The latest AMERICAN RIFLEMAN does a review and range test of the Taurus Officers ACP size 1911. The way the commercial gun magazines review Taurus or most other pistols, you'd think they were better than 'Golden Age' Colts. But it seems the NRA still has some integrity to tell it like it is!



But it's a good gun for the money!


How much is your life worth?

I have learned that being critical of a Taurus is akin to poking a hornets nest. On HGF there may be hundreds of posts on @Shipwrecks thread "Taurus Quality". I don't and won't, own one but God Bless those who have good luck with theirs. 💩

 

Most 1911 production clones have extraction and feed problems with the officers and 9mm models. I have always stayed with the standard 5inch 45.
Got a Taurus when it first came out after the Norinco was banned. Not many choices then in the $500 price range. I still have it as it has the best trigger of all my 1911's.
It is a series 80 with a full-length guide rod and a lock in the hammer which I didn't like. I discovered that the extractor is not colt spec and must be ordered from Taurus.
Still using the original, just wanted a spare. The coating wears off easily. Other than that, I've had no issues; it's been a performer. No regrets on the purchase,
Today you have so many choices in that price range. Rock Island, SDS offer budget 1911's

 

I don’t own a Taurus 1911 but I am on the Taurus forum because I own a Tracker…
From what I read most guys a very happy with them . I personally have owned and own several 9mm 1911’s ,and when equipped with ramped barrels I’ve had very little issues at all .

 

My first 1911 was a Taurus 😔. Stainless with a rail. It ran well. It grouped well and looked good but there was a large variation on where it put different ammo on the target. None of my others are like that. I sent it down the road

 

One of the reasons I like GUN TEST magazine. They accept no advertising whatsoever and they buy their test guns on the open market rather than accepting loaners from manufacturers or distributors that may have been specially set up. Not a real cheap magazine, but they will give you honest informed opinion based on actual personal testing.

 

Often manufacturers are accused of sending 'ringers' to the gun press. Guns that perhaps got some extra attention.
If this was a ringer!?!?

 

I have a PT1911 that I used to build a bullseye/precision pistol. The fit of the frame and slide needed to be tightened but the slide and frame are both forged and could take the adjustment. I put a Kart barrel in it with a match bushing. I worked the trigger and got it to an honest 3.5 pounds despite the firing pin block. All in all it shoots better than I can shoot it and I've never had a problem with it. Unless you count the time I had a round blow out at the unsupported spot and cracked the grips and blackened my hand. Too many reloads on the same case.

 

I have never had anyone say "You REALLY have to check out my Taurus - (pick any model)" and I only own one myself (a nickel plated pocket .22 that the barrel flips up because it's near impossible for anyone less than Superman to rack using the slide, a vintage PT22 type my Aunt left me, I use to think she liked me) but my inner child wants to own atleast one 1911 by every manufacturer, my outer wallet probably won't let me so based on my experience as an RSO and seeing the issues people have with their various Taurus firearms, that's at the bottom of my list, or towards it atleast.
I can with 100% honesty say Hi-Points are more reliable than most Taurus products.
But I wonder if we as consumers are to blame? Do we complain enough? Do we write the company enough as concerned firearms owners as a community to express concern for our fellow enthusiasts who can maybe only afford that price tier? Do they know their product is literally a Meme in the gun community?
Or do they (Taurus) just not care because whenever a politician with a "D" next to their name uses the phrase "common sense gun control" or even straight up admits they want all out confiscation, their products will fly off the shelf the same as Colt, HK ,KAC and the rest?

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

I can with 100% honesty say Hi-Points are more reliable than most Taurus products.

Unfortunately, that's true. I say unfortunately because it seems Hi-Points are one of the guns most found at crime scenes and used in shootings.

 

In 09 I bought a PT1911AL. Changed out most of the internal pieces, just what I do with about every 1911 I get. I wore the finish off the slide pretty quick, had it DuraCoated. Gun ran like a sewing machine, very accurate and shot to point of aim. Before I did anything to it I wanted to see how it would do before I was going to trust it. A couple of buddies and I headed to the range with 1K of hardball ammo. We ran the entire case thru it that day, had 4 failures in the 1st 200rds, after that none whatsoever. Lubed it every 300 rds and kept going stopping every 200rds to cool it off. I was totally impressed. Today after a total of 8k rds out of it with only springs replaced every 1500rds, it's still going. Don't know how the newer ones run, the AL I bought is a good one. Rebuilt it and had a Cerakote job done to it and have it to the grandson on his 16th birthday. He calls it OGs gun, says he will give to his son or daughter when he gets married, whichever is born first.

 

A video that also helped in my purchase decision back then:

NELSON TAURUS PT1911 Part 1of2 - YouTube
NELSON TAURUS PT1911 Part 2of2 - YouTube

 

Well having owned a bunch of 1911 Colts, Kimber, Taurus, SAM, Springfield, built a few from stray parts, I can say a whole bunch were non-operable out of the box. The three that worked perfectly straight out of the box? That's right the two cheapest ones, the SAM, the Taurus, and the SA, and it wasn't the high dollar version! The Taurus and the SAM both have excellent trigger pulls, nothing has fallen off or broken (you want to compare ANY of that to the Colts/Kimber?!) and they work (ditto)! Sure, the others did "work" after a "breaking in", some had to be gutted/reworked/defective parts replaced, but if you work on it long enough, you can get just about anything to run at least a few shots at a time, but I'm one of those people who expect things to work right out of the box, or the factory fixes it, and not after 1500 rds through it first either!

Compare that to Les Baur where you need to put 1,500 rds of factory ammo through it before he will take it back to repair it! How do you test fire a gun that needs to be fired 1500 rds to know if it will even work to begin with?!

Watch the independent you-tube shooters. I like Honest Outlaw, he does a first impression shoot to see if it works, and then a 1,000 rd review. A LOT of high dollar guns are trash, straight out of the box, AND after 1,000 rds. Some of the cheap guns do good, some do not. He buys the guns with his money, he buys ammo, he doesn't lie to you like the gun rags do. I like Gun Tests too, but they have reviewed two Henry AR-7s, and BOTH worked! I have yet to see, with my own eyes, ANY Henry AR-7 that worked, period! Henry does not, or can not, fix them either, just sends them back non-working. Does GT lie? I'd like to think they don't, but the guns showing up in the shop that get test fired before going out, don't seem to be the ones they review either, in a lot of cases.

 

I've owned Baers, Ed Browns and Colts and I have to say the Taurus PT 1911 in 9mm I have is one of the finest handguns I've owned. The pistol has features you'd have to pay a premium for in other 1911 brands. First it has 40 lpi checkering on not just the front grip, and backstrap, but under the trigger guard as well. On a Colt you'd have to find gunsmith to do this and be prepared to open your wallet. Then let's talk features. To enhance accuracy and function, the pistol has had the ejection port beveled and the barrel has a supported chamber and is ramped and a full length guiderod is included. It also comes with Novak low mount sights with the front sight being dovetailed. My Taurus has a crisp, rod breaking 3 lb. trigger pull. And accuracy? I'm including an image of my target I shot to renew my Texas CHL. Besides being accurate it's functioned 100%. It also features an excellent ambidextrous safety and the beavertail safety is a STI copy. (I have since switched it for an Ed Brown (which was easy to do since the frame has a .025 radius cut). And all of this for around $500.00! The downside is to get this at such a low price the finish on the pistol is well.... crap! I solved this by having it Cerakoted in a two tone finish. So you could say I have no problem endorsing the PT 1911!

 

I have simply had no luck with Taurus and others I know have had problems with them.

Perhaps this 1,000 round review of a Taurus 1911 in 9mm will interest some of you.

 

I've got all the parts of a PT, it never ran more than 25 rounds without a failure. The warranty department sent it back to me 3 different times, and the failures increased.
Taurus should focus on a cheaper paperweight.

 

I've got all the parts of a PT, it never ran more than 25 rounds without a failure. The warranty department sent it back to me 3 different times, and the failures increased.
Taurus should focus on a cheaper paperweight.

I'd be curious to know if your 1911 was in 45 or 9mm and what issues you were having with it? Also The other brands of 1911's I had in 45 were finicky about the type of ammo I ran through them, especially when they were hollowpoints. This one is in 9mm and has not had any issue with what I've put in it. Keep in mind Springfield Armory for decades has been using Taurus frames and slides, so as much as you hate Taurus you might want to stay away from them as well! I've had bad experiences with other manufacturers similar to yours. With Colt, I've had Officers, Commanders, and G.M.'s and not a single one worked right and had to have a gunsmith's touch to solve the issue. The last Colt I owned was in 2008 and a stainless G.M in 45acp. After a road rage incident where I came to within a hair of shooting it, I days later took it to put in some range time. After one shot I dropped the hammer and nothing. Upon close examination I found out the firing pin had crumbled apart! Yes crumbled! It had been made from powdered steel and not properly heat treated. That lead to a permanent divorce with Colt 1911's. And don't get me started on Les Baer! Bwaahahahahaha

 

Yes, I watched the video of Honest Outlaw that was posted, with the 9mm Taurus. Go watch some of his other 1911 vids too, not just this one, he tells it like HE sees it, and some of the other popular/expensive makes/models he reviewed didn't do a lot better either, but links to these don't ever seem to be linked. OK, first, what was wrong, right off? 10 pd trigger pull. I'd bet decent money you could pull ten, of each, random Kimbers, Colts, S&W, SA, etc., etc. "higher" end 1911s out of the box and have at least a couple of each brand with 10 lb (with Kimber? probably much higher) trigger pulls, mainly since I've tried it. Like he says, Taurus can, and often do, have better trigger pulls than this one, and if you pay attention, has other comments about other "higher end" guns that have the same problems. Seems a LOT of 1911 9 mms, from a lot of factories, not just Taurus, have problems out of the box, but in my experience can he made to run, but this is "out of the box reviews".

I've lost count of the Colts that needed a trigger job (one of the higher end guns he recommended in the video) and had as bad, or worse triggers. My PT1911 is in the upper-3 pound range out of the box and I'm plenty happy. So sure, it happens, with Taurus, and Colt, and Kimber (talk to any decent pistolsmith and have an honest conversation with them about Kimber. Since they are selling a product, their work, they don't want to offend anyone, but if you can get one to tell you what they REALLY think, it will be an education!) or any other factory 1911 you want to mention.

The finish on his Taurus was bad and it wore off PDQ. OK, again, my Taurus is stainless and I'm pretty darn happy with it, fit, finish, function, trigger right out of the box. The Kimbers I've seen? They rust PDQ and the finish wears off at a harsh look too. He wanted a railed model to try for the video, but the one he bought didn't have one, and apparently he didn't try the trigger pull on it, or any other Tauruses, where he bought it. Or he ordered it, just like we do, and took what came in. I am not fond of the rail on mine (have you tried to find a holster for one? A holster with light attached? That is actually usable?!), although the weight up front helps.

The next video that came up, literally the next one the list, and not "let's see what else he has problems with", was the S&W CX5, absolute trash! OK, are all S&W firearms junk? Well two friends would be hard pressed to not say so. One bought a NIB .22 revolver a few months ago and fired one cylinder full and the cylinder was dragging on the backplate so bad it was nearly impossible to fire. Another bought a NIB 25-whatever (I didn't look to see) and fired it six times. A few more rounds and the barrel would have fallen off as it had unscrewed because it wasn't pinned and was barely finger tight in the frame. So with three examples (one Honest Outlaw and two I saw with my own eyes), I guess all S&W handguns are trash. Oh, ever tried S&W CS? Go read what John Taffen had to say about S&W CS in the American Handgunner after he sent his brand new S&W non-working revolver back to them, FIVE TIMES! He wrote it all up in black and white so you can read it for yourself! Makes pretty interesting reading!

The point? As Honest Outlaw said about the Taurus, anyone can have some bad guns, some good guns, some great guns, and and some terrible guns. The higher you go up the price line, there is (a slightly) less chance you have of getting a junk one, but I've seen some custom smith big-name/big-price pistols that didn't work out of the box either. Whenever I mention them, the fools come out of the wood work to attack me, their big-name pistolsmith pistol worked! SO THERE! Probably did, but then so do most Tauruses, SA, Gersons, Llamas and others. Possibly some Kimbers (even a blind hog finds an acorn once in awhile, but just never when I'm watching, it seems) will too, but like other people, about other guns, I'd like to see it myself first to believe it.

 

I have two Colts, and an RIA.
Two government models, one Commander, all 45 ACP.
I'm left handed, and although awkward I have trained myself to click off the safety with my left thumb.
When I saw the PT1911 advertised as having extra bells and whistles, PLUS an ambidextrous safety, i bought one just because of the safety.
It worked just fine for the first few boxes, then the safety kept coming apart and locking everything up.
I tried putting the two halves back together with super glue, with blue Loctite, finally when I tried to tighten up the fit by squeezing with pliers the steel broke.
I'm putting a standard safety on it and selling the POS.

For the record - I have three Taurus revolvers and I'd bet my life on any of them.

 

I'm left handed also and it pisses me off that for example Baer and Ed Brown don't have Ambi safeties as a standard feature (anymore) and it is an expensive upgrade. I haven't had problems with mine, but if I do, rather than get rid of it I'll send it back to the factory. I like the design of the ambi to give up on it. On the other hand I couldn't stand my Baer's grip safety with that downward hook on the end which dug into my knuckle! It's a style that is prevalent in Baers, Springfields and Wilson and so after the Baer I won't even consider them. Rather than throwing out the baby with the bathwater I would have purchased an Ed Brown Ambi and replaced the Taurus safety. I did that with the grip safety, installing an Ed Brown concealed model. It works fantastic and I couldn't be happier.

 

For all the bad reviews on Taurus guns here, I can say that I own at least three of them. One is a revolver. Two of them have run 100% since new. The other has as well, but I have run only a few hundred rounds through it and can't really conclude reliability from that. I can't fault any of the Taurus guns I own for manufacturing quality.

- Ivan.

 

Every Taurus 1911 that has ever come across my bench needed nothing in the function/reliability department. They just want them cooler than they came out of the box.

I think the Taurus 1911 is a great pistol for the money, but that doesn't mean it's not a great pistol period.

 

Springfield has bought frame forgings from Taurus, but never complete frames.

 

No, SAInc bought forgings from Imbel. And they also bought fully machined/completed frames.

If the frame was fully machined by Imbel, it will say Made In Brazil (Brasil?), sometimes under the right grip panel. Forgings finished in the US were simply marked with the Springfield markings. Most had a NM prefix IIRC.

 

Last I heard Imbel's forging dies wore out a few years ago and Imbel buys their forgings from Taurus. Maybe that was a temporary thing. Not that it really matters one way or another. You can make a world class frame from either's forgings.

 

Last I heard Imbel's forging dies wore out a few years ago and Imbel buys their forgings from Taurus.

Source?

They?

 

A friend of mine used to be pretty much THE importer of Imbel FAL receivers. And as such, he went to Imbel about every other year. Last time he was there (that I recall) was about 3 years ago, and he told me Imbel had a bin full of forgings on the production floor, and the bin was marked Forjas Taurus. He asked about it and the guy said they were buying forgings from Taurus. Like I said, perhaps it was just a temporary thing. Not sure it really matters where their forgings come from. A quality frame is a quality frame.

IMBEL and Taurus do a LOT of business together. IIRC Taurus set up Imbel's plastics manufacturing. And Imbel has a number of Taurus made CNC machines (Taurus manufactures CNC machines).

 

I just find it hard to believe given the size and scope of Imbels operation compared to Taurus. But my knowledge is probably a decade or two behind the times.

I also cannot believe anything good about anything from Taurus!

I bought several surplus Brazillian slides probably 20-25yrs ago and they were marked IMBEL & ITAJUBA. They were excellent slides. The Brazillian crest is in the same spot as the Springfield crossed cannon DoD mark. Apparently, they were originally serial numbered to the frames.