loaded chamber indicator: a thin tab that extends just slightly out the right side of the pistol when a round is chambered. It is painted red for quick identification during daylight shooting and has a pointed tip for a tactile indication in the dark. The trigger pull can be considered a safety in itself, you have to want to pull it for it to fire. A 7 lb pull is needed to send the bullet flying, a good healthy squeeze, but not too heavy nor too light. The DAO trigger pull is smooooooth all the way through with no stacking up at the end, and a quick reset follows for double taps, making it quite possibly the perfect combat trigger. The sights are large and from first glance you can tell that they were designed for defensive shooting not targeting but you know what? They are capable of both.
The first time I shot it I started at 10 yards with a magazine of Winchester White Box 115gr FMJ. When I concentrated, 3 inch groups were no problem, but concentrating was a challenge because this gun is so fun to shoot: I just wanted to unload those 17+1 rounds into that target! A beer bottle was placed on a stump and from 15 yards my first shot sent the glass flying. At 20 yards it gets very difficult to even see the slim beer bottles because of the size of the sights but with some practice hitting the slim, tall, brown targets wasn’t too much of a challenge. In fact, I took my Dad shooting a few days after the 24/7’s first performance and he hasn’t shot a gun in the better part of two decades, and never anything bigger than a .32. After 15 rounds at 5 yards, 10 at 10 yards, and then 10 more at 15 yards into paper targets he was certainly getting the hang of the Taurus to say the least. I then set up 3 bottles at 15 yards and with three shots by the untrained parental marksman three bottles lay shattered in the desert: not bad accuracy eh? It’s also worth mentioning that after four shooting outings in five days with 300 rounds of WWB through it I didn’t experience one failure of any kind. It’s no wonder why I didn’t have any failure to eject rounds because the extractor on this gun is strong! It sent the casings flying 5 to 6 feet to the right and a foot or two to the rear. It’s a good feeling to know that a gun can shoot every time and on target straight out of the box, and not hit you in the head with hot brass!
Takedown of the PT 24/7 is just as much a pleasure as shooting it. Simply remove a pin and off comes the slide. Remove the guide rod/spring assembly, then the barrel and that’s it. No small doo hickeys or thing-a-ma-jigs to deal with, and that makes field stripping a convenience rather than the necessary inconvenience that other guns require.
Taurus really has created the perfect polymer pistol with the 24/7 and I imagine that as its popularity grows so will its price; so get them now before the secret’s out. I picked mine up for $359 from Tanner’s Sports Center in Pennsylvania via
www.gunbroker.com and can be found online at
www.impactguns.com for a similar price. Most retailers here in Arizona have the PT 24/7 priced anywhere from $429 to $520 so it’s definitely worth having a look online. Also worthy of mentioning is the revolutionary Taurus USA unlimited lifetime warranty that comes with all of their products. If you ever have a problem with one of their guns just send it back to their USA headquarters in Miami and they’ll take care of it for you. Another gift from Taurus is the one year membership to the National Rifle Association that comes free with any new gun purchase as well. Excellent performance and the company to back it up makes the Taurus PT 24/7 a true winner for every shooter.
