Taylor's Tactical 1911

[duelist1954]

Taylor's & Co. in Winchester, Virginia has a new, Picatinny rail-equipped, .45 ACP 1911 pistol in their Taylor's Tactical line. The new gun is built in the Philippines by Armscor.

I’m not a big fan of rail-equipped 1911s for civilian use, but this is a nice, solid pistol with the features today's shooters expect in a combat-ready 1911.

I’m writing an article on it for the “Complete Book of Autopistols 2014”, so I thought, while I’ve got it, I’d put together a little video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF_eddVHPKQ

 

[duelist1954]

For those of you who don't watch videos, here's what it looks like

 

[BILLG]

As I posted on another forum.Why buy a crudely made 1911 copy when for a few dollars more you can support USA companies and get a nice 1911.

 

[Sam1911]

.Why buy a crudely made 1911 copy

Oh, I didn't know they were crudely made.

What was built poorly on the one(s) you've owned and shot?

 

[bannockburn]

BILLG

Nothing "crudely made" on the ones I have examined and worked on. Fit and finish are a little below that of a comparable U.S. made M1911 but not by much, and their overall quality and performance is more than commensurate to their cost.

 

[duelist1954]

This particular pistol is here for T&E, and I'll be sending it back to Taylor's, but over the years, I've owned several Philippine-made 1911s, from a couple of different Philippino manufacturers. They have all been reliable pistols.

Right now, out of the seven pistols in my 1911 rack, two are made in the Philippines, each by a different manufacturer. In fact, my current, custom Bullseye 1911 is built on a S.A.M. frame and slide.

 

[Sol]

General consensus is that products made in most Asiatic, south and central American countries are of inferior quality, workmanship and materials.

It's a good generalization, though not necessarily the rule.

I'm well aware these countries are pumping out some quality precision products.

 

[Sam1911]

Well, by all means, lets evaluate the general consensus rather than the actual gun Mike has in his hands, for evaluation, at the moment.

 

[hardluk1]

---- See what you own thats really all made in the usa. Not even the American auto is.

Armscor make a great pistol for the cost. Ain't the purdiest buy functionally it works and shoots as well as pistols costing waay more. That's what really matters. Now buy the RIA version instead of Taylors and save some money and get the basic fs tactical with out the rail for 470 or less.

 

[tarosean]

Those FCS look pretty deep through the most common failure point of the slide.

 

[mes228]

1911

Some Philippine made 1911 are surprisingly good. Armscor has quite a few supporters. I can only vouch for those made by S.A.M. Their pistols would most likely be a surprise to some on this board. If shot and compared "head to head" with many higher end makers. Just my opinion, but I've owned 4 of them and they have all been quite good and they are practically giving them away ($400-$500). There seems to be no substitute to some amount of hand fitting to make the 1911's run well. Labor and files are so cheap in the Philippines that hand fitting is the norm. Some of those people assembling become very proficient after thousands of pistols. The SAM'S I've owned flat out run.

 

[bigfatdave]

As I posted on another forum.Why buy a crudely made 1911 copy when for a few dollars more you can support USA companies and get a nice 1911.

I rolled my eyes so hard reading that - the right one hurts a bit now.

Armscor has been adding US jobs steadily for a while. There's a growing ammo plant in MT, the NV facility has been expanding, and they're looking at making guns there from scratch in the near future. They've partnered with Fred Craig for design and concept work.

Arnel (gunsmith), Gene (CS), & Martin (CEO) at the NV facility ARE "US jobs" and so are the rest of the employees. I'd rather deal with them if I ever need warranty service than; Springfield Armory Inc, S&W, or Ruger. (all companies I've had positive CS experience with, but not as good as RIA/Armscor)
If you have a question about a Kimber (or fill in the blank yourself), can you call up the CS guy today and get a detailed answer back from the designer tomorrow?

===

duelist1954, thanks for the video.
What's the background for that photo?

===

Now buy the RIA version instead of Taylors and save some money and get the basic fs tactical with out the rail for 470 or less.

The RIA versions are quite a value! I sort of like the rear serrations on the taylor's one here, even if I have no use for the forward ones.
Otherwise it looks a LOT like the railed guns RIA has been putting out, with nicer grips than most RIA offerings.
That rear sight is quite nice (I have some with it) and for people that want a rail, it looks like a nice one.

 

[duelist1954]

The background is a plastic grid that goes over fluorescent light fixtures that I painted black...placed over red background paper

 

[HOOfan_1]

General consensus is that products made in most Asiatic, south and central American countries are of inferior quality, workmanship and materials.

It's a good generalization, though not necessarily the rule.

I'm well aware these countries are pumping out some quality precision products.

Imbel 1911s made in Brazil are very highly regarded
Norinco 1911s made in China are very highly regarded
Miroku guns made in Japan are considered some of the highest quality production guns on the market.

Where do you think the computer you are typing on was made? The TV you are watching?

 

[bigfatdave]

The background is a plastic grid that goes over fluorescent light fixtures that I painted black...placed over red background paper

It looks like something from the future.

Cool backdrop, I like it.

 

[gym]

Been following Taylor for a while now, they make a nice clean gun. Seems like everyone wants a 1911 these days, and few can afford 1000+ for one, so these $400 dollar guns fill a niche.

 

[MarshallDodge]

Okay so the fit and finish is okay, reliablity is there, but what about longevity?

A shooting buddy had a Charles Daley 1911 which was made by Armscor. He shot it quite a bit and about every 3-4 months he was replacing a broken part including the barrel, ejector, extractor, and a hammer. The recoil spring died early, maybe about 400 rounds into the life of the pistol and the mainspring was not far behind. Magazines were garbage.

Now he has a 9mm Spartan which is put together by Armscor and has some STI parts in it. This one seems to have held up much better but the guy that owned it before him had already put a bunch of upgrades into it.

You get what you pay for with these pistols. They are not nearly the same quality as a Colt or a Springfield.