Taurus PT1911 .45cal Duo-Tone

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I am curious if anyone has any horror stories regarding this pistol, or do you have good things to say about it? I love the feel and look of this particular gun plus there is a ton of extras on it out of the box. Anyone know why some have Novak sights and some have the Heinie Straight Eight sights? Thanks
 
Slow down on the bashing of the Taurus 1911...:confused:

You would be surprised to see how reliable the gun shoots. I have had the PT1911 for 4 years and it has gone through thousand of rounds without any hiccups. My only complaint is the bluing is not so great. But then again, this is my most used gun and the looks show it.

You are right about the extra stuff Taurus added without breaking the bank, you could easily pay up to thousand dollars with those extras.

I have to admit, Taurus has issues with some of their models, but the PT1911 seems to be their flagship with semiauto pistols.

Good luck in finding your 1911. But as for myself, I am keeping mine...a long time.
 
I've put thousands of rounds through my PT1911. I had to replace the ambi-safety with another I got of Midway because it kept working it's way loose. At some point the rear sight set screw came loose and I threadlocked it back in place. Just because John Mosses Browning was mad at it, I replaced the FLGR with a GI standard one. The finish is showing serious holster wear. That's it. I feed it Hornady 230gr XTPs out of Shooting Star mags and it never stops. Great gun... and I don't mind if it gets dropped.
 
i have a pt 1911 and have had zero issues. it will eat any ammo i put through it,in fact i haven't found a ammo that it won't cycle including reloads. one more thing my pt 1911 out shoots my kimber and both of my colt 1911's.
 
My sister's cousin's brother said that Taurus was no good because it's made in Brazil. He said to buy a Springfield. :scrutiny:

Quite a few manufacturers head a bit off the reservation when it comes to machining which isn't necessarily a deal breaker if you don't plan on swapping parts out. I've shot the stock PT1911 and felt it lacked nothing as a decent priced range pistol but that same day I spent time with a Citadel. If it were my money I'd have opted for it over the Taurus as their performance was similar.

The only horror stories I've heard repeatedly about Taurus fall into the category of customer service which seems to range from exceptional to abysmal. A lifetime warranty may test that relationship at some future date but at least they make the offer.
 
Had one, sold it.

Mine was a fine shooter and didn't give me any trouble, but the gun had some fit & finish issues. I didn't know enough about guns when I bought it to inspect it closely, I discovered them all sometime after buying it.

The chamber had been ground away so much in an attempt to throat it, that the bottom edge of the chamber (where it meets up with the feed ramp) was thin & razor sharp. The top rear of the chamber was also poorly machined, so it didn't sit flush with the breech face.

The beveled magazine well looked like somebody carved it out with a wood chisel.

The slide stop just barely hung on to the slide by the skin of its teeth. I'm guessing it was just out of spec.

The checkering on the front strap of the grip was poorly done.

The ambi safety didn't work. Using the right handed safety was fine. Use the left handed side, and it wouldn't engage or disengage properly.

Like I said, the gun shot just fine. It also came with a couple good quality magazines. However I believe there are better guns at the same price or less, like any of the offerings from the Philippines.
 
123 rounds into my new pt 1911 the extractor broke. It does have a lot of extras but IMHO I should have just saved up for the Springfield. The finish is just flat out terrible and wears quickly. On the upside, it does shoot accurate right out of the box and feels good in the hand. Throw a duracoat on it and that will take care of the finish. Replace the internals with Wilson Combat will make sure you won't have problems. Or just spend a little extra on a quality gun, because that's going to be cheaper in the long run.
 
Good question. What could be had for that amount?

Doesn't matter, if ya'll find a guy willing to pay that much for parts- send him my way! I'll sell him all sorts of stuff for "thousands of dollars" if he's dead set on spending that much!:D

OP- if ya can find one and you want it- buy it. I don't know what area you live in, but around here 1911's are getting rare on dealer shelves these days (read- not much selection). Every manufacturer puts out a lemon every once in a while and Taurus has a tough reputation to overcome. A guy I shoot with bought a Tauri about the same time I picked up a Springfield. Side by side, his had a better trigger out of the box. Even though his was shinier and just felt different (recoil spring and feel of bbl lockup) they both performed on par with each other. Swapping back and forth and shooting 200gr LSWC- there was no discernable winner. Personally? I'll stick with my Springfields... just 'cause.
 
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Good guns for the money. I prefer the Taurus over the ones made in the Philippines. I have an example of both in my safe at the moment. Took them both in trade, I wouldn't go out and buy either one. In my opinion the Taurus and lower end Springfields are pretty close quality wise.
str1
 
Met someone at the range who had one this past Sunday. He said the extractor broke on his first trip to the range with it. It was brand new.
 
What are some of the extras one would easily pay thousands for?

Geez, don't you remember Taurus' original magazine marketing campaign for their 1911's? There was a price list of a "base" 1911 along with all the "custom" features that their gun had (frontstrap checkering, checkering under trigger guard, ami-safeties, forward cocking serrations [you get the idea]). I think it equaled out to ~$2000 or something silly like that. Obviously some people bought into Taurus' math more than others...
 
Thanks everyone for the input. Everything I have heard from the forum is some guys love them, some hate them. The Taurus PT1911 seems to split the crowd pretty well. Still undecided as to what I will do going forward...but I'll post my decision in picture form once I've chosen. Thanks again all!
 
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